If you stop by Amazon, you'll see Jeff Bezos has launched their latest product: Kindle. Jeff promises that "reading on Kindle is nothing like reading on a computer screen." Weighing in at less than a paperback (but costing much more: $399) and with room for 200 novels, Kindle (and the other many 'electronic paper' systems of its kind) is probably the future for reading.
I remember the discussion long ago that J.K. Rowling could have single-handedly launched e-books if she had chosen to only release her Harry Potter electronically. My young neighbors were less than fond of the idea. Even pre-teens savor the feel, the weight, the tangible pages of books. But we did get into a bit of a debate and I remember saying there was likely a similar feeling of nostalgia when printing presses came to fashion and books were no longer hand-written (though the majority of the population probably could not afford books and maybe could not even read).
One major difference between Kindle and a book? Kindle cannot be subsituted as kindling. So if you're due to wash up on a deserted island, still better to pack a paperback.
- Log in to post comments
Other major differences:
-You'll still be able to read your paperback 5, 10, 15, etc. years down the road. (What digital storage medium were you using 15 years ago? Can you still "read" it?)
-You can share a paperback with a friend or donate it to a library when you're done.
That said, cool toy. I wouldn't mind seeing one under my Christmas tree.
There is no way a big, ugly, black and white screen costing $400 will displace books. Perhaps if the price falls a lot we can expect to start seeing these things proliferate.
Electronic books are devoid of identity and feeling. How can a single electronic gadget that contains over 200 books ever offer the same sense of identity as a single book with a single cover that is it's own personality with it's own existence. It can't. Even pondering the question is disturbing: will reading books become a relic of the past, only seen on rare occasions like the eccentric habit of smoking cigarettes from a cigarette holder? The thought disturbs the future but then how do old people relate to our modern habits?
I'm a big fan of the Gutenberg project, and use my Palm Pilot (hmm--technically a Tungsten E) to read rather obsolete books. Recently they've had a bunch of WWI books about the British soldiers fighting in Iraq.
No, e-books aren't quite like regular books. But they've got a lot of advantages. Like my Tungsten currently has over 400 books on it. And it doesn't loose my place. And if I'm in the mood for a mystery instead of philosophy I've already got a bunch of choices. And I can read it in the dark. And when I had a crying one-year-old, I could walk around with her at two in the morning, walking, soothing, and reading, without turning on any lights.
I'll admit I'd love to find one of these under my potted tree this year, but the hidden costs sound frustrating. They claim there's absolutely no need for a computer - so Amazon charges you every time you want to add own of your OWN documents to your Kindle through an email service!
Good tips on the hidden costs. I had also never considered the benefits of lightless, pageless reading while child soothing. That's an awesome selling point.
My gripe is that I'm an active reader and like to put notes in the margins, highlight, etc. There's nothing I enjoy more than rereading an old favorite and finding not only my own comments, but those comments in the handwriting of 7th-grade me.
I think I'm going to make this post into pros and cons list for tomorrow's post (Nov. 27).