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Frazzled wrote:Can we get a big pile of crappy books and burn them in the parking lot? I'll bring the hot dogs. You bring the beer.

Whoa Whoa Whoa.

Whiskey goes better with Trashy Vampire Novel hotdogs.

Chowderhead wrote:

Frazzled wrote:Can we get a big pile of crappy books and burn them in the parking lot? I'll bring the hot dogs. You bring the beer.

Whoa Whoa Whoa.

Whiskey goes better with Trashy Vampire Novel hotdogs.

Good point.

Godwin's Law too easy. Resist.

Never been a fan of the idea of destroying books. Unless you could keep it to the "Trashy vampire novels". Then I'm cool.

Bookselling's really in trouble. This won't be the last casualty, I think. It's not e-books that's the problem, it's Amazon and rising high-street rent prices. Oh, and that whole recession thing.

Here in the UK the major player in high-street bookselling - Waterstones - is on shakey ground. I think we might be living in the last few years of high-street bookshops. Breaks my heart, it really does.

Its not just e-books. Look at the next generation coming up. They barely know what a book is. It takes away from the latest "OW! My Balls!" on Youtube or Redit.

Frazzled wrote:Its not just e-books. Look at the next generation coming up. They barely know what a book is. It takes away from the latest "OW! My Balls!" on Youtube or Redit.

Whilst I'd like to put this down to a 'Kids These Days!' kind of thing, I think you're right.

Frazzled wrote:Its not just e-books. Look at the next generation coming up. They barely know what a book is. It takes away from the latest "OW! My Balls!" on Youtube or Redit.

As a young whipper snapper in the family K-Car I used to read books during the long drive to visit the cousins. These days all I see in backseats are PSPs, DSs, or outright consoles!

On the positive Genghis COnnie, in addition to being brilliant, athletic, pretty, green thumb, and musically awesome, is an avid reader.

Genghis Connie, at her inauguration as first world President.

htj wrote:

Frazzled wrote:Its not just e-books. Look at the next generation coming up. They barely know what a book is. It takes away from the latest "OW! My Balls!" on Youtube or Redit.

Whilst I'd like to put this down to a 'Kids These Days!' kind of thing, I think you're right.

Er... Hey... Way to talk about me behind my back....

No, but seriously, my generation has not only a problem with books, but with the way we skip them. Empires such as SparkNotes and CliffNotes have been built off of the lazyness of teenagers, and it's only gotten worse. For 10th grade Honors English, I have to read a book I've been dying to read, Bram Stoker's Dracula. Now, I have talked to almost my entire class, and the general idea is that "They'll just SparkNote it". The reason?

It's too old. I'm not kidding when I say most kids didn't even bother to pick up Gilgamesh from the classroom because they had just gone to Sparknotes on their Iphones. It's sad.

I don't see books going the way of the dodo for a very long time though. Ebooks will certainly continue to gobble up more and more market share, and eventually that's the way most books will be read. But there's a certain physical quality to a book that means there will always be a market for the real thing, even if they're just display pieces on bookshelves in homes. Books will probably someday become a luxury item with a high price tag sold at small specialty boutiques.

@Chowderhead -- to be fair, kids were reading the Cliff's Notes instead of the real thing 25 years ago. Teenagers are lazy no matter what generation we're talking about.

Chowderhead wrote:

Frazzled wrote:Can we get a big pile of crappy books and burn them in the parking lot? I'll bring the hot dogs. You bring the beer.

Whoa Whoa Whoa.

Whiskey goes better with Trashy Vampire Novel hotdogs.

Dang! I was about to say something almost exactly like that.

Now I am going to have to expand the list to include the following items:

Whiskey (has to be cheap)
Tequila
Southern Comfort
Mad Dog 40 - 40
some really crappy but strong Asian drink

@Gorgon

If in 50 years I can't find the book I want except on an ebook, I would freak out and be on the evening news for burning down a Kindle factory of something

There are so many people I have told to read LOTR, and the response I got was "It is too long", or "I've seen the movies". Where the hell is the intelligence in school these days? WHERE IS IT? Gah!

gorgon wrote:I don't see books going the way of the dodo for a very long time though. Ebooks will certainly continue to gobble up more and more market share, and eventually that's the way most books will be read. But there's a certain physical quality to a book that means there will always be a market for the real thing, even if they're just display pieces on bookshelves in homes. Books will probably someday become a luxury item with a high price tag sold at small specialty boutiques.

Well, they already are a luxury item. And the prices are creeping up faster and faster. But, yes, the main things books have got going for them to stave off extinction is that you can't turn your existing book into an e-book, unlike CDs and MP3s. Plus, there's a unique tacticle sensation which, for many, is a big part of the pleasure of a book. I would include myself in that many.

It's been a long, long time since I've experienced the smell and feel of opening a new book that I've just purchased.

I faintly miss it, but times go on!

What happens if you Kindle dies?

Frazzled wrote:What happens if you Kindle dies?

