OrlandoNative wrote:cthia wrote:I'm going to assume that you mean you'd rather initially read the digital copy as opposed to having the digital copy instead. Digital copies can be wiped out by a virus, hardware failure, etc. Pages are immune to any viruses.
Not to mention that eARCs don't look so impressive on my nice bookshelf.
They may be immune to viruses, but they aren't to bugs, worms, water leaks, and assorted other pests and occurrences.
Not to mention, as the next post on this thread noted, that they take up lots of room (which many folks may not have) and are much, much harder to transport.
I can put thousands of ebooks on a 16 or 32-gb micro SD card for my nook. Or, even, for my phone - UB Reader for Android is a very good app.
I would definitely buy a paperback over a hard cover any day, unless it's a reference manual of some sort that's likely to encounter rough or hard use. Even counting the cost of custom made shelving, I come out ahead of the cost of hard covers, and can shelve at least twice the number of books in the same space.
You don't have to tell me about the vulnerability of the "paper cuts" versions. One of my brothers was playing with sparklers and the ignoramus (my sister called him that LOL) lit one in his library. All was fine. Then he let a 1-yr-old neighbor's daughter hold one in her hand while he lit it with his. She quickly became afraid (they light so quickly that way and she wasn't quite prepared, already being nervous while holding it) and threw it in the air. It got lodged in the fire sensors and initiated the sprinkler system which did over 3 grand of damage to his library. Oops.
This is the information age. I am a staunch supporter of it. I love e-books. I just want my first read of my favorite authors to be replete with paper cuts and the rustling of pages. Especially in the winter snuggled by a crackling fireplace on the sofa. Although my fireplace doesn't crackle like my parents' did - gas powered.
I currently only purchase 128GB sd cards and thumb drives. I have thousands of ebooks on that card too, as well as the complete 50GB English version of Wikipedia, 5GB Wiktionary, wikibooks, etc., etc., etc. Casual research can be effected anywhere now.
Current digital technologies make a trip to the doctors' office an enjoyment. I'm actually a bit sad sometimes when they call for me while sitting in the waiting room, for that annual checkup.
That's another reason I don't like E-readers, they have an external memory card storage limit - if they even accept external microsd cards. Most do not accept an external card of 128GB. Most are limited to 32GB, at least they were.
Perhaps external storage capacity has improved. But E-readers would have to be able to handle ALL of my reading needs. Wikipedia, and Java capability is a must.
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