No more books

[farmerjim]

I have a Kindle. There are many free books on the web, and you can download books from many libraries. You can also get a unlimited books subscription for not too much.

[tinsnips]

Old school I like to read from a book , get most of my books cheap from Thriftbooks .com or the library.

[frkelly74]

The only time having books has been a problem was when we pulled up stakes and moved across the country. They are kind of heavy.

[Petrol & Powder]

I love real books. There's just something about paper.
I get the attraction to electronic media and it makes sense, I just prefer a real book at times.

When dealing with a book of paper & ink, one doesn't need to worry about battery life or some computer chip having a bad day. But, the immense advantages of electronic media are undeniable. My love of tangible ink on paper is irrational but there you have it.

I don't think real books will ever disappear from our world. I do think our world will change but change is inevitable.

[Petrol & Powder]

The last couple times I've gotten hung up in a waiting room, I've been painfully aware that although there are still magazine racks, there are no (0) magazines to be seen. Covid is making the world stupid in more ways than one.

The world was already stupid. COVID and liberals just accelerated the process of dumbing down the world.

[frkelly74]

Another thought, Electronic media is pretty easy to corrupt by editing or mistake so It could be readily re-written as political winds shift. Paper however is more like evidence I think. You have to burn the whole book to get rid of it,Or run a new revised edition. I see electronic media as being something like the lettering on the barn depicted in the story '"Animal Farm". A great book.

[JoeJames]

Abebooks.com

This is a used book site. Many authors and titles. I've had good luck with all my transactions.

Some sellers are overseas - Europe, England... This can lengthen delivery time, but that also increases anticipation.

I haven't noticed a shortage of physical books, but then again haven't actively looked at/for boss lately.

Most of my reading is on my phone or Kindle Fire. A concern of e books for me is that they don't seem to be any cheaper despite their not requiring printing, warehouse space or multiple delivery phases. I also don't like that there isn't a convenient way to give away or loan e books.

My wife notes that some studies say that we don't retain what is read from e books as well as physical books. Since I don't remember either very well, I can't speak to this.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

This is a bank shot, but one of the few pluses of getting older is with books. I have recently re-read several that I had read 40 or 50 years, and low and behold, they were all new and fresh again. Example: Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy; it was like a brand new book again, and I enjoyed the fire out of it.

[trebor44]

How many issues of the second Kilmarnock edition of Robbie Burns Poetry exist for digital devices? How about the "Kilmarnock Edition"?

[LavaTech]

Ebooks became inevitable for me. When I had space for my few thousand bound books there wasn’t any issue, and after innumerable trips to Goodwill to donate my hoard prior to moving I resolved never to accumulate so many again. Now there’s only one bookcase, but a current Calibre library of 5872 titles by 870 authors never seems to get full.


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[jbutts6785]

I enjoy my old Kindle, but it can't beat a real book, either hard cover or paperback. Luckily, I have a great used book store nearby.

[Omega]

I like the kindle app and device, once you buy a book, it's there forever. I do like physical books too, but some can be cumbersome to tote around, and once read you have to store it. I had vast collections of books that I had acquired while in the military, which I read on long flights. When I retired I took them all to a Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR) office on post so they could put them on their free book racks for troops. I don't think books in print will disappear anytime soon, but other things like newspapers and such probably don't have much time left as everything is put out by electronic means as it happens.

[largom]

I like REAL books. Six large bookshelves full. Have read most 3 or more times.

[Petrol & Powder]

"I cannot live without books" - Thomas Jefferson

[Mal Paso]

Audio books! I have "read" more in the last few years than the rest of my life. It lowers my blood pressure while driving and keeps me from going nuts during boring jobs. I usually have about 150 full length books in my pocket.

Oh and they are fireproof. My paper ones were not.

[alamogunr]

Like several others we have Kindles. I'm somewhat addicted to mysteries, police dramas, etc. These books have no value to me after I've read them. I get most thru Kindle Unlimited which is a program of Amazon. For a monthly fee you can borrow books. Only allowed 10 books borrowed at a time so I must return one each time I want to borrow one. Between the two of us, we really take advantage of this program. One disadvantage is that Amazon gets you started on a series by an author and after 2 or 3 borrowed by that author, they start charging to buy. Sometimes a fairly large amount. I just finished the latest book by John Grisham. I started on his books back before Ebooks.

Most of the books that I get for the Kindles are useless to me after reading them. I do buy and keep technical or hobby books. Ebooks will never replace my loading manuals. I usually end up getting a new one every couple of years, especially if someone has made mention of something unique or more up-to-date.

I'm getting to an age where some of my books are going to have to go. Many of them are gun related so, if I can figure out how to post pictures, I'll be listing them in S&S.

[gwpercle]

I have loved books and reading my whole (71 years) life .
I enjoy cooking and history so over the years have amassed a nice Louisiana Cookbook Collection .
I just realized I haven't bought a cookbook of any kind in the last 15 years ... Why !!!
Yesterday I wanted a recipe ... I didn't go to one of my favorite old New Orleans cookbooks ...
I sat down at the computer ... typed out " Camellia Red Beans and Rice " up popped some 40 odd recipes , I printed out one from Camellia Bean Co. and was done !!!! What have I become ...a slave to the convenience of the computer ... Shame on Me ... I need to get back to the cookbooks my mother and grandmother used ... the computer will wipe them all away and once gone they will never come back .
Gary

[MT Gianni]

I have a couple of kindles and like them. Paperbacks new are often cheaper than the kindle book. Used they are even cheaper yet. Montana's state library interacts with the locals and I can have up to 5 audio books. I listen to them while working out and traveling. I also download readables. As long as the paperbacks are cheaper than electronics I think the books are here to stay.
My grandkids all have laptops and school but paper reference books. With the cost of textbooks I would think most would be electronic. I think the grocery stores are dropping books due to space issues. When their suppliers are paying a premium for targeted shelf space, what used to work can easily change.
Most of the book stores are out of business but almost everywhere I go I find used book stores. The need for books is still large, IMO.

[gbrown]

What I notice, is that the magazines and newspapers just get smaller and smaller. I have taken 4 magazines over the last 20 years--Smithsonian, Discovery, National Geographic, and American Rifleman. 20 years at least, probably more. Took 2 newspapers, til 1 refused to continue my subscription if I didn't use their automatic payment--my card was hacked 2X on their system. The other just stopped delivering??? Oh well.

[abunaitoo]

Audio books! I have "read" more in the last few years than the rest of my life. It lowers my blood pressure while driving and keeps me from going nuts during boring jobs. I usually have about 150 full length books in my pocket.

Oh and they are fireproof. My paper ones were not.

I've never tried audio books.
May have to try it one day.

[Wayne Smith]

The only time having books has been a problem was when we pulled up stakes and moved across the country. They are kind of heavy.

Book rate at the PO - I have shipped as many as 40 liquor boxes of books across country when we moved.