Physical Books Verus Digital Copies

This topic has been bugging for a while now. Everyone on this site that knows me knows I love reading and writing. Writing has been a big deal to me since I was in 6th grade. Now I have finally self published my own book. It is sold in digital format and paperback. The paperback copy of my books is eleven dollars and fifty-three cents. While the Nook and Kindle versions are four dollars and ninety-nine cents. You are saving over six dollars on the books. My book is over 300 pages in paper.

Someone on this site stated that digital copies of books are not valuable when in fact they are. We are now living in this digital age. So of course books were going to be published as e-books as well as in paper. E-readers are now sweeping the nation. Most people are used to the change while others aren’t.

Now don’t get me wrong here. I’m not saying that paperbacks are not valuable. They still are, but they are getting to be expensive. Books under 100 pages are under five dollars. If they are over 100 you can expect them to be over 10 dollars. Ordering online on Amazon or Barnes and Noble is cheaper than actually going to a bookstore. E-books are even cheaper than ordering online. You can even get some of them for free even. You can get the e-book immediately after purchase while you have to wait on the books you ordered.

Paperbacks are expensive new. Yes, you can get them used for cheaper, but you don’t know where that book has been. The book could have spills and stains on it. Do you really want a used book like that? No, most people don’t.

Now if your house burns down you will lose all those paperbacks that you ordered online. Now if you have an e-reader and it breaks or gets lose. You can just get another one for around fifty dollars. You then can re-download all the books onto the new one. You don’t even have to waste your money. Barnes and Noble and Amazon will save the book for you in the cloud! So my point is that yes, e-books are valuable. You don’t have to buy them again if your e-reader is broken.

I’ve been seeing lately that most authors have only been publishing their books are e-books. They know it’s cheaper and more people have e-readers now. Some books you can’t get in paper.

Plus you save so much room in your house.

Also people are saying they aren’t real books when they are. They are just on a device. They say the same words that a paperback copy has. Sometimes authors even add more to the e-book then the paperbacks. They are easier to edit.

Also I do still own about 250 paperback books. On my Nook which I use more often now I have almost 700 books. I still have 2 a little bit over 2 gigs of space. Once I archive the manga I will have closer to 3 gigs again. So please don’t tell me that e-books are not valuable.

What are your thoughts on physical books versus digital copies?

 

I prefer hardcovers.

I mostly read e-books, because they don't het destroyed in my schoolbag and they're much cheaper, however, they have no resell values.

I've bought many used books and all of them are like new, for about $5, when bought at my local used book shop. The owner makes sure they're all in a great state.

I'll ask you how many times your house actually burned down, for that to be an issue.

 

See I don't really like used books. I've only ordered a few. The ones that I ordered on ebay were actually in great condition. The ones I ordered recently were just okay. I should have just ordered them in new since there was 20% off of orders of 50 or more on Barnes and Noble at the time.

I don't like hardcovers either. I own only 8 or so.

Another point I forgot to include most authors just want their books read. It doesn't matter which format it's in.

Also authors can give readers advanced copies of their book in e-book format if they like. So many more advantages with digital books than paper.

 

I think I need a bigger shelf. I also have another book shelf full of WWII books I inherited. Stored away I have over a hundred books ranging from torn and water stained to donation worthy.
Digital wise I only have about 6-7 books. I would say I have 300 books worth of reading at any time. I read all the ones shown above and only about half of the WWII collection.

 

I prefer hardcover books. Paperbacks: only if I can't get it in hardcover. I really not much on e-readers. The one time I did use an e-reader, I felt rushed to get through the book because I was afraid the battery would die out. Because of that, I couldn't enjoy the book I was trying to read.

 

I will always and forever buy books. I own several Hardback and Paperbacks. Of those that I have, I have 5 that are signed by the author and 2 that are double signed. Physical copies are the only copies that will ever, and I mean EVER, increase in value. A digital copy is just that, digital. It can be copied and copied and copied and even stolen and copied, thus making it's value 0. Digital copies are a substitute for people who don't want to "clutter" their house with tons of books. I actually find it prestigious to have many books as I own well over 300. I easily spend over $400 a year just on books. I own entire series', including Star Wars, Wheel of Time, Shanara, Dune, and Hyperion.

Of the books that I own, I have 7 books that have doubled their value since the time that they were written. Why is this? Because there simply aren't many left. I have one of the few copies of Dune, hardback, that is still completely intact and in perfect condition. It's also a First Edition print with the original artwork on the cover. You don't find many of these around. Sure, they might reprint a book, but it is never the same as the originals.

Here's the cold hard truth. Digital copies cannot and will not increase in value, therefore, once purchased, they have no value. This is easily explained by (as you said earlier) they are digital. They can be copied (i'll bet illegally) but they can still be copied. In addition, digital copies will never be signed. Why? How can you sign a digital copy and ensure it's authenticity? You can't. It's impossible because everything digital can be forged with relative ease whereas physical signings are much harder to forge and there are specialists that can find forgeries. All and all, Digital simply isn't worth buying because in the future, it's still the same value as it was when you bought it, if not less.

