5 ms·

so the author is saying that we 'need' physical books because the physical presence of books adds an aesthetic dimension to reading? wouldn't the value of that

by devty 11y ago

so the author is saying that we 'need' physical books because the physical presence of books adds an aesthetic dimension to reading? wouldn't the value of that dimension decline over time? for the next generation of readers, the majority of reading will be done in digital formats, and the the level of emotional attachment to physical books will be significantly less.

falcolas 11y ago
We've already seen that this is not the case, as the current generation of readers is favoring the physical book over the ebook. So there's obviously some value to the experience of reading from a physical artifact, and the younger generations are also obviously able to identify this value.
- zzalpha 11y ago
  Huh, I hadn't heard that anywhere. Got a citation? Sounds like an interesting cultural phenomenon, assuming it's supported by the data.
  - falcolas 11y ago
    Sure, here you go. http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/nov/25/young-adult-readers-prefer-printed-ebooks http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/nov/25/young-adult-rea... http://www.publishingtechnology.com/research/ http://www.publishingtechnology.com/research/
    - zzalpha 11y ago
      Huh, so this covered 16-24 year olds. So, a bit of history, recall the Kindle was first released in late 2007 (hard to believe it was both that long ago and yet only that long ago...). The youngest in that age bracket would've been 8 at that point, and the oldest 16. By the time ebooks really took off they probably would've been ten and 18 respectively, which means more or less growing up exposed to paper books before mass market electronic alternatives were available. Given that, I wonder if we're still in a generational swing here. It's possible that's not the case. But I'm not convinced this study absolutely proves that "there's obviously some value to the experience of reading from a physical artifact, and the younger generations are also obviously able to identify this value." It could simply be that people prefer what they grew up with. shrug
      - falcolas 11y ago
        > It could simply be that people prefer what they grew up with. shrug If this was the case, there wouldn't be a generational difference between that age group and older age groups, since everybody born before 2007 would have "grown up with" regular books.
        deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]
        zzalpha 11y ago
        Hmm, unless I'm missing something, neither of the references you provided support the hypothesis of a generational change. The one study looked at reading preferences of 16-24 year olds and found 62% prefer paper. The other study analyzed reading behaviours (not preferences) of 18-34 year olds, finding 64% (UK)/79% (US) read a paper book in the previous year. Now, from behaviour let's say we can infer preference. In that case the second study found that an overwhelming majority of 18-34 year olds read print books in the last year, which seems to align with 16-24 year old preferences (though, again, it only speaks to behaviour not preference). That would seem to refute the idea that there's a generational difference at play, here. Of course, I could be missing some key point. It wouldn't be the first time.
- ashark 11y ago
  Ebooks are expensive (no used market) and inferior (to varying degrees) for most types of books other than light fiction. Physical books are sticking around because they still do the whole book thing better than ebooks do, for the most part, and there's no sign that'll change any time soon.

by devty 11y ago

falcolas 11y ago

We've already seen that this is not the case, as the current generation of readers is favoring the physical book over the ebook. So there's obviously some value to the experience of reading from a physical artifact, and the younger generations are also obviously able to identify this value.

zzalpha 11y ago
Huh, I hadn't heard that anywhere. Got a citation? Sounds like an interesting cultural phenomenon, assuming it's supported by the data.
- falcolas 11y ago
  Sure, here you go. http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/nov/25/young-adult-readers-prefer-printed-ebooks http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/nov/25/young-adult-rea... http://www.publishingtechnology.com/research/ http://www.publishingtechnology.com/research/
  - zzalpha 11y ago
    Huh, so this covered 16-24 year olds. So, a bit of history, recall the Kindle was first released in late 2007 (hard to believe it was both that long ago and yet only that long ago...). The youngest in that age bracket would've been 8 at that point, and the oldest 16. By the time ebooks really took off they probably would've been ten and 18 respectively, which means more or less growing up exposed to paper books before mass market electronic alternatives were available. Given that, I wonder if we're still in a generational swing here. It's possible that's not the case. But I'm not convinced this study absolutely proves that "there's obviously some value to the experience of reading from a physical artifact, and the younger generations are also obviously able to identify this value." It could simply be that people prefer what they grew up with. shrug
    - falcolas 11y ago
      > It could simply be that people prefer what they grew up with. shrug If this was the case, there wouldn't be a generational difference between that age group and older age groups, since everybody born before 2007 would have "grown up with" regular books.
      - deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]
      - zzalpha 11y ago
        Hmm, unless I'm missing something, neither of the references you provided support the hypothesis of a generational change. The one study looked at reading preferences of 16-24 year olds and found 62% prefer paper. The other study analyzed reading behaviours (not preferences) of 18-34 year olds, finding 64% (UK)/79% (US) read a paper book in the previous year. Now, from behaviour let's say we can infer preference. In that case the second study found that an overwhelming majority of 18-34 year olds read print books in the last year, which seems to align with 16-24 year old preferences (though, again, it only speaks to behaviour not preference). That would seem to refute the idea that there's a generational difference at play, here. Of course, I could be missing some key point. It wouldn't be the first time.
ashark 11y ago
Ebooks are expensive (no used market) and inferior (to varying degrees) for most types of books other than light fiction. Physical books are sticking around because they still do the whole book thing better than ebooks do, for the most part, and there's no sign that'll change any time soon.