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Digital vs printed books
Print books versus E-books
Print books versus E-books
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During the past few years, the publishing and reading world has been facing a veritable digital book onslaught. E-books have been outselling print books on Amazon since 2011 (Polanka, 7). While digital book sales skyrocketed, print book sales, especially those of mass marked paperbacks, diminished. Even the fact that e-books are not much cheaper than print books does not seem to interfere with the former’s popularity. It would seem that the age of print books is about to end, and quite soon.
However, iIn spite of the current pre-eminence of e-books, it may be argued that they are not likely to replace print books anytime soon or possibly at all. Both formats have their advantages and drawbacks, which makes for one of them difficult to replace the other. Moreover, they serve differents needs and purposes. E-books are famous for their portability. Hundreds of e-books can be stored on a single device. Thus e-books don’t take shelving space and are convenient to take on travel, while even a few paper books are bulky and quite heavy to carry around. Numerous e-books are in open access, while paper books are not routinely available free of charge. E-books may be acquired and accessed immediately online, a feature I enjoy especially and treasure most: many a time I was able to buy and read an e-book at home within minutes of learning of its existence. Needless to say, e-books are considerably easier to cite and quote than print books, since the copy-paste feature spares us the trouble of retyping the quoted text. Another important advantage of digital books is their specialized software, which makes reading much easier: search and reference tools, changeable font size and day/night mode, dictionaries. Last but not least, e-books conserv...
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...y discardable, but has an advantage of changing font size and page brightness. With this exception, print books are going to survive. To quote British actor and writer Stephen Fry, "Kindles are no more likely to replace books than escalators are going to replace stairs“ (9). Works cited: Fry, Stephen. The Fry Chronicles: An Autobiography. New York: Overlook Press, 2012. Print. Polanka, Sue, ed. No Shelf Required 2: Use and Management of Electronic Books. Chicago: American Library Association, 2012 Pratchett, Terry and Stephen Baxter. The Long War. London: Haper Voyager, 2013. Print.
Almost twenty years later, contemplating the contemporary American publishing scene, I feel a Bealean rage coming on (and with it a vague longing for one of his fits).While three percent of the American population in 1976 would have been a little over six million readers, recent surveys suggest that the consistent buyers of books in this country now total no more than half that number, and may even be as few as one million.[1]
This source considers the issue of converting to digital books, specifically as it pertains to the effect that this change would have on the global environment. Although the research does recognize that there are disadvantages to not having a physical copy of a book and to abandoning certain platforms that do not transfer well to a digital form, overall, these researchers conclude that publishers should move towards digital products not only for the sake of cheaper long-run costs, but also for the good that going paperless can do for the environment. By displaying a series of graphs, as well as including multiple data sets, the text explains how e-books compare with printed texts; then, analysis of these facts is also included to show the reader the authors’ point.
There is no doubt, that literature has taken a back seat in the digital age. In a 2013 article for the Wall Street Journal, a top store executive for Barnes and Nobles revealed that the company expects to close twenty stores a year over the next decade. But Barnes and Nobles isn’t alone. Bookstore chains across the country are suffering the same losses. Consumers are choosing online book retailers like Amazon or opting out of reading altogether. These recent [trends?] are evident of a startling reality: people don’t read anymore.
In addition, textbooks are heavy to carry around and it takes longer to find a page. Likewise with digital textbooks they are compatible with tablets, smartphones, and laptops; it’s much easier to carry around and affordable price. However, some people may argue that digital textbooks can be a distraction for people because they would not bother read anymore. The author and poet Dana Gioia argues that electronics alternatives may be a bad influence that will lead society to not read anymore. Gioia complicates matters further when she writes, “While no single activity is responsible for the decline in reading, the cumulative presence and availability of electronic alternatives increasingly have drawn Americans away from reading” (161). I think Gioia is mistaken because she overlooks on electronics being a bad influence; but doesn’t see the benefits of electronics. To demonstrate, most of my textbooks are digital, which I can easily carry my tablet around where ever I go. Also, I save more money on digital textbooks and are simple to annotated the text. Journalist Ellen Lee interview a student from Liberty University, and he states that he prefers digital textbooks because he can tap his iPad, opens the digital copy and quickly open the page. Nevertheless, he also like digital textbooks because it has a feature that allows to highlight and mark the
Digital textbooks are evolving as a viable substitute to costly, hard copy textbooks. E-books are portable, less-expensive, and customizable. Unlike their hard copy counterparts, e-books can be stored on devices such as smartphones, tablets, or laptops. Ergonomically speaking, portable e-books reduce the physical strain of lugging around bulky textbooks to and from various destinations while at the same time freeing up storage space at home. Additionally, since e-books are produced digitally, the marginal production cost is much lower considering the fact that less costly resources are used in the production process—e.g. glossy coating and paper. Another benefit that e-books offer over traditional textbooks is the fact they are easily customizable. For one, e-book companies may offer free trials for users to gauge their affinity for e-books without any financial commitment. Also, some publishers allow users to download individual chapters rather than entire book. Despite these obvious benefits, the big question at hand is “what are some enablers and barriers to successful adoption and commercialization of digital textbooks?” This question will be explored in the following paragraphs.
