You can't feel the texture of paper as you go on to the next page

I don't hate the Kindle anymore. I've decided it would be a good supplement to the books I already read. Specifically, I'd like an e-reader to read books for my book club (though, unfortunately, not all books are available as e-books, such as Geek Love by Katherine Dunn, which my group is discussing tonight). The e-readers are very slick when you want to refer back to something. Also, when I go on vacation, I pack SO MANY BOOKS, way more than I could ever read, and I think an e-reader would be ideal in a situation like that. You could bring 10 or 20 or however many books you wanted with you, all for the weight of the e-reader.

I'm just saying I think the e-readers will eventually make a nice supplement for those of us who are rabid readers. Will it replace books? Not at all. At this point, e-books account for around 1% of book sales, maybe a little less. Obviously, at this point, e-books are not what is threatening the publishing industry.

Your post made me laugh, but I have to admit if someone secretly gifted me with a Kindle or other e-reader, I wouldn't complain.

Just for this, I'm not going to let you play with the kindle2 Amazon's sending me for review.

You can't lend to anyone, meanwhile saying, "YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK."

I agree with the first reason since I have a bookshop near Ocean City and when customers come looking for "beach reads" they are not carrying Kindles! I also agree about lovely bookcovers and the both the touch and smell of paper, It's an experiental thing.

You have to BUY the book ... no more borrowing from the library or a friend or swapping on websites.

I am not going to get a Kindle because if you compare it to a smart phone it is not a very good deal. If I get an Iphone for example, I can get the Stanza ereading software and get a phone, a web browser, a gps system, a music player, a video player, and a million other features for the same price. It is not worth it.

When you go to visit a sick or recuperating friend, taking an electronic thing is not as warm as the physicality of handing over a book, chosen from one's own shelf, while saying, "Have you read this?"

I LOVE books, but I still want a Kindle--at least for my textbooks. And e-books I've been reading on the computer. But what happens to all the great blog giveaways when we go digital? GOTTA HAVE THE PAPER TO SEND IT THROUGH THE MAIL!

Bookstores.

A kindle doesn't have that wonderful paper smell that books have.

Those are good reasons. The first one especially. I don't worry to much about leaving books lying around where as no one in their right mind would leave an expensive device lying around. Some of the reasons others gave are good too. To me a Kindle or any other reading device is too much like watching tv. I read to get away from the screen.

A kindle and a kiddle on my lap is not as cozy as a book and a kiddle on my lap.

10 reasons I love my Kindle :)

1 - I can carry my whole library every place I go and it doesn't put out my bad back.

2- Books are a lot less expensive so I can read more .... and more ...and more.

3- Chicks are curious to find out what it is when they see me with this new toy.

4- No one knows what I'm reading and some times I really don't want them to know : )

5 - You can impress other guys with your new technology that they probably don't have.

6 - no one can borrow it and forget to return it like so many of my books.

7 - next time I move I won't 150 heavy book boxes or more to pay big hairy guys to carry out and charge me for their labor.

8 - It gives me something to bitch about and or praise depending on my moods :)

9 - You can look intelligent when people don't know what a Kindle is.

10 - Oprah has one and women watch Oprah, and I watch women : )

Oh ya I forgot, if I didn't have a Kindle, I wouldn't have found the book Betrayal by C.D. Nolan, because I would have thought it was a chick only book. It really left an impact on me lately.....haven't had that impact since I read Dan Brown, Angels and Deamons and The Divinici code...........lookiing for a new impacting book : )

1. You can't leave it lying on your beach towel when you doze off at Ocean City.

You also can't be as careless with a car as you can a bike. That doesn't make the bike a better mode of transportation.

2. Beautiful Russian ballerinas won't introduce themselves upon noticing your copy of Secrets of Nijinsky.

I don't think this happens in real life.

3. Striking cover art such as the gothic drawings on Lauren Groff's books, can't be appreciated.

The Kindle can handle images like that pretty well. It's not color, but the gothic designs would come out pretty well.

