In the year of 1448 Johannes Gutenberg borrowed
one hundred and fifty golden coins, a huge amount of money for that time. Two years later, in 1450 he asked Johann Fust, a rich merchant, for another
eight hundred golden coins. By the year of 1455 Johannes’s debt was about two thousand
golden coins. Unfortunately, he could never give them back. However, by the end
of that year, the first printed book ever, the Gutenberg Bible, was created. Here is, what Pope Pius II said about it in
his letter to the Cardinal Carvajal:
“Everything
that they wrote to me about this amazing man whom I saw in Frankfurt is true. I
have not seen complete Bibles, only a few pages from different parts of the
Bible. The handwriting is very neat and legible, not at all difficult to read -
Your Grace will read it without difficulty and, indeed, without glasses.”
First page of Gutenberg Bible
Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Gutenberg_bible_Old_Testament_Epistle_of_St_Jerome.jpg
In
the year of 1996 the Digital Equipment Corporation presented a Dec Lectrice --
a tablet PC with a monochrome touch screen and the ability to pen information input
- which was the prototype of all modern e-books. A volunteer effort to digitilize and archive cultural works
has ironically been named the Gutenberg
Project.
First ever e-book
Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Personal_Electronic_Aid_to_Maintenance_PEAM.jpg
An
electronic book was created
five hundred and forty-one years after a paper one. And during those almost
five and a half centuries, the book evolved. In many cultures it became a
symbol of knowledge and wisdom and destroying such a sacred thing was always
punished. Now it is the twenty first century, the age of shrinking things and
speeding life up. All the way up to this point, you could find people reading
books at home, on the public transport, in the
park, or lying on the beach. The printing technology has evolved enough to
handle mass production, and millions of books are sold each year. However, this
number started to fall in the past ten
years. Reasons for that? Obviously, the main idea of the book was to create a transportable source of information, capable of
holding a huge amount of text. And computers seem to handle this way better.
Now it is almost impossible to find a person reading old fashioned paper book on
public transport. More and more people choose
e-books over paper ones, even knowing that there are more harmful for their
eyes and require recharging. Indeed, paper books still have their true fans,
claiming that no electronic device can replace the smell of paper and ink and the sound of flipping
pages.
What is your opinion? Do you prefer paper books or you
receive the same satisfaction from reading even from some pixels on the screen?
Sources:
3. http://historycooperative.org/a-history-of-e-books/
Comments
Some months ago I decided to try out Kindle and I have really enjoyed the difference. At first, it was hard to get use to it but screen was actually better than I expected and I could read even when light wasn’t perfect.
Now I switched to traditional books again as I often borrow books from libraries and there is usually bigger choice. Kindle is just for long-distance journeys where its small size make it more convenient , however both forms has it good and bad sides.
First, do not require to carry a lot of heavy books, you have them everywhere with you, and also with the ease we can buy or download a book without leaving home which is a great thing, especially when these times are really difficult.
- Going for holidays
- Reading at public transport.
For about month I'm also new at audiobooks community. It's really nice to listen to audiobook while jogging or riding a car.
But what about audiobooks? I mean, don't you get distracted by them, while jogging? And is it completely safe? You may bump into somebody, while trying to pay attention to the book.
But of course, in terms of collection, nothing will fit more then the old fashioned book.
Of course, today we have to read e-books. They are more convenient and practical, but I believe that, for example, fiction must be read in paper. First, you can always stop, think, leave notes or pencil scribbles in the margins for descendants. And secondly, I am convinced that the charm of each particular book can be fully felt only when you hold it in your hands, take it with you to the bath, or put it in your bag.
After all that she has experienced, she becomes somehow closer, dearer and warmer. This is not just some abstract book, but a part of your life.
I don’t have nothing against normal books, except that cutting trees to make paper is not very ecological. I understand that some people may like reading from paper like listening music from platter.
For me, paper book now is just a symbol. It is nice to receive one as a present or have one with a signature of author. But e-book is just more practical thing to use in day-to-day life.
While e-books are great because of mobility reason and ability to read in many situations, paper books are special when it comes to luxury. When relaxing quiet atmosphere around nothing can make you feel more comfortable but reading the good paper book.
However, I must agree with Yevhen here. Audiobook format is something that I was avoiding for the too long time but became an irreplaceable part of my life. Multitasking while consuming information from the audiobook is very productive and the best part is… your arms are free.
Generally I don’t remember when the last time I read a paper book because mostly I listen to audio books or read an electronic one. The main reason I gave up reading paper books is their dimensions. They are too big, too heavy and it’s pretty hard to find a place for them in my tiny bag. Additionally they take a lot of space at home and not buying paper books you save the environment.
I actually see lots of people in public transport which read paper books that’s why I don’t agree that it’s hard to find a person reading old fashioned paper book. To my mind it all depends on your taste but I would like to give my eyes some rest because spending so much time in front of the screen is terrible.
And the satisfaction is the same.
Now I read both paper books and ebooks but I prefer "some pixels on the screen".
If i read something for school that i might go through many times i do prefer digital copies due to ease of finding things in it CTRL +F to the rescue.
on the other hand every time i try to read something for pleasure or strictly out of my own will i do prefer physical copies, i dont want to be dependant on battery limiting me, i can whip out my book any time and read it without much trouble and thats what books are for for escaping reality at any time u want.
I will propably use e-books more and more as time passes simply because of their portability, but I do not have anything against regular books.