I will go into mourning. Then probably get a replacement, though while waiting for said replacement I will read several of the hundreds of old books in the house I've already read many times. I have a problem in rarely reading new stuff and just reading what I've already seen, again and again.

Takes a lot of prodding to get me to read something new.

MrDwhitey wrote:

Frazzled wrote:What happens if you Kindle dies?

I will go into mourning. Then probably get a replacement, though while waiting for said replacement I will read several of the hundreds of old books in the house I've already read many times. I have a problem in rarely reading new stuff and just reading what I've already seen, again and again.

Takes a lot of prodding to get me to read something new.

Sorry let me restate. You order a bunch of books on Kindle. Your kindle dies for whatever reason. What happens? Do you lose all those ebooks?

No, Amazon keeps a record of the ones you own and allows you to redownload. You can also download them from Amazon onto your computer.

Frazzled wrote:

MrDwhitey wrote:

Frazzled wrote:What happens if you Kindle dies?

I will go into mourning. Then probably get a replacement, though while waiting for said replacement I will read several of the hundreds of old books in the house I've already read many times. I have a problem in rarely reading new stuff and just reading what I've already seen, again and again.

Takes a lot of prodding to get me to read something new.

Sorry let me restate. You order a bunch of books on Kindle. Your kindle dies for whatever reason. What happens? Do you lose all those ebooks?

i think you get a fixed number of downloads (3 or 4) before you'd have to buy it again. It's been a while since i read the user agreement. Or I'm confusing it with iTunes.

Edit: Actually, looking at my kindle library on Amazon, I don't see any restriction to the number of downloads.

I was an avid "I like physical books" person for the longest time. Then, I got a kindle for Christmas. All of a sudden, I could easily take my books anywhere without having to lug around heavy novels. I could get new books no matter where I was. A huge selection of novels are totally free. And, I could suddenly read while standing on the subway with one hand.

I absolutely love my kindle. I still read paper books at home, but for commuting and lunch breaks and things like that, ebooks are the way to go!

kronk wrote:

Frazzled wrote:
Sorry let me restate. You order a bunch of books on Kindle. Your kindle dies for whatever reason. What happens? Do you lose all those ebooks?

i think you get a fixed number of downloads (3 or 4) before you'd have to buy it again. It's been a while since i read the user agreement. Or I'm confusing it with iTunes.

Edit: Actually, looking at my kindle library on Amazon, I don't see any restriction to the number of downloads.

There is no restriction. Your kindle account is tied to your Amazon account, so you can download as much as you want. I have my books on 1: my kindle, 2: my droid, 3: my personal computer, 4: my work computer. It's really handy for those times when you have a few minutes to kill. No matter where I am, I can pull out my book and read a bit.

Grakmar wrote:No matter where I am, I can pull out my book and read a bit.

Me too, I've got this awesome device I use to have my book with me at all times. It's called a satchel.

I kid, I kid, I can see the advantages of Kindles and the like. I think I'm too far gone to ever stop being a hardcore book grognard though.

Lame sauce...and the Borders in my town just opened about two years ago...Where am I going to buy books now???

Amazon.com? Barnes and Nobles? Used book stores?

kronk wrote:Amazon.com? Barnes and Nobles? Used book stores?

The only other book store close by closed shortly after Borders opened and there is no B&N in the area...so that leaves Amazon. I just don't like buying stuff online...guess I better start

MrDwhitey wrote:No, Amazon keeps a record of the ones you own and allows you to redownload. You can also download them from Amazon onto your computer.

Thanks! (that was my question).

I cant physically stand reading stories on the computer, i struggle with course notes and dakka dakka, but a book? even on a kindle with a variable back ground its horrific, i always have a book in my day bag (other bag is for my laptop), it helps with those moments your traversing distances and cant do anything about it for example on a train or when your waiting for someone and there going to be late, so your sat in a cafe supping a coffee, paper is far superior when it comes to reading also far far more resilient ive lost count of how many times they've accidentally got wet, been dropped or even been.... bled on x) (small drops normally in summer due to pressure change) my shelves are full of books (ill have to take a photo), the thing is everyone i know will sit down at a tv and watch for hours, this might sound strange but i cant stand that, i get bored and when i get bored i start fidgeting which has caused multiple slaps in previous relationships when i start biting my nails x)

See, I'm the same with computers. I tried reading a book on one and it was just horrible. After trying out a demo Kindle though, I thought "Hey, this actually works".

And no, sitting down and watching TV for hours being boring isn't that strange to me. I haven't properly watched TV in years! Haven't been slapped for it though.


And sorry Frazzled, I'm dense.

Oh yeah, one more thing: Books don't need to be recharged.

GalacticDefender wrote:Oh yeah, one more thing: Books don't need to be recharged.

True, but a Kindle only needs to be recharged once every week or two. I've read an entire lengthy novel on a single charge. In fact, I charged my Kindle right before Dance of Dragons came out, and am 50% of the way through the book, with ~2/3 of my battery left.