4. All books are the same in Kindleworld. You lose the heft of Guns, Germs and Steel and the spriteliness of a poetry collection like Elizabeth Spires' The Wave-Maker.

You're not very smart if you need your ego stroked by how heavy your books are. Some of the greatest books are under 100 pages, and Battlefield Earth is over 1000 pages.

5. I can't use my collection of random bookmarks: a ticket from the Paris metro, an Orioles game stub or a museum pass.

Ok, you'll have to keep your mementos in a different place instead of old books. Have you tried a journal? They sell those, you know.

6. The DK and National Geographic books aren't made for electrons. Or do they make a coffee-table-size Kindle?

The Kindle format isn't for every book. The lack of color, and fixed size will be a downer for some books, but the ability to make any book large print is a huge bonus for the visually disabled.

7. The battery never dies on my paperback of The Big Sleep.

The Kindle battery lasts for days. Just plug in your Kindle while you're asleep.

8. I can't bear to part with my stacked, covered bookcase.

Nobody is saying you have to. And, the Kindle is not for every kind of book, so you'll still need that bookcase.

9. If I hate what I'm reading, I can't throw it across the room.

Tip: The author does not get hurt when you do that. Also, the Kindle is pretty rugged, so while you shouldn't throw it across the room, it won't break if you accidentally drop it.

Totally agree with John, except for # 3. I couldn't care less about the chicks, :-).

Other than that he is right. I always thought I'd hate ebooks, but meanwhile I love them. I haven't got a Kindle (they don't sell them here), but a sony and love it.

You can't feel the weight of it in your hands. I don't know. There is something about holding a book that I just love...even if I'm not reading it.

10 (actually the first and foremost reason for me to not ever get a Kindle): it can only read books in its proprietary format. As it is (I am a huge fan of ebooks) and I bought an EEEPC. It is indeed larger than a Kindle but I can read anything I want (.pdf, .doc, .txt) on it.

Even at my most frustrated, I've never thrown a book across the room. Unless I was frustrated at someone else. Then the books went flying.

Bookstores, like Baltimore Chop says. The real cover flow, the real search engine, the real browser, with built-in chat rooms!

I think the Kindle is very cool too, but I'm holding out hope that there's still room for both to occupy comfortable and complementary niches.

Another thing to hate about the Kindle: It cannot be used as a signpost to warn young children to stay off your finely trimmed lawn. And there's no internal clock? How will I know when to take my Metamucil?

my reason 10: The kindle "books" cost more than paperbacks and even "on sale" or bargain hardbacks. You shouldn't pat more for electronic books than physical ones.

Kay: you can, indeed, read other formats on the Kindle. Some of them (.mobi) may need converting but it's not complicated.

Mike: Kindle does have a clock. You hit ctrl-T to display the clock.

I love my Kindle but that doesn't mean I've given up on books entirely. As others have noted, it's not for all books. I'm rather sorry that Jeff Bezos didn't do a very good job explaining the unit when he was on The Daily Show the other night. The Kindle spent the entire time in Sleep Mode.

I'd like to get a kindle, even if it makes me look like a bit of a dweeb. I'm not very attached to the physical aspects of book reading either. All the same, I think I will wait until e-book readers are a bit smaller in price and size. Lets hope all you richkins out there can drive the prices down on these gadgets!

I love my Kindle. But, like others have said, it's not for every book. The vast majority of the fiction genre, I'd rather read on the Kindle. Obviously, art books or books that have a lot of color images in them would not be the same on the Kindle. Coffee table books like an aerial photography atlas of Califronia would be pointless on a Kindle. Would I leave it on the beach? No, probably not.. It's a $350 item -- I wouldn't leave my cell phone on the beach, either. Or car keys, etc etc.

Until the price comes down non of the commercial ereaders will take off. Especially while there are free alternatives all over.

John: Dan Brown, an impacting author? Wow....

