Comments on: Does an ebook reader provide enough tactile response?

By: Steve Jordan

Steve Jordan — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:49:58 +0000

…a purer reading experience.

Someone needs to start using that to sell e-books.

Oh, and Steve, 4-5 oz, give or take, depending on humidity. Times Roman, 9 pt. Somewhat paper-like, actually.

And now I know.

By: TheRealBillC

TheRealBillC — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:39:55 +0000

I get a great tactile experiance from reading e-books. Now every book I read, no matter how much it costs, has a very nice leather cover.

By: Jack Tingle

Jack Tingle — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:26:14 +0000

Huh. I do remember the typeface and typography of at least one book I tried to read. It was an ebook, and the author had used odd techniques for setting off dialogue and the book was unreadable for me, in either e or p versions.

Oh, and Steve, 4-5 oz, give or take, depending on humidity. Times Roman, 9 pt. Somewhat paper-like, actually. Honest.

Regards,
Jack Tingle

By: Blue Tyson

Blue Tyson — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:40:28 +0000

I’ve read thousands of books, I do not remember the weight, typeface, feel of the pages or any of that for any of them. Bizarre notion.

Dimensions, possibly, as in ‘that was a paperback’ that was a hardback from the library. That is about all.

By: Mary

Mary — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:44:28 +0000

Here’s another one that does not enjoy dusting all those books and I still have a load of them to dust. No, I do not miss the tactile part of a dead tree book at all. Content is everything. I can read faster on a Kindle and am definitely reading more than I was before I had one. My reading is voracious enough that I still read a lot of library books, too. I prefer reading on a Kindle but could not afford to buy everything I read. Retention is the same, regardless of the medium.

I enjoyed Steve’s response a lot.

By: Katherine Falk

Katherine Falk — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:08:49 +0000

I definitely find reading books on my iPhone is different. In some ways better (I can read in the dark without waking up my husband! My phone is always with me!) but the link between tactile experience and memory makes sense to me on some level. Sometimes it feels like paper still “sticks” with me more, and I was wondering why that is… perhaps this is the reason?

By: Brad Vertrees

Brad Vertrees — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:44:01 +0000

I have found that, as I read more ebooks, I’m able to get into the story more because I’m not distracted by the elements of a book you have listed above. Ebooks strip away everything but the text, which for some, may lead to a purer reading experience.

By: Mags

Mags — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:56:20 +0000

I wonder if these fetishists have to dust their objects of delight? That’s a big criteria for me in acquiring any object these days: will I have to clean it or find somewhere to store it? (I am not overfond of housework.)

I do like that the Cybook Gen3 uses book covers in its interface. I wish some of the ebook vendors provided nicer ones (Ballantine, I’m giving you a dirty look). Blurbs in the beginning of the book, thank you, would be awesome. Some books from commercial presses, I’ve noticed, include blurbs praising the book from reviews and other authors, so why not the jacket copy as well?

By: Tracy Falbe

Tracy Falbe — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:30:05 +0000

Until the print versus ebook debate began a few years ago, I never considered the tactile features of a book. I had no idea some people were so involved in the physicality of a book. Yes, I appreciate a lovely collector hardcover, but other than that, a book was just a container of information or entertainment. I do enjoy cover art, but lots of lame books have pretty covers. I’d rather have good content than only good packaging.

I read both print books and ebooks. Now that I’m reading ebooks, I do notice the physical features of a book, but usually in a negative way, like it’s heavy and my bookmark disappeared.

As for how a book is set in my head, it’s all about the content.

By: Tassia

Tassia — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:04:23 +0000

I miss the blurbs. Storylines I remember, titles, authors, and, yeah, even covers… not so much. Though the upside is that I got to reread a story I’d forgotten I’d read, after starting it last night I just kept on reading even after I recognized it because I’d enjoyed it so much the first time through.

By: Steve Jordan

Steve Jordan — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:47:13 +0000

(snicker, snicker) "Quick, Steve: How heavy is your copy of 'Beggars in Spain'?" "Uh..." "Yeah? What typeface was used in 'Childhood's End'?" "Mmm... might have been--" "What point size?" "Uh? Um..." "Oh, come on, come on! Here's an easy one: Do the pages in your copy of '2001: A Space Obyssey' feel more leathery or more silky?" "Ahh..." BRAAP! "Oh, I'm sorry, but you flunked the Tactile Game! I guess you don't really get anything out of those books, do you?"