So, I work at a library on my college campus and know quite a bit about books and the upcoming netlibrary. As far as it goes, there are pros and cons to having one over the other. On the one hand, books are physical and have to be picked up and checked out at a library. You have a certain amount of time before you have to return the book, but it is physically in your hands and you can mark it up if you own it and need to remember something. Netlibrary, or online books, can only be viewed on a computer. You can take it pretty much anywhere or access it anywhere, though, without the hassle of having to go to a library. As far as I know, as soon as you have the book, you can keep it on your computer. There are many other pros and cons to both, but those are the ones I know of off the top of my head. My question to B and B is this: given that the world is moving in a technologically literate society and many thing, if not everything, rely on technology, which of the two would you rather prefer? Physical copies of books (whether you own it, it's in a store, or you own it) or online books/netlibrary (online books that are accessible if you have a device or computer with the capability and internet)?
My personal opinion??? I am much more inclined to pick physical books over online books. People already spend so much time with their computers that it would be good to take a break and pick up a book to read. Reading off a screen, for me, is an arduous task, and I much rather prefer to have the book in my hand with flippable pages. I'm more a sucker for the traditional than the contemporary in this regard, and as such, I love to have the book in my hand. Granted, in the future, we may no longer have books in print and have everything online for people to access. But in the here and now, I'll take a book over a Kindle any day.
Edit: I'll open this topic to free debate over technology-dominated society vs. traditional-dominated society. It's quite relevant to this topic and is actually the greater underlying issue I'm looking at.
) you can take as many as you want wherever you want. So, for example, instead of carrying all three book in the Eragon cycle around in a suitcase, you can just carry around a Kindle. This portability is also handy if the book you are reading is massive.
) I will have a few fav books and everything else on netboks. If I should lose my sight in old age I know I can get audioboks to keep me company.