Looking into the future...
Perhaps -- OK, definitely -- inspired by my viewing of WALL-E, this weekend, (go go go) I thought now would be a good time to explore the technology of books.
I'm not talking about the fine work Mr. Gutenberg did in 1440. I'm talking about the intersection of the alphabet and binary.
As Read Street regular Aaron K. points out to me, Amazon thinks that they've got that future with Kindle. I'm not convinced.
Sure, it's thinner than the copy of The Historian I've been lugging around with me for weeks, and can hold 200 of my favorite books at once. But do I really want to spend $360 on a device, so that I can then buy books for it, which I can ONLY read on my Kindle?
And as for surfing the Web, or checking my e-mail, there are countless devices in my life that already do that, and probably better.
Of course, as soon as I'd made up my mind that this was a complete waste of money, a friend sends me a story about using Kindle for college textbooks. See, that makes sense -- as long as the e-books aren't TOO expensive, of course.
So does anyone out there have a Kindle, or a similar product? I'm curious, if dubious.
While she always preferred The Hardy Boys to Nancy Drew, 
Comments
The kindle sounds cool, but books can't be replaced. I love books. Books appeal to my senses. I love the smooth feel of paper, the rustle of a turning page, new book scent, and the musty smell of old books, too. I enjoy bookstores, librairies & boxes of discards at yardsales. I can't imagine curling up with a kindle.
Posted by: Michelle Johnston | July 1, 2008 2:31 AM
I have a Kindle and I'm loving it. It goes everywhere with me and the fact that I can go shopping for books so easily, along with getting a few of my magazine subscriptions automatically downloaded to the unit, is just too great. At this point I'm considering letting some of my Dead Tree subscriptions expire so that I can just read them on the Kindle. The e-paper looks great and doesn't strain the eyes at all. In fact, my reading speed may have actually increased since I've started using the Kindle.
Most books are $9.99 or less, so if you read a lot of books, the Kindle can--believe it or not--wind up paying for itself in the long run.
It's true that the Kindle has a propietary format, but you can also read other formats on it (MOBI, PDF, MS-Word, for example). So far it doesn't bug me that it's the only place to read whatever I buy, any more than it bugged me to buy Sgt. Pepper on CD when that format came out, or replacing my VHS copy of Citizen Kane with a DVD.
Posted by: Claude | July 1, 2008 11:19 PM
It sounds like a great idea for magazine subscriptions! It could save money & resources.
Posted by: Michelle Johnston | July 2, 2008 1:15 PM