/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.485774]

Why don't you have an e-reader yet?

Easy on the eyes, free books galore, can be used with mac or PC, can check out library books with it that you never have to worry about returning, cost for newer books are significantly cheaper, this particular model is easy for transport and single-handed use, AND it allows for a plethora of file types for viewing making it easy to get a hold of copies of books that you couldn't find before.

Paper tomes will always have their place, anyone stating otherwise is a total moron, but these readers are quite impressive and a must have for anyone who enjoys reading as a major hobby. I also gotta say that the bigger models make excellent choices for people in college because you can snag version of your text books for them and save on a fuckload of cash that way.

So why don't you get one (save for not being able to afford one, or having some kind of perverse fear or hatred to the tech)?

[Anonymous No.485777]

I'm waiting for a quality eReader around the $120 range.

[Anonymous No.485783]

I got one as a gift a little while back. I like it. I still read mostly regular books, but it's a nice change of pace sometimes.

[Anonymous No.485819]

>>485777

The one OP posted is $150

[Anonymous No.485825]

I have txts, docs, and pdfs. How will I read them on that Sony model? Easy to do this?

[Anonymous No.485826]

I like the feeling of paper in my hands, thank you

[Anonymous No.485829]

>>485777
This - the cheapest one is about €200, which is about $250

[Anonymous No.485831]

I got a Nook as a gift. I wasn't expecting it. I love it. I've read more in the past few months since I got it than I had in the previous year. I like that I can lie the ereader down flat and read hands free. It's so much easier to read it lying down in bed without having to hold open a book and get the angle of the light right. Plus being able to look up words or search through any of my books for a particular passage is really useful.

Once these things come down in price so everyone can get one, they're definitely going to take over the book market. They'll do for books what personal mp3 players did for music.

[Anonymous No.485833]

>>485825

Yeah, Sony supports all of those, plus a few more.

There are a few applications that you can use to change any unsupported files to supported ones as well. On the whole, that pocket reader OP posted isn't bad. It doesn't do shit extra except for being an e-reader. No internet connection for books, doesn't display images for shit, no mp3 support for music, hell it doesn't even have a dictionary or anything of the sort. It is one of the better screens out there, has great battery life, and can hold a fuckload of different file types though. If you want something that's sole purpose is for holding books, you can't really get much better given the price of the thing.

[Anonymous No.485842]

>>485829

Fuck off, Europe, minidisc players did well over there and that makes me jealous.

[Anonymous No.485844]

I hate reading off a screen.

[Anonymous No.485849]

>>485844

>I never messed with an e-reader

e-ink displays are no worse than reading off paper, in fact the displays ofter allow for light to be dispersed over them easier than a page and you can enjoy reading with a book light much easier with them.

[Anonymous No.485852]

>>485844

These screens are nothing like computer screens. It's like reading off paper. You should look at a display model in a store. I couldn't believe the display was really electronic when I first saw it. It's unreal.

[Anonymous No.485858]

Staring at a screen for more than 2 1/2 hours hurts my eyes. Since I sometimes read for 3-4 hours at a time, an e-book would not be a good choice for me.

[Anonymous No.485859]

I'd like them more if I wasn't fully aware that hardware companies design their shit to break in two years.

[Anonymous No.485861]

Too expensive for the amount of books I read.

And with my luck, the moment I buy one there is going to be a color one coming out the very next day.

[Anonymous No.485866]

>>485858

Once again, someone that has never messed with an e-reader.

[Anonymous No.485868]

>>485861

a legitimate complaint

[Anonymous No.485875]

I really like the look of this Sony Reader.

[Anonymous No.485883]

Waiting for a cheaper one.

I'll still be buying regular books, but like you said for books in the public domain or the occasional pirating this will be great.

[Anonymous No.485928]

>>485844
>>485858

I used to think this too, but then I actually saw one; it impressed the shit out of me.
Still too early for me to invest in one yet. I still want books, and, I don't want to attract attention reading this thing around campus.

[Anonymous No.485931]

Got a kindle 2 for christmas, and have read about 20 books since then.
Those looking for software to convert the ebooks, use calibre. Will scale the text for the screen and everything.
Color ebook readers are coming out in 2010 or 2011, with similiar battery life and screen visibility as the current e-ink displays(called mirasol), but I'll hold on to this thing for a while.
I don't really miss the feel of paper, but I miss turning the pages. Pressing a button isn't anywhere near as satisfying.
I figured this would be less wasteful though, and reading with one hand without struggling to hold a book open is great. Try reading in the wind with a normal book.
It's almost crazy to think that you can have several hundred books with you at once. The only thing I miss is the page turns, but overall, these are great little devices that emulate a normal book almost perfectly.