Sorry to burst your bubble Rose, but in quite literal terms, digital copies are worthless. I can hack any site and download any book I want for free. In addition, I can probably get copies of those books for free on Pirate Bay. Digital simply isn't worth it because the digital age makes things to easy to forge, copy, and distribute illegally. I'm not trying to disrespect your opinion or yourself, I'm simply saying that from the standpoint of someone who knows how to do these thing, Physical Copies will always be more valuable.

 

I agree with you, @Rayden. Digital copies are not valuable. But what I don't get hardcover books for is for the value. Since I'm a cheap son of a bitch, I get my books from resale shops, flea markets, or if a library has any they're giving away or selling real dirt cheap. I'm glad though, you find real value in actual books.Not to many people nowadays do that, because of what you said, no one wants clutter in their homes. Their loss. Like I said before, the main reason I don't go for digital e-readers is because I don't want to be reading it and have the damn battery die out or say that the battery is low and I have to charge it up. That's annoying for me. Anyway, I have some Star Wars books too, I had, unfortunately, a reprint of Dune, but the majority of what I have are political thrillers and quite a few from an author named Clive Cussler. If you're ever interested Rayden, check some of his books out, they're really good.

 

The closest to a political thriller that I got was Daemon. It was a book written by Daniel Suarez and has one sequel. It's about a game company (Which is ominously like Blizzard) who's director is a code genius. He creates a Deamon that crashes everything about the world as we know it and rebuilds it as a RPG game. But the Daemon only goes active after his death (Which was untimely and shrouded in mystery). It's quite a fascinating read.

 

Well, I told you my views not too long ago, so I won't need to say anything about it directly, with the exception of adding to it here or saying a general statement to everyone.

I've been trying to finish the Dune series, at least the first ones. "God Emperor of Dune" is what I am on. Wish I had the originals. I do have a Clive Cussler book, bu I have not read it yet for value reasons.

I feel similar in terms of books, unless it's a disposable like my AutoCAD 2015 book. Those, I would get digitally if I can't resell it.

For my statement now:
Physical are bulky and clutter the home. They are fire hazards, and can be damaged. But, they feel natural. You can tell you are nearing the end of your story, and no power is needed, save the light to read it by. You can get it signed. Harder to pirate, unless someone is diligent enough to scan the whole stinking book.
Electronic are slim and save space. They cannot be damaged. Should your house burn down, and your E-reader destroyed, you can get your books back. You save the trees by using less materials for your book. Easily pirated, harming the author's economy, but also, no price to print the book.
I would rather have physical, in general. I read a book once, and I rarely want to reread it again. Like a bullet, one-time use with no interest in reusing it. So the library is my main source to use a book, my main reason for owning so few books (unless they come from cheap places).
Maybe I'll change my preferences, when I start making a lot of money, or it may just change like it did about buying digital games.

 

Do you mind me asking why you have that?

It's just that in my experience, it's not great and only civil engineers use it (though it's taught to everyone in my faculty).

 

An old requirement for class.
I currently have 2016, but I somehow forgot to get the AutoCAD Civil book. I just keep the old one around for paperweight purposes and for stopping bullets.

 

Sorry, I meant why use AutoCAD.

You're in civil engineering? Cool!

 

Well, not exactly.
CAD is more accurate, since I will only be working with engineers (though I can upgrade from a drafter to an engineer). I have dabbled in Civil, MEP, and machining in my quest to get an Associate's degree in CAD. Right now, I'm trying to test out my engineering skills by making a triple-barrel, revolver-style shotgun, just for fun.

I have been using AutoCAD for making objects, like parts, but Inventor is so much better for that.

 

That's why I don't get books for value. I like to read it, not let it sit on my shelf, but that's just me.

 

Clive Cussler is underrated, those books are really the James Bond of books. You can't get enough of them and you know what your going to get.

 

For me, it's either the Dirk Pitt or the Oregon series.

 

If I ever forgot you were American, that's some hard evidence right there.

I don't know about inventor, but I use Solidworks and I'll start using Catia soon. You can 3d print with those (and they can draw better than I can, since I'm probably gonna forget a line in a view).

Do people actually use triple barrels?

 

I've actually seen a triple barreled shotgun. Even a double barreled .45 pistol, so yeah they're out there.

 

@Teknoman X already gave the answer to the barrels. Yep, we Americans gotta love our insolent gun-loving ways =P (though these days, the soft ones try to get rid of them). I kinda wanted to make such a preposterous design, after seeing multiple inspirations (nockgun, Borderlands, TF2 Scout's shotgun, Xonotic).

Turns out, nockguns are real, and with SEVEN barrels. But I'm pretty sure three shots at once would hurt enough already.

Anyway, my class made a simple mechanical prosthetic in Inventor. I think Solidworks is one I will get to.

 

Getting back the subject of the topic, I understand the advantage of having an e-reader. Less clutter, have almost a whole library at your fingertips, saving trees , etc. But I am old school in my thinking, Like I mentioned in an earlier post I like actual books, in the terms used in Ghost In The Shell SAC: paper media. One day, when it's no longer possible to find my favorite books in hardcover or paperback, I'll think about an e-reader. One day.