Pastoral Musings

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Books: Hard Copy or E-Books?

Posted by Pastoral Musings on December 7th, 2010

This info-graphic speaks loudly.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 7th, 2010 at 8:18 am and is filed under misc. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

3 Responses to “Books: Hard Copy or E-Books?”

  1. Batreader Says:
    December 7th, 2010 at 11:51 am

    The graphic speaks loudly – but it also doesn’t say some things! For instance, production cost is not the major cost of the book. Obtaining it, editing it and marketing it are. All you are losing with an e-book are the distribution costs and the print costs. These are significant but the 50c production cost of an e-book does not mean books for a dollar—it means books for a few dollars less.
    It also means that if you do want a paper book then that price will go up as the print runs get smaller. All the economies of scale of printing and distribution will go out of the window for those who don’t want an e-book.
    In case anyone thinks that this is an obscurantist rant against the progress of technology, it isn’t – I have an e-reader – it is just to show a truer picture of the costs involved.

  2. Pastoral Musings Says:
    December 7th, 2010 at 12:08 pm

    Batreader,
    First of all, how did I merit someone from PR Books coming to my little blog?
    Thanks for commenting.
    What spoke loudest to me was the fact that it seems that many still prefer a hard copy even though e-books cost less. Only 15% who own e-readers stop purchasing hard copy. I’m glad of that, as I don’t have an e-reader, and don’t particularly desire one. I like to highlight and mark up my hard copies. I have only a few ways of losing them, with the possibility of getting them back with all of my markings. If a reader crashes, where do the markups go?
    Of course, I’m also partial to feeling a book in my hands. I reviewed a few books in PDF form (possibly for P&R), but quit, as I don’t like to read on screen that long at once. I like to get a book and dive in for a couple of hours. My eyes aren’t comfortable with doing so on a screen.
    That comes from someone who’s been on the web for a long time, blogging for a long time, but simply likes hard copy and sees no reason to give it up.
    Here’s to hard copy books at reasonable prices for those who love them.
    Hats off to those who choose a reader, too.
    Thanks again for commenting.

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    December 7th, 2010 at 5:49 pm

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