The Value of Books
Out of context: Reply #45
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- gramme0
Typography in ebooks is (thus far) horrible. And until we have true high resolution screens, there's no contest when it comes to legibility. Additionally, on an iPad the reading experience is somewhat tense because of the back-lit screen.
That said, I don't think ebooks will go away; they'll continue to evolve. The compact nature of such a device and storage system is attractive, even to a print fiend like myself.
But when it comes to design, production techniques, and real live paper, I don't think the ebook will ever be able to touch the keepsake quality of an old-fashioned book.
I suppose it comes down to why people buy books. I only buy printed books these days if they're beautiful. I'll download the ebook if the print edition is ugly, or if it's free (e.g. I'm reading The Count of Monte Cristo right now on my iPad b/c it was free via iTunes).