If the book downloads were cheap or near free, then a Kindle might make sense. I like the idea of carrying the entire library in one reader. Unless it breaks, of course.
I use the Kindle app on my iPhone, and the freeware Stanza, too. Both are surprisingly easy to read (once you find a comfortable position to hold it in for an extended period)– I used it on my vacation and it was great.
Until I wanted to let my neighbor read the book I had just finished… oops.
There are lots of free books and stories out there, too. But I lose the “browsing for a book while petting the store cat” experience. I go both ways– my bookshelves overfloweth, and here I am online.
Is it bed and bathtub safe? Excuse me but there is something soothing in slipping a bookmark in place just before I slip off to dreams directed by my book.
I’d rather have a book in my hands any day. But sometimes electronically is the only way to get an old, out of print book. And besides, the Kindle might be a way to get the little goobers like Clayton, from today’s ‘Adam@Home’ to actually read.
Isaac Asimov once defined the ideal data distribution device (DDD). He said it had to handle black and white text and color images; you had to be able to move back and forth at will, so you could re-read sections; to mark places so you could come back to them; it had to be cheap, mass-produced, and sturdy enough to withstand being read in the subway and dropped in the tub.
We already have this, he noted. It is called “a book.”
As I Librarian, I will never give up my books. I’d be the old lady in Farenheit 451 who dies with her books. The Kindle just doesn’t have the texture of a real book.
Sat next to a guy on a plane recently. He started out reading on his Kindle but in a fairly short time had switched to a paperback. i would miss the feel of the pages between my fingers and like someone said in an earlier comment, even the smell of the books! So yes, I’m proud to be a Luddite and to stand with the Queen!
You can get a LOT of old classics in Kindle .mobi format for free, either directly from Amazon or from gutenberg dot org. It’s far more convenient to carry a Kindle around than thousands of pages of dead trees. New books are usually $10. I really like my DX.
The Luddites get a bad rap. They are assumed to be anti-technology. Space doesn’t allow me to give a full account of the movement, but it would be more appropriate to say that they were about “appropriate technology.” That is to say: when any new tech comes along, you should ask, “Is this, on balance, going to make people’s lives better or worse?” When the answer is worse, you have to follow up with the question: “How can we diminish the negative effects of this new technology?”
Luddism is a humane response to technological change.
IMHO, the most significant problem with e-books is that they make it far easier for authors to self-publish. The old way of publishing meant that some authors didn’t get into print, but on the other hand it limited the amount of poorly-written, nearly unedited garbage flooding the market.
dick2002ti over 14 years ago
Sorry your Maj, we love the Kindle.
zero over 14 years ago
Luddite? I hardly even know him!
cdward over 14 years ago
If the book downloads were cheap or near free, then a Kindle might make sense. I like the idea of carrying the entire library in one reader. Unless it breaks, of course.
phydeaux44 over 14 years ago
Blank Reg on “Max Headroom” described the book as a non-volatile storage medium. And it’s my preferred format.
Mark Berte Premium Member over 14 years ago
In many cases, trendy is more important than efficient and cheap….
steverinoCT over 14 years ago
I use the Kindle app on my iPhone, and the freeware Stanza, too. Both are surprisingly easy to read (once you find a comfortable position to hold it in for an extended period)– I used it on my vacation and it was great.
Until I wanted to let my neighbor read the book I had just finished… oops.
There are lots of free books and stories out there, too. But I lose the “browsing for a book while petting the store cat” experience. I go both ways– my bookshelves overfloweth, and here I am online.
lewisbower over 14 years ago
Is it bed and bathtub safe? Excuse me but there is something soothing in slipping a bookmark in place just before I slip off to dreams directed by my book.
kfaatz925 over 14 years ago
Real Books Forever! (Of course, I’ve never tried a Kindle. Perhaps the technocoolness would overwhelm me. ;) )
LibrarianInTraining over 14 years ago
A nickel or less if you shop library sales.
I could never go “kindle”. I even love the SMELL of books. Part of the reason I wanna be a librarian. :)
eric stott over 14 years ago
When they go under $200 I’ll buy an Ebook
pibfan868 over 14 years ago
I dearly love the library!
Durak Premium Member over 14 years ago
I’d rather have a book in my hands any day. But sometimes electronically is the only way to get an old, out of print book. And besides, the Kindle might be a way to get the little goobers like Clayton, from today’s ‘Adam@Home’ to actually read.
Motivemagus over 14 years ago
Isaac Asimov once defined the ideal data distribution device (DDD). He said it had to handle black and white text and color images; you had to be able to move back and forth at will, so you could re-read sections; to mark places so you could come back to them; it had to be cheap, mass-produced, and sturdy enough to withstand being read in the subway and dropped in the tub. We already have this, he noted. It is called “a book.”
dianecliff over 14 years ago
As I Librarian, I will never give up my books. I’d be the old lady in Farenheit 451 who dies with her books. The Kindle just doesn’t have the texture of a real book.
bellestarr12 over 14 years ago
Sat next to a guy on a plane recently. He started out reading on his Kindle but in a fairly short time had switched to a paperback. i would miss the feel of the pages between my fingers and like someone said in an earlier comment, even the smell of the books! So yes, I’m proud to be a Luddite and to stand with the Queen!
Technojunkie over 14 years ago
You can get a LOT of old classics in Kindle .mobi format for free, either directly from Amazon or from gutenberg dot org. It’s far more convenient to carry a Kindle around than thousands of pages of dead trees. New books are usually $10. I really like my DX.
Pab Sungenis creator over 14 years ago
Sorry for the re-run from 2007, folks. Still busy with the fourth novel that no one will ever publish.
Could those of you who pre-ordered “Suffragettes” start chiming in when you’ve received your copies?
aardvarkseyes over 14 years ago
Neo-Luddite, actually.
The Luddites get a bad rap. They are assumed to be anti-technology. Space doesn’t allow me to give a full account of the movement, but it would be more appropriate to say that they were about “appropriate technology.” That is to say: when any new tech comes along, you should ask, “Is this, on balance, going to make people’s lives better or worse?” When the answer is worse, you have to follow up with the question: “How can we diminish the negative effects of this new technology?”
Luddism is a humane response to technological change.
lessa49002 Premium Member over 14 years ago
I’d hate to see what happens if you swat that annoying insect with a Kindle. Or prop up a table leg. Give me a good multi-purpose paperback anyday.
Coyoty Premium Member over 14 years ago
With a Kindle, people don’t lick their fingers when they turn the pages, so it’s useless to poison the edges….
What?
The Old Wolf over 14 years ago
Geeze, paperbacks used to be 15¢. And yeah, I’ve been licking my fingers to turn pages since then…
Wildcard24365 over 14 years ago
Kindle… books can more easily be made unavailable in this format…
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111487759
ChiehHsia over 14 years ago
IMHO, the most significant problem with e-books is that they make it far easier for authors to self-publish. The old way of publishing meant that some authors didn’t get into print, but on the other hand it limited the amount of poorly-written, nearly unedited garbage flooding the market.
cwreenactor over 14 years ago
I’m with Her Maj.