[Anonymous No.485935]

I like my Sony. But converting files for it is a bitch, especially when they're pdfs. Considering they're free, though, I'm not too upset about it.

[Anonymous No.485955]

>>485935
calibre.
It's for windows, linux, and OSX.
It does batch conversions, and it grabs cover images, author data, and book desriptions from a database. It's free. Try it.

[Anonymous No.486471]

I got a Sony pocket edition for $80 with all the discounts and all, plus a free lighted book cover.

I have read a lot more books as a result because of it.

[onionring !Rrxa7zePwI No.486479]

im just using the iphone right now. will get a reader soon.

[Anonymous No.486481]

Because I am not a hipster faggot.

[Anonymous No.486484]

>>486471

Where did you get it for 80$?

[Anonymous No.486490]

>>485770
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[Anonymous No.486509]

>>485773
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[Anonymous No.486517]

Right now, I have a reading list of 45 books that I own. This makes for a frustrating time. I have made a pact to myself that I will only buy an e-reader once I read the aforementioned books. This means, even at my best, I'll be getting an e-reader roughly a year from now.

That said, I am very excited to get one in the future.

[Anonymous No.486530]

so what kind of books would I find on the e reader?

the classics, no doubt. But what about stuff like Harry Potter or the Star Wars books?

[Anonymous No.486532]

>>485955

God damn, dude. Thanks. Shit makes my books a lot easier on the eyes, the spacing issues are fixed, and the font size no longer needs to be Xbox huge to see.

To those that are wondering, it wasn't like it was bad before (it was fine actually) but this thing just made it even better.

[Anonymous No.486533]

I'm afraid I might want to get one at some point too. These things are just neat and handy, the only counter-argument one could come up with are the feeling of paper and shelf-pen0r.

[Anonymous No.486535]

If you get a Sony reader, just type in the name of the book you want followed by .pdf on google and you can ususually find any book for free.

Use calibre to make the font even better on your reader.

[Anonymous No.486539]

>>486533

I was running out of shelf space in my house, that is one of the reasons I got one. When conditions are optimum, a nice cup of hot tea, a comfy robe, slippers, and sweatpants, and sweatshirt, and some light mood music with some incense burning, nothing is better than tearing into a book. When conditions are less than optimal, an e-reader is what I tend to reach for.

[Anonymous No.486557]

>>486539

Yeah, mobility... I hate carrying two or three books around or to work, since I can't always predict the reading mood I'll be in at lunch break.

What I've been wondering about: Couldn't it be possible in the not-so-distant future to have the e-version (or at least some right of use or download coupon) included in an ordinary book? A little surcharge would be fine with me, but I hate the thought of having an e-reader and not being able to look at my books on the shelf, or vice versa having the physical versions and lacking the mobility, unless I buy them all twice.

Oh well, time will tell. Definitely interesting, though.

[Anonymous No.486562]

>>486557

Forgot to make this explicit: all pirating aside. Bad enough I haven't paid for films and music for ages, so I don't want to start pirating books as well.

[Anonymous No.486571]

>>486539

I like reading a good book after having sex with my gf.

Nothing better than laying on my back hearing her sleeping beside me, wrapped up in the sheets, a book in my hands and a Cleveland Steamer still cooling on my chest.

[Anonymous No.486581]

I'm normally pretty busy (well not right now, I'm on 4chan), so reading books on the go is out for me. I don't need any kind of benefit from the size of these things since 99.9% of my reading is done at home in my recliner, bed, or hammock. They are neat, and I'd get one if they could be had for a few bucks just to play with it. But I wouldn't get my money out of th em at the current prices.

[Anonymous No.486582]

I can see myself getting one in the future, but not for a few years, though I'll never stop reading real books because I love the tactile sensation.

>>486571
D:

[Anonymous No.486590]

Piracy was the main attraction for me when looking at ereaders. Hell you don't even need to priate beacuse so many classics are public domain anyway, it just saves you creating more trash by buying penguin classics books.

[Anonymous No.486595]

E-readers like this are going to drop in price dramatically over the next two years. I'll wait!

[Anonymous No.486603]

There's so many different brands though. Which is better: E-Reader, Kindle, or Nook? And can you load your own .pdfs and .docs on them?

[Anonymous No.486614]

>>486481

[Anonymous No.486616]

I simply dislike reading novel length text on a computer screen.

