Kindles and other E-Readers

I've long resisted the urge to get any kind of electronic reader. I'm a pretty avid reader but the thought of going digital has left me cold. Add in the Kindle's $300 price tag and it's been pretty easy to leave them alone.
For those who don't know, the Kindle is a hand held device that Amazon sells. You can buy books (current library of 300,000) and have them downloaded directly to you. The price of the book is usually reduced from a paper copy.
There are drawbacks for me. It's nearly impossible to share books with your friends. The feel of an e-reader is strangely different than an actual bound book. And a few months back Amazon surprised some customers by withdrawing already purchased books because of a copyright issue.
Lately I've been having second thoughts. I'm much more used to reading from a screen than I was a few years back. I usually wait for books to come out in paperback but with a Kindle that wouldn't be an issue. And transporting it between work and home would be easier than a paper copy. I'm warming to the idea...
But they still need to work out some bugs before I'd commit to one.
  • I want some kind standardized format. I want to be able to buy books from several different sources, not just one seller. This should make for more widespread value
  • They need to hammer out ownership issues, much like the music industry is going through. Books, of course, are different than songs but many of the piracy issues are the same.
  • The price needs to come down. History suggest that it will happen in time.
So not yet. But I can see the day...

Comments

Kate said…
No! NO! NO! Don't kill the book. There's something sacred about the book.
10:22 PM
MamaD4 said…
I can't do it...books are 3/4s of the decor in our house. You can't smell that great new book paper smell. You can't dogear the Kindle or make notes in the margin (at least, I don't think you can...) and the Kindle can't get that lovely, worn-in feeling of a paperback that you've loved and read many times.

That being said, the portability thing would be sort of nice...
12:25 AM
Peder said…
That was another thing that I realized. I wouldn't need to convert my whole library or even a large segment of it over to ebooks. There is a segment of books that I would like to have more quickly and in a more convenient format though. Rachel, I don't normally footnote or dogear books but I know that's a concern that other people have too, so maybe they'll figure that out too.
6:48 AM
Peder said…
Kate, I don't know if it would ever become widespread enough to really make a difference but I understand what you're saying. I wonder if our society is becoming too e-dependent. If something happens to mess that up we need paper stuff to really survive long term.
6:52 AM
DD4 said…
Our publishing house is doing both - printing hard copies and selling text files to Kindle and Sony. We can realize more profit with the e-files and don't have the cost of printing and reprints. That being said, I don't think books will go away in our lifetime.
7:28 PM
Alfred T. Mahan said…
I actually do have something of a dog in this fight, as I think you know, Peder; my company makes the electroreactive ink that powers the e-book readers, so, if you buy one, you keep me employed...and you don't want me to starve, do you? (violin music)

Slightly more seriously, I help make the wretched things, and I'm not buying one for the reasons Rachel already outlined. I talked with the gent who runs my MilHist group @ B&N, and he said that his publishing company is doing the same thing; selling the e-book rights as well as the republishing rights, and getting a lot of money as a result, but he doubts the physical reality of books will ever vanish from human society.

Unless there's some sort of cellulose analogue to the potato famine. Then we're in trouble.
8:31 PM
Peder said…
I don't think that paper books will go away any time soon, if ever. But I'm starting to see certain books that I'd be ok owning in only e-format. Especially new books from authors that I don't really know. I wouldn't be surprised to see some newspapers and magazines surviving through Kindles and the like. And frankly, I'm surprised that I'm changing my mind on this.
9:09 PM
Alfred T. Mahan said…
Gah! Don't *say* that about the newspapers surviving throught the Kindles or whatever! Remember, we want the Strib to die, so that the current ownership of the Vikings can ste...er, buy their land and tear down the Dome to build a new stadium complex!
12:08 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2024 Olympics?

Next week the US Olympic Committee will decide if they'll bid on the 2024 Olympics (I'm betting they will) and may decide on which city they'll put forth to host.  There are four cities on the host list: Boston Los Angeles San Francisco Washington DC I've long believed that if the US bids on 2024, they will win.  The US hasn't hosted an Olympics since Salt Lake City in 2002 and no summer games since Atlanta in 1996.  Given the importance that the US has, particularly in funding, a 28 year gap is a huge one. So who gets the nod?  I have absolutely no insider knowledge but I'd like to make some guesses.  Pure speculation to follow. San Francisco is an interesting choice.  The Bay Area is certainly beautiful.  I'm guessing (I haven't checked into it) that there are enough venues in NoCal to satisfy the sporting requirements.  Between the professional teams (six?) and the number of big time colleges, there must be.  Throw in the big mo...
Read more

Box Elder Bugs

Yesterday morning's breakfast started badly. I'd split my bagel in half and was ready to toast it when I noticed a BOX ELDER BUG sitting on the toaster. The FP Gal tried to help remove him but it looked like he went into one of the slots. Not cool. She then shook out the toaster over the garbarge while I helpfully supervised from the other side of the kitchen. After that we couldn't see it in the toaster. So...we did a test run to smoke it out. Nothing. After careful inspection I finally toasted my bagel. Carefully checked it for embedded insect. Found it clean and ate it. Whew! This morning I sliced my bagel. And found another Box Elder bug on the toaster. The FP Gal was still asleep so I had to take care of it myself. Kleenex over mouth, eyes barely open and a quick paper towel latter it was gone. Seriously, if I find another one tomorrow we have to sell the house.
Read more