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In defense of ebooks as being … just like books

“The ebook is a stupid product. It is exactly the same as print, except it’s electronic. There is no creativity, no enhancement, no real digital experience.”

Arnaud Nourry, Hachette Group CEO (from ‘The ebook is a stupid product: no creativity no enhancement,’ says Hachette Group CEO‘ by Harsimran Gill)

 


 

 

Why does everyone persist in bagging the ebook?

It’s a book. and books took six hundred years to settle into what they are today.

Why do people insist on trying to turn the ebook into something it doesn’t need to be? Is there anything wrong with a book simply in a different format?

As a reader, all I want between me and my imagination is printed words. That’s what makes reading so much fun. I work out the rest. It’s my world, my interpretation of it.

I don’t need to be distracted from that by things that pull me out of the story.

I read ebooks more than I read paperback for two reasons. First, space. Space in my bag, space in my house. Second, portability. I can start reading on my PC at home, or my iPad, but while I’m waiting for the tram I’ll pull out my phone and read it on there, instead. (Space again, because I already carry a computer around in my bag.)

There’s also the added advantage that I get to save a few trees while I’m reading.

Enhanced ebooks. They’re called movies. They’re called computer games. They’re called choose your own adventures. And a whole lot of other things, too.

The book—paper or electronic—is the medium, not the message.

Oh, and by the way, the ebook is evolving, just not the way most people anticipated.

The evolved ebook?  It’s called an audiobook.

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