Paper vs. digital is a topic I’ve written about before. It’s still something I think about quite often (recently, in particular, since I just ordered another bookcase for all of the books stacked on my office floor — and for a few boxes of them in the closet).
Rene Ritchie takes a look at “Paper books vs. iBooks and Kindle books” over on iMore.
Good food for thought when considering the future of the pulps.
It’s amazing how rapidly this is becoming a non-issue for me. In fact, I don’t see this becoming an either/or scenario at all. I’ve downloaded some reading material to my iPhone for consumption while on my commute, and I have to say I like it. What does this tell me?
I like reading.
It’s a practical approach, of course. I don’t want to drag a tome to work with me (or even a pocket-book) just to read on the subway, so I can see the digital version being my go-to for that purpose. But when I want to read while relaxing in bed I want to hold a paper book.
I can see the publishing industry taking a route that some forward-thinking labels in the recording industry have already pioneered; parallel digital editions of physical counterparts included in the purchase price. In other words, when buying a paper edition, you also get a digital copy. For example, I bought my wife a new LP for Christmas which included, along with the record itself, a little card with a unique code allowing an official and totally legal mp3 download of the same album. Now while we’re at home we listen to the LP, but my wife also has the album on her iPhone if she wants to listen to it on the go.
There are a lot of possibilities and avenues that still need to be explored, but most importantly, I think we have to stop using the kind of rhetoric that pits one format against another (as seen in the title of Ritchie’s article). That’s not doing anyone any favours.
Ryan, I think you’ve got the right idea about the future of books (a bifurcated publishing system with printed and digital option). And I’m encouraged to see Will Murray’s recent Doc Savage books becoming available in such ways.
For vintage pulps, I wish there were some easy solutions. PDFs and .CBR/.CBZ files are okay, but not the final form.
Thanks for offering your take.
Yeah, I can imagine some cool options for those who want choices in how to customize the look and “feel” of their e-books. I think Girasol is in an excellent position to offer this bifurcated (hey, I learned a new word!) system with their products. I fear, though, that the demographic for that kind of item has resisted the emergence of e-books in general.