Book Stores.....fading away

[John K Jordan]

However I now need glasses to read and it is annoying...

My wife has failing eyesight and needs glasses for everything BUT reading! The reason she can read without glasses
a super-sized Kindle with the font made large - it looks to me like the print is almost 1/2" high!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002GYWHSQ

JKJ

[Rich Riddle]

I never realized how many woodworkers also read. This will shock the wife. She considers me to be a neanderthal.

[Dan Hintz]

My wife has failing eyesight and needs glasses for everything BUT reading! The reason she can read without glasses
a super-sized Kindle with the font made large - it looks to me like the print is almost 1/2" high!

When SWMBO began having eye issues a few years back, I purchased a 23" monitor for her (to replace the 17" she was using). It pained me to see such a nice monitor run at 1024x768 :-/

[Brian Elfert]

When SWMBO began having eye issues a few years back, I purchased a 23" monitor for her (to replace the 17" she was using). It pained me to see such a nice monitor run at 1024x768 :-/

A co-worker also ran a 22" widescreen monitor at 1024x768. It drove many of us crazy trying to help her as everything was distorted.

The worst I ever saw was a 17" CRT run at 640x480 with large fonts. I could read the text from across the room.

[Moses Yoder]

My wife and I used to share an Amazon account. She gave me a Kindle for Christmas a few years back and I bought some ebooks on our account. Now we have separate accounts and I bought some more ebooks then bought an Amazon Fire. Near as I can tell, I cannot transfer the books from my Kindle that were purchased on our joint account to the Fire that was purchased on my account. That is what I read, I have not talked to Amazon yet. This is the problem with ebooks; in a few years you can no longer read them due to changes in technology. I have about 300 paper books from as early as 1914 or earlier and can still read them clearly.

[Mark Blatter]

Real books are immensely satisfying. They have weight and smell, and the feel of the turning pages is rewarding. However, trying to lay on my side and read a 700 page book in bed, or carry enough books to cover a long vacation at 1 book every 1 or 2 days, makes an e-reader hugely attractive.

This is exactly how I feel. I enjoy the touch and feel of a real book. I don't buy many any more as I use the library for most of my reading, but I did get a Kindle for Christmas this year. I have been using it and enjoy the ease of carrying it around. When I go on vacation I would typically take 5 - 8 books with me from the library so my luggage was always very heavy. My plan is to only take the Kindle the next time. Yet I still strongly prefer the feel of printed books. I have some, such as LOTR, Enders Game/Shadow, Tunnel In the Sky, etc. that I reread every few years. I will always prefer reading those in paper. I can see the day when paper books are pretty much gone.

Years ago, my father was approached by the Fed Reserve to put in place nightly courier runs for checks in Montana. They would not however sign a long term contract, nothing more than two years, because they felt that checks would be gone in 2-4 years. This was in 1965. Our company was still running checks around the state, with the highest volumes ever in 2002. We were even flying 3 nightly dedicated charters for various banks and the Fed. However, most of those have all disappeared today. Time finally did catch up to the check via a younger generation, technology and cost. Debit cards are all that my kids use. Even I write at most 1 - 2 checks a month.

While I love paper books, my grandkids will likely seldom read anything but e-books.