[Anonymous No.486624]

>>486616
I don't own an e-reader, nor do I plan on buying one, but it bothers me when people bitch about not wanting to read books on an lcd screen. Those fuckers are not backlit, the screen is gloriously similar to paper.

[Anonymous No.486632]

>>486603

Depends. Kindle has a fuckload of features, but it uses proprietary mediums for the most part. Legit buyers of books should go with this one if you can afford the price tag of $250

The Nook supports .PDF as well as their B&N's own proprietary shit. It has a neat little dual screen for managing titles and shit and a neat touch screen interface, but the battery life isn't as good as the others on the market (still isn't bad though). It is also $250.

Sony has two e-readers the pocket and touch screen. The touch screen is about $300 and has expandable memory and a few other features, but glare is a problem with the unit and its actual text is less crisp than the pocket reader. The pocket reader is one of the smallest e-readers you can buy, one of the cheapest, but also lacks pretty much all features. It doesn't have a touchscreen, doesn't have mp3 or wireless support, and is very bare-bones. That said the pocket has one of the best screens for viewing text out there and is only $150. Both Sony readers support a fuckload of text files (.txt, .pdf, .doc, EPUB, and a shitload more) and both are compatible with Macs and PCs.

If you just want a solid e-book for reading books only instead of other shit, I highly recommend the Sony Pocket. I got about 200 books on mine all for free. It is the best choice if you are a cheap bastard and don't wanna pay for books.

[Anonymous No.486634]

Will buy one when they're cheaper

[Anonymous No.486639]

>>486616

Not LCD or anything like it. They use e-ink which is just a grayscale screen that gives them fuckloads of batterylife and it is as easy on the eyes as paper.

[Anonymous No.486643]

>>486634

You can get the sony pocket reader for about $150.

[Anonymous No.486647]

Every other article I see about e-books compares them to iPods and I wanna choke the author of those articles until their eyes burst.

[Anonymous No.486651]

>>486632
Hey man, thanks for typing all of this out. It's really helpful. From your descriptions, I think I might go with the Pocket, because I'm also a cheap bastard that just wants a nice, cheap, piracy-enabled reader.

[Anonymous No.486652]

>>486643
Hmm, not bad.

I'd probably want to check it out irl first though to see what the screen is like.

[Anonymous No.486653]

I got a kindle 2 about a year ago. It's great for travelling, but when I'm at home I prefer to read paper books. The kindle is also good for getting huge collections from old authors for cheap, and that's also convenient because I'm in college and don't have much space for paper books in my room.

Still, paper books ftw.

[Anonymous No.486657]

because e readers are inferior to printed books

/thread

[Anonymous No.486666]

>>486632
Are the sony ones fine for pirated pdfs?

[Anonymous No.486673]

>>486666

Oh yeah.

[Anonymous No.486675]

>>486652

Go to Barnes and Noble to fuck around with a Nook.
Go to Target (usually) to fuck around with a Sony Reader.

[Anonymous No.486678]

>>486653

I agree, printed books are still my preferred means of reading, however, I still get more use out of my e-reader than most physical books these days. I got sick of trying to find a few physical copies of books for sale. Shit, I finally found an old out of print edition of this collection of horror stories I remember reading from back in the day. It was in piss poor shape, but the cheapest going price was $180. I found a .pdf of it and got it for free.

[Anonymous No.486683]

I find it funny that the most frequently pirated ebooks are tech manuals, self-help books, and college text books, but some writers are pissing themselves over the devices. Stephanie Meyer found out one of her books were leaked onto the tubes in 2008 before it was due to be released so she canceled the book.

You read that correctly, e-readers stopped the bulk of the world from getting another stephanie meyer book. God bless those little devices.

[Anonymous No.486696]

>>486683

In case someone thinks I am full of shit:

http://torrentfreak.com/furious-author-cancels-pirated-book-080904/

[Anonymous No.486702]

Because a kindle costs 300, a netbook costs 400. And a netbook has more functionality, AND can be an e-book reader.

What's the point of getting a badly functional computer?

[Anonymous No.486714]

>>486702

A pocket reader costs $150 and is as easy on your eyes as a sheet of paper.

Kindles cost $250 now, by the way, but I wouldn't get one of the fuckers personally because all I care about is reading books and none of that extra shit. If you are just concerned with cramming a shitload of tech into a small cheap box, then I would actually recommend you get a netbook and say 'fuck you' to your eyeballs.

