28 Comments on “This Would Be Difficult To Do With eBooks”

1. I can’t imagine how long that took to create. Amazing.

2. How long to create?
   “The stop-motion video, titled “The Joy Of Books” was shot over four nights with the help of more than 15 volunteers, explained Sean Ohlenkamp, the video’s creator. He and his team started as soon as the store was closed and worked through the night. “At around 5 a.m. we had to start putting books back for their next business day,” he said.”
   http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/01/09/type-books-stop-motion-video_n_1194968.html

3. Amazing how much time you have on your hands when you don’t have to deal with customers.

4. There is nothing quite like a real book. I know an e-reader will help solve a lot of clutter problems, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. The part I’d miss the most? The smell. Whether that unique whiff of fresh ink on new pages with a brand new, never opened novel (and I swear, different publishers have different smells) to the venerable mustiness of an old friend or used book, I love that smell. (The smell of a newly opened board game is a close second!)

   So, I guess I’ll just keep piling them up until the shelves sag, then send a bunch off to the library sale.

5. Ereaders can be wonderful tools, but they are NOT books. They just don’t feel like, smell like, sound like books. I’d say taste, but although I devour books, I’ve never actually eaten one. I’m sure the day is coming when real books will be nearly impossible to find, but I am not looking forward to that day.

   Great little film.

6. Ah, if only a Kindle would leave ink on my hands and pose a fire hazard.

7. Yes. It wouldn’t be possible. And also my house would be MUCH neater.

8. That is way cooler than when a group of teenage patrons thought it would be funny to flip all the books in the adult fiction room at our library upside down. They got A-M before I caught them. I might have to share that on the library’s FB and see what they think of it. I love real books, but not having to reshelve ebooks has its appeal.

9. … because nothing says “I like reading” like using books as props in a movie. I was amused that the “real book” had blank pages. I’m sure there’s an artistic statement in that.

   One thing I’m finding is that the number of people who have expressed interest in inheriting my ereader when I buy a better one continues to grow. Trouble is, it’s 3 years old and will probably fail before I replace it. Mostly because no-one has actually made one that’s $200 or more “better”. I expect that I’ll be buying a replacement that is exactly that – a new one just like the old one, because the old one has stopped working.

10. That was just brilliant – thank you for sharing it.

11. I’ve had a Kindle for close to three years and an iPad for over a year, so I’ve had some time to work out how I feel about ebooks vs. dead tree books. Here’s what currently works for me:

    Fiction – I buy almost all new fiction as an eBook. Fiction is what the Kindle was designed for, and the endless scroll of text isn’t a hindrance in reading fiction. For long reading sessions, an eight ounce Kindle is more comfortable to hold, especially compared to dead tree door-stop novels. I say almost all fiction because some publishers are producing dead-tree fiction books that are worth owning. Example: Subterranean Press’s edition of Ted Chiang’s The Lifecycle of Software Objects. Gorgeous dust-jacket, luxurious paper, and beautiful illustrations. In fact, most of the dead tree fiction books I’ve purchased in the past couple of years have been from Subterranean.

    Scholarly Non-Fiction – Dead tree. These are books that I interact intensively with, making notes, underlining, writing questions, etc. The annotation capabilities of e-Readers just don’t match that of pencil and paper. I’m likely to refer back to these books, and there’s also something about the three dimensional physicality of a book that makes it easier to remember where things are, both on the page and in the depth of the pages.

    Popular Non-Fiction – Mostly ebook. I don’t interact with these as heavily and don’t refer back to them as much, so the Kindle or iPad annotations capabilities are fine for this type of book.

    Poetry – Mostly print. Poetry depends heavily on layout on the page, so most poetry doesn’t work well on an eReader, especially the small Kindle. Some poetry is readable on the larger screen of the iPad, though. I have to make a book by book decision in this category.

    Cookbooks – Mostly print. They depend too heavily on page layout and images to work well in Kindle or ePub format. If I can get the cookbook as a PDF though, I’m more likely to go the eBook route.

    Graphic Novels – Mostly print, but that could be changing. The iPad is not a bad comic reader, though the screen is a little smaller than the standard comic page. Comics have the potential to actually look better on the iPad, given that the RGB color space is larger than the CYMK color space.

    So, all told, my purchase and reading is probably split 50/50 between dead tree and eBooks. I have a feeling it will shift more toward eBooks as time passes.

    I’m going to be sitting in on a philosophy class this semester, and I’m tempted to try an experiment. Get the textbooks, scan as pdfs, and put in my iPad. I’d read and annotate them with GoodReader. These are normally books that I’d get as dead tree because I’ll be interacting and annotating heavily. I’d just like to see how having all my textbooks on a tablet works. Of course, I’ll still be taking my EcoSystem notebook and pencil to class for note taking. :)

12. I love this video. I love books. And I am in the process of giving all of mine away. These days, 100% of my reading-for-pleasure is on my Kindle.

    Why? Aging eyesight leaves me unable to read print books, even with the damnable bifocals. In fact, before Kindle came on the scene, I’d gone nearly 7 years without reading a complete book. Yeah, large type – but do you know how little sf and fantasy is available in large type?

    My Kindle lacks the tactile pleasure of a print book. It lacks the aroma of paper and ink – but I’ve also lost much of my sense of smell. I miss the books that used to be a significant part of my home decor (the shelves now hold bins of yarn).

    But dammit, I can *read* again.

    So, so glad to be growing old in the future…

13. This was brilliant! I found myself looking at the books and going, “Read it, read it, got it, want it, want it, want it…”
    I am also about 50/50 on paper books and nook color books. Actually, I am sure I have way the heck more paper books than books on my nook.

14. Pat, I will take your books.

15. i don’t think of it is ebooks or regular books. I have both. My criteria for surviving as a physical book is that you have to look and smell nice and preferably be bound in leather. Love a leather bound book. (-:

16. For some reason, I kept thinking of Ernie Kovacs . . .
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX5khYGqjPY
    

17. sorry–I was just hoping to leave the link not the whole picture.

18. This put a huge smile on my face.

19. Reading is reading, no matter the medium. Why this war of paper vs electronic? I have both, I like both. One is more portable, one gives me happy covers to look at.

    Love the video. I shudder at the thought of having to re-sort all those books that were chosen based solely upon the color of the cover to make the “rainbow”…

20. @ Unholyguy: “Classic authors bound in leather” – sign on one of Atlanta’s landmark streets, once upon a time, enticing book buyers to the late, lamented Oxford Too.

21. Mmmm, crunch, lovely booooooks. Nom nom nom!

22. Jeez Amy, you made me snort my lunch!

    ‘Type’ is jsut around the corner from my office – have to go check it out.

23. I saw this yesterday and thought it was incredibly beautiful. It reminds me of the old-fashioned
    kids movies of the past – I almost feel like nominating this for a film award.

    Especially ’cause I have a clue as to how much effort was put into it!

24. Beautiful video! Good job!

25. This goes on in an E-Book. It just happens very very fast on tiny little circuits…

26. Bit worrying that part of the Joy of Books appears to include music and videogames.

27. These are definitely fun to watch, but I can’t imagine spending the time and effort on it. There are other equally entertaining and time-consuming projects in which I’d partake, but I’ll be content enjoying the fruits of other people’s labors in stop-motion.

28. All you book-lovers remind me of the vinyl-lovers back when CDs became available. Yes, there are pleasures than can only be had by holding paper in your hand (just like the joy the first few scratching seconds before the song starts on vinyl cannot be replicated), but the advantages of the new medium will get you and change your mind in the long run.