Even though online sales and electronic books are becoming increasingly popular, printed books are still the preference of most consumers within the market according to The New York Times.(8) Due to this fact, the raw materials sector is stable and relations with the suppliers and book publishers are
Today, we are introduced to the “e-books” known as the electronic reading device which includes all books and digit texts to read. The discussion of banning books and replacing them with the new e-books is still
To start off, the main difference between books and modern technology of information is the connection between the audience and author. Winterson says, "The general reader need not sit down and ponder the runes behind the words, but if he or she wants the pleasure out of a book that cannot be got out of anything else, that reader has forged a link with the writer" (Winterson,34). Accordingly, books create a special bond between the reader and the writer that cannot be had between modern technologies and its audiences. Nowadays, large corporations such as Amazon have created ways to preserve the bond between the writer and the reader through digital books. However, the bond given from the feeling of ink running through one's hand and the feeling of ecstasy when one glides through an important text with a highlighter does not compare to the technology offered through digital books.
Amazon Kindle is one of Amazon’s recent remarkable products. Kindle is a portable device which allows user to read, download, and store e-books due to its wireless connection and internal memory (Amazon, 2009). The first version was originally launched in US market in 2007 and achieved success as sold out in five and a half hours (Patel, 2007). Later, Kindle has been through several upgraded versions; Kindle original, Kindle 2, Kindle DX, Kindle DX Graphite, and the most recent version Kindle 3 with improvements mostly on the shape, contrast, memory capacity, and operating system. Earlier versions of Kindle had been criticized for its aesthetic and user interface issues. Reviews from customers and gadget experts motivated Amazon to further improve the product.
to carry Ebook more than the regular book, and that return to the advantages in it, such as
Books should not be changed to digital versions because of the difference in costs. Hardcover books may have an approximate price of twenty dollars. Paperbacks might cost ten dollars. Meanwhile, an e-reader may cost hundreds. Daily reading books and college textbooks may cost from five dollars to two-hundred dollars, respectively. While it is true that one would buy an e-reader not only because they are cheaper, but some are also more portable. Carrying hundreds of books in a lightweight device which can be th...
“While it is true that more books are sold today than ever, recent statistics show that only about 15% of books bought today are read. Evidently, they are of more use as furniture—coffee-table books—than as a source of information or aesthetic buzz. The statistics continue; of those that are read, less than 20% are read all the way through. The unfinished book symbolizes the state of attention spans today”. Eric McLuhan opens up his 2010 argument against technology with this quote. He seems to believe that literacy is only fully achieved through limited technology and hard copies of books. He fails to realize there is more to literacy that picking up a book defined as a ‘classic’ and reading it cover to cover. Literacy covers all spans of artistic
The essay “What are the Enablers and Barriers to Successful Adoption and Commercialization of Digital Textbooks,” discusses the many benefits and drawback of transitioning to digital textbooks. The essay asserts that digital textbooks are on the rise and that there is a good probability they will overtake printed textbooks in the foreseeable future. They are currently accessible to students by download onto a reading device or by logging into the publisher’s site online. The main players involved in the innovation and development of digital textbooks include Flat World Knowledge Inc., Connexions, Courseload, VitalScore, CafeScibe, Coursesmart, Inkling, and Know. The overwhelming factor driving these companies and the user is the cost. The successful implementation of digital textbooks would greatly decrease costs to the consumer and the creators/developers, making it a win-win situation. The three business models include the profit multiplier and the two switch board models. The essay concludes that advances in innovation and technology will lead to advances in education. In this economy, lower costs will lead to more people completing college and a more intelligent society.
Some years ago, with the arrival of digital technology, the process of reading has been changed to make it easier for everybody; therefore digital books are replacing the actual physical books. In spite of the fact that paper books and digital books are very similar in some ways, such as tittle pages, copyright page, covers, chapters or tables of contents; they present a visual and a sensory difference. In fact, they have a similar action that gives benefits but drawbacks at the same time. Paper books are tangible, accomplishment, easy to share; they have a unique aroma, and a sensitive side. But people should take in consideration that digital books are the better choice, because they are portable, convenient, cheap in price, and easy to manipulate, not to mention that anybody is able to have an bunch of them in only one file, either their phones or
Getting educated is one of the most important things in life when it comes to getting a good future. By developing good knowledge of schooling, it helps establish and maintain new information as needed throughout the real world. As books are one the essential tools in learning, eBooks are being used in a everyday lifestyle. Traveling to get away places from city life, helps give reading a comforting feel. Students that use print books are eventually going to use ebooks in the future. By educating students with ebooks, it is more efficient than carrying textbooks; ebooks is more convenient and reliable to read, write and store notes. Print books are being replaced by eBooks, it helps on keeping files together and it makes notes