[Anonymous No.486724]

>>486714

I didn't know they cost less now... but still. Check this out. I'm a college student, who pirates his textbooks (the ones I can anyway). So, I stick on my netbook. Then, I do my notes there as well, 'cause why not? Then, when I'm in between classes, I can browse the interbutt, play Fallout 2 or something, or just fuck around with Linux (having removed Windows XP and installed Debian).

I just don't see the point of getting something less functional for only a marginally small increase in cost ($100 extra). Not to mention that if it ever gets stolen, I can track it down via internet/IP. But I guess for people that aren't into computers, it's different. And yeah, it's harder to read a netbook when standing in the subway, vs. a reader.

[Anonymous No.486729]

How do you charge them? USB?

[Shakespeare's Sister !uMRFid.bpQ No.486737]

I'll never buy an e-reader because there will never be one that lets me do this.

And besides that, I'm just an old-fashioned romantic. Call me crazy. e-books are just not books to me.

[Anonymous No.486738]

can you take notes on an reader text?

[Anonymous No.486749]

i like to take notes in the margins of nonfiction sometimes

[Anonymous No.486751]

>>486737
You can draw on both the Irex illiad and the sony prs600. I'm sure there are others you can draw on aswell.

[Anonymous No.486760]

>>486751
is the drawing all shitty and pixely, or i it comparable to the notes you could take in the margins on printed text?

[Anonymous No.486761]

>>486737
I don't understand what you would highlight/circle/draw for.

[Anonymous No.486763]

>>486761
For some people, it helps them to retain what they're reading if they physically underline certain parts of the text. It's the same principle behind highlighting. If you're reviewing for an exam, you've already read through the text carefully and picked the most important parts! Easier to review.

[Anonymous No.486769]

>>486763

The touch screen version of Sony has that feature, if I remember correctly.

[Anonymous No.486771]

>>486738

Most you can. The pocket reader you can't. That thing is mainly just for folks who kill afternoons reading books.

Go with a bigger, more featured model if you want something to do school work on and shit.

[Anonymous No.486772]

>>486751
>ability to take notes
this is already getting more interesting. Can you transfer those back to your computer?

[Anonymous No.486773]

>>486484

There was a special at Target for them one day where they had them for $100 and I got a $20 gift card for buying one, so it was basically $80.

[Anonymous No.486775]

>>486763
Hmm, ic. I guess I'm just not one of those people. The only reason I would see myself boxing areas of a novel would be because I wanted to remember the line as a cool quote.. :/
Oh well.

[Anonymous No.486776]

I don't like reading off a screen and i like the feel of holding a book. The only reason i would get one, is if i went backpacking again, because in that situation weight is really important and it's hard to find good books while traveling.

[Anonymous No.486777]

>>486763
>>486761
furthermore, it allows the reader to make intra- and inter-textual connections, as well as record their own thoughts.

also helpful for summarizing complex concepts, or underlining key words and ideas for later review

[Anonymous No.486778]

>>486729

Yeah for some. Pocket reader goes with USB or you can charge it with a PSP adapter or a seperate adapter.

[Anonymous No.486905]

I already own one, OP.

Good shit. Won't ever replace a book, but it does get a lot of use.

[Anonymous No.486935]

I bought Sony's e-ink device last year and it was a piece of crap. Interface is pure shit, I had to track down some crappy third-party application to get it to work with my Macbook, and it takes way too long to load or re-size a page.

I figure I'll give the things another chance in a year or so. Or maybe I'll go with the iPad. The fucker is guaranteed to work with my computer, and it's a full media viewer in addition to an ebook reader. The claimed battery life seems impressive enough, so the only detriment is no e-ink.

[Anonymous No.486949]

>>486935
>Macbook
>MACBOOK
>MAC

[Anonymous No.486956]

>>486935
>IPAD

You really are retarded, aren't you? HAHAHAHAHA

[Anonymous No.486957]

I hate reading on screens. Spends hours every day on message boards.

[Anonymous No.486962]

>>486935
The iPad isn't e-ink.

[Anonymous No.486964]

>>486962
There's an app for that.

[Anonymous No.486966]

>>485774
I'd get one but they cost way too much now that they're not sold retail, and then I'd have to search around to buy the cards.

[Anonymous No.486971]

Where can you physically demo a Kindle?

[Anonymous No.486973]

>>486962
>The iPad isn't e-ink

>>486935
>the only detriment is no e-ink

[Anonymous No.486979]

>>485826
>>485826
>>485826

Kindle in one hand.

Spliff in the other.

[Anonymous No.487063]

>>486966
I giggled.