But when a person urgently needs to get some amount of information, or the question concerns the financial part (since many books can be found on the Internet, do not buy them in bookstores). In this case, the choice is no longer necessary.
Personally, I do not care how I get the information.
Thanks. Good article!
They are much lighter and they don’t take as much space as their normal paper equivalents.Yeah you have to charge them, but they last for like half a month or so. I don’t think e-paper display(most come one) is hurting your version more than normal book.
Nevertheless of course I miss the smell of paper and ink, pleasure of just taking the page into hand and just turning it over. But convenience still wins
Regarding audiobooks, I started to use those when I've bought myself a new bike. And when I'm going for a trip, biking in safe places (like on bicycle path), I love listening to those. This probably could also work if you're doing a workout or similar physical activity. I still rather read then listen, but this way I have so much more fun during excersises.
Paper books as well as e-books have goodness and weakness too. Paper books are often heavier but you can smell sheets. You can see your progress and make your own library. I think that is the best asset. You can buy a special rack and embellish your room!
E-books are often cheaper than paper books. You don't have to take up space in your home because every book is on your virtual library. If you want to buy new book you can visit a lot online libraries and choose something. Payment is very fast, you have your book about few minutes after purchase. You don't have to wait for carrier and anything like that.
To be honest, I read a lot of paper books and e-books on my Kindle device and I prefer 'normal' way. I know that virtual version have a lot of goodness (maybe more that paper) but I have sentiment for that.
i think that nowadays electronic books have more advantages.For Example:
electric form occupy less space than classic books, you can create bookmarks in a simple way and read with the lights off.Another thing is that the reading devices are eye-friendly
Personally i don’t use traditional way of reading books, definately i prefer reading on the screens.
Old-school paper books definitely bring more pleasure when turning pages and smelling them. I often compare them to running on a treadmill vs. running on a real road — it’s the latter that brings more joy and satisfaction. Moreover, printed books have more personality to them — each book has its unique combination of paper type, font, ink colour and cover design. However, real books are just very inconvenient, especially during travel.
On the other hand, e-book readers, such as Amazon Kindle, are very convenient. It doesn’t matter whether a book contains 100 or 1000 pages – its physical mass always stays the same (zero). The convenience of carrying one device that can contain dozens of books you can read at any time as long as the device is charged is very compelling. Modern e-ink screens have large point density, up to 300 dpi, which is the value used by real printers. The problem with e-books is that they all look and feel the same and that you can’t fully enjoy illustrations and specially designed content, which is a very important factor in enjoying reading them.
Audiobooks also have a special place on my list. Some of them are true masterpieces. One of my favourite examples is „Słuchowisko” of Andrzej Sapkowski’s „Wiedźmin” saga. I often listen to it when I can’t read – especially while driving or exercising. The variety of actors and high-quality audio effects make me feel like I’m watching a movie. This is also a disadvantage since it takes away some imagination.
In the end, I think all forms of reading have their uses, depending on needs and context.
But when I read financial/educational/work books I prefer e-books or even my smartphones screen, because e-books are cheaper, easier to navigate & search, and they also can even contain videos/audio/animations, that is useful in design books.
Being able to easily carry thousands of books in one place. Having much more comfortability, with being able to hold or change look alike pages with just one hand. These are the deal breakers for me. It is so much better that smell or facture of paper can’t compare to that.
In the age of computers, technology is all around us. Times have changed, and people switched from sending letters to emails. Why? Because it's better. But what about books? Are e-books better than paper ones?
In my opinion, e-books are just more comfortable. You can have it everywhere with you, and it doesn't matter whether the book has 300 or 1000 pages. Some people don't like ebooks because they don't feel like they are reading a book. Many people say so without trying it. I have an example of my aunt that was always saying that she loves the smell of a book and she can't imagine reading from a digital device. Then she decided to try one, and now she says that it was a very good decision. These days good ebook readers use a so-called e-ink display. This means that it doesn't light like a smartphone screen destroying our eyes.
For me, an ebook is a good move, mainly in case of comfort. It's also good for nature because trees are not being cut for paper. But I don't say that if you like paper books you have to switch to the e-book reader.
In previous comments some people argued that nothing will replace the feel and smell of paper books and I fully agree, but I think this is our habit. Newer generation will read books on e-book reader since childhood and for them it can be more natural way to read on a device than traditional books.
But when it comes to decide whether paper books are better than pixels on the screen - both options are okay. I read „more pixels” though.
In my opinion everybody has a choice what will be better for him eg somebody more want to feel the smell and the structure of the book and the other one more want to have all the books in the one device and could change eg size of the text.
But we have to remember that real book is only paper book. It's impossible to say what's better because it depends on personal needs.
I prefer to read scientific articles over the standards books, so I mostly use my phone or laptop (depends where I am) to read.
Of course, I read some technical books as well. Last of them I read in electronic version but it’s only because I have to read them immediately. If I have to choose between a paper book or an e-book, I will definitely choose paper one.
Why?
It’s not because of the smell of the paper ones or
Because I have more concentration reading standard paper books. I used to read a paper book and parallelly make notes on my laptop.
If it comes to read books on public transport. I actually spent about on hour daily in public transport but during that time I just listening to music or reading some news in technology world.
At the same time I recognize that reading a book can be much more of an experience, and a sort of ritual for some people, rather than just purely reading words.