Digital doesn't wear out

[smarriveurr]

It was with palpable pain that I noticed that my copy of the third Riverworld novel was splitting along a bend in the spine. I put it down that night, and even though I was a couple chapters in, I haven't picked it up since. In part, this is just because, as mentioned earlier, I am ludicrously kind to books, and for some reason anal-retentive about

Comments

[lietya]

I'm sorry to hear of the fate of your poor book. I also hate when that happens. Can you buy a replacement copy and *not* dispose of the original? :) Pop it back into its place on the shelf and keep it as an heirloom/collectible while reading the other... Then you keep the passed-down original and you have a matched set on the shelves.

(This is an impractical solution that would only occur to someone who's also crazily in love with books; I have so many books they have taken over almost every available inch of my house, and yet I would still totally do this for a book I loved enough.)

That's an excellent point about not needing to replace digital media, though; as I recall, that was a selling point for CDs, too. I *like* a worn old paperback because in a way it's a map to all the other times I've enjoyed it... but only up to the disintegration point, obviously.

By the way, there is a new Kindle for PC program that allows you to have access to all your existing digital books (and order more) through your computer as well. The device is technically no longer necessary to retrieve them.

[smarriveurr]

I suppose it's theoretically possible. The book is already more or less split in half, though, so I'd have to tape up the spine even to let it sit safely on the shelf... the question is where I'd keep the "reading copy." If I put it on the shelf, next to the originals, there's a decent chance it'll still bug me, if I don't, I have to remember where I kept it.

(I'm terrible when it comes to letting books go. I have books that I haven't read in years, know I won't ever read again, but just can't part with, even beyond the books I really *care about*.)

Even with CDs, though, you get scratches and loss (well, up until relatively recently, when you could personally rip and burn a new CD). Anything that lives "in the cloud" is totally immune to danger. There's a lot to be said for the tactile experience of reading a book, and the memories you associate to the sensations - with my approach, though, the Kindle/Nook might almost be worth it for the "you'll never have to repair this with packing tape" angle, and the fact that if there are no bindings, I can't worry over whether the bindings match on the shelves (not to mention the reduced necessity of shelf-space). ;)

I'm still iffy about proprietary formats, even when the formats cross devices. The provider has to keep the software available as systems march on, or provide a way to migrate out, and I don't trust businesses to do that when forcing consumers to pay again is more profitable.

Plus, I can read comics on my laptop, but books... too much. I'd need a "better" device - one that was either cheaper and e-ink, or lighter and yet just as useful as my laptop, but also as expensive. Until I've got access to one of those, selling me an e-book is a matter of saving me drastic amounts over a paperbook, which just isn't a feasible model.

[lietya]

Oh, that is a shame. Poor book. You are also clearly a bit more organized than I am - my books always start out in perfect order, and then later additions get piled on/near the shelf and whatnot. :)

That is true about CDs. I was thinking that they were marketed as likely to last *longer,* not forever, than tapes (which was certainly true in my experience). I'm also not sure about the totally immune part, since as you then go on to say, the access can become an issue; one still needs an interpretive program and a method of connection to the storage medium, and both of those can theoretically go kaput in weird ways as technology and progress run us over.

I do agree that the proprietary formats are particularly and specifically difficult, and it's one reason I wasn't thrilled about iTunes. I have no idea, incidentally, why Amazon made a big deal of selling DRM-free music and thereby pressuring the market to follow... and then chose to DRM the hell out of their e-books. It's bizarre.

As far as that goes, ironically, I prefer the e-book reading experience on my PC (it allows *me* to choose precisely the screen dimensions/resolution/input method/etc. that I like best), and yet I spend so much time staring at a computer for work that I don't actually want to carve out additional hunks of my free time to do so.

[firynze]

That's my issue with the devices to read on at present, too. The access-tech just isn't to the point where I can justify the e-book prices, even if they're theoretically indestructible content.

[firynze]

...that's the solution I'd use, too, though. A readin' copy and a keepin' copy.

[lietya]

I'm glad it's not just me. :)