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Incidentally, since that blog post 12 years ago, I've only acquired a handful of paper books.
Most were gifts, the rest were large format art.

But whenever I say I *only* use an eReader, some vacuous twunt tries to make me reconsider my wicked life by pointing out I won't be able to use it if the electricity grid collapses or there's an apocalypse.

This is, of course, nonsense. shkspr.mobi/blog/2023/09/what-

Terence Eden’s Blog · What if civilisation *doesn't* collapse?A few years ago, I got rid of all my paper books and switched exclusively to eBooks. Whenever I tell bibliophiles0 this, they usually shriek in horror. What about the smell of books1?!!? What about showing off your bookcases to impress people2!?!? What about your signed first editions3!??!?! But the other day I had someone […]
Prof. Catherine Flick

@Edent I did much the same thing as you! And I still largely read on my phone or kindle or listen to the audiobook. But I also have acquired mostly a lending library of academic books associated with my field. And to be honest I’m less worried about the apocalypse than I am about Amazon suddenly pivoting to something else and discontinuing support for its e-books a la Google, or removing them from my library if a publisher withdraws a deal a la TikTok music.

@Edent not super keen on piracy either so I feel a bit stuck!!

@CatherineFlick There are DRM-free ebook stores you can buy from that don't carry that risk - the format might need converting if you're using a Kindle/the Kindle app, but software like Calibre can handle that pretty easily

@lewis @CatherineFlick Do they have the same range of new titles as Amazon, Google or Kobo ?

@owenblacker @CatherineFlick Not quite as many, some publishers don't like their books being published without DRM, but still a fairly good selection

@CatherineFlick @Edent Real books are still important to me. I love to get them as presents, I love the pile by my bedside waiting to be read, I love how my bookshelves help to define me, and I love being able to hand a book to a friend with a ‘I think you’ll enjoy this’. I love to hold them, and I love how the sight of one can evoke memories of childhood, past lovers or other significant milestones in my life. I do read on my tablet too, but for me that is a very diminished experience.

@KimSJ @Edent I had to move from Australia with very limited budget to Europe and the second gen kindle had just come out so it made a lot of sense for me to do so. I kept some of my favourites from childhood and some signed copies though. More recently, being able to read on my phone at 3am while feeding my babies in the dark has been great.

@KimSJ @CatherineFlick @Edent

All this.

Plus there’s a much higher chance of serendipity with ‘real’ books, finding them in used bookshops, swap stations, other people’s shelves, while looking for something else.

There used to be a wonderful second hand bookshop in Brighton (UK) that was sufficiently unorganised that it was impossible to find something specific, but also impossible to leave without something interesting.

@CatherineFlick I've taken to stripping the DRM off my Amazon books. If they stop providing them, I'll still have a backup.

I still can't believe the cost of some academic books. Like, I get it is a limited audience and mostly being purchased by institutional libraries, but charging £££ seems nuts to me.

@Edent I might look into that too, thanks for the suggestion!

Re cost of academic books, yeah, they can be expensive! I tend to go a bit nuts on publisher sales 😅

@Edent @CatherineFlick
Back when I went to uni the cost-per-page of required books was eye-watering. They're still on my shelves though.