Kindle User: Dave was light hearted in his list. Your counters were pretty harsh and you may have let your feelings get hurt a bit too much. Based on some of your counters you are obviously missing the point, the heft of a book has nothing to do with ego nor does the desire to read on a beach have to do with practicality. Perhaps you and John up there can discuss The Da Vinci Code....

I was stung by Kindle User's suggestion that reason #2 was somewhat facetious. (See fuller response in new post.) As a book reader I'm continually fighting off the advances of beautiful, intelligent and accomplished women.

Just the other day, Jennifer Aniston jumped out of her Range Rover as I sat at Tapas Teatro reading Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master.

Last week, as I was sipping Lillet and perusing Chanel in Petit Louis, two French models -- twins, no less -- introduced themselves and asked to join me for dessert.

And a couple of weeks ago, the Eroica Trio accosted me as I sat in the Meyerhoff lobby, reading George Gershwin. I could go on -- the Kilgore Rangerettes, the female cast members of Chicago, etc. -- but must I?

I don't own a Kiindle and can't stand reading ebooks or even PDFs on the computer. Since I am online so much, the idea of curling up with an actual print book becomes a treat. Reading a bound book, with actual paper pages and a cover, is like a vacation from work. Electronic reading doesn't have that appeal for me, as there is no tactile experience connected with bits and bytes. Part of the entire reading experience includes holding a book and feeling its weight and textures, turning the pages back and forth after that glorious moment of opening the treasure for the first time. Even watching the book mark move more deeply into the book, until only a sliver of pages remain, is an almost spiritual reference to the passing of time and the gaining of wisdom.

I have no problem with other people reading ebooks, listening to audio books, or using a Kindle. They just aren't for me. In fact, I always recommend Kindle versions of books, audio books, and ebooks to authors. I separate my own tastes from those of the vast reading audience for writers. In fact, new technology and portable reading devices are crucial to the success of authors and to the publishing industry as a whole. The bound traditional book will only be one of many reading products in an increasingly technological and multimedia publishing world. That said, I won't be using a Kindle any time soon, but then I don't even own a microwave oven either.

I'm a kindler and i still sometimes read paper books. Love my kindle.
Number 3 made me chuckle. Its all just how you look at it. I've meet a couple nice guys at the college who were curious about my K.
I would really have to agree with number 5. I really do miss bookmarks.

Just got one yesterday. The wireless store option is incredible - I finished a book, and had the next in the series delivered without even getting out of my chair. Instant gratification!

Oh, and bonus - my Kindle 2 will automatically look up a highlighted word in the included Oxford English Dictionary and show the definition in a tiny window at the bottom of the page. A character used the word "obduracy" last night and I had the definition in around eight seconds. Turns out to be handy!

You can't read on the kindle on Shabbat!

LOVE the 10 reasons I love the Kindle
by John

a great life changing book (not on Kindle but amazon needs to add it)

Amazing Grace
by
Jonathan Kozol

A book can be kept and still read 100 years from now, barring fire, bookworms, mold, and mildew..It won't break down under normal circumstance. Also, with reading machine technology changing constantly, how long before you may have to replace your electronic equipment, unusable old batteries, etc . ( this from a computer person I asked).

10. They're so flippin expensive! I can buy a book at a used bookstore for $1! :)

Sorry... I LOVE books... and I remember being in the same place with my 35mm film camera... NEVER going to shift. But... I now have a kindle (just received it) and intend to use it for travel. My husband loves his. I'll still read books, but to be able to take a few lbs vs the last 2 week trip of 25 lbs of books... can't be beat! AND to be able to immediately download a book when done with another, pretty big advantage, too.

As much as I love books... I love to read more.

Oh Kindle, how do I hate thee? Let me count the ways. You don't smell delicious, like a new (and sometimes old!) book does. I can't write in your margins. I can't feel your pages. Each book you contain is just like the last--in look, feel, heft, and height. I can't turn your pages down, or use my bookmarks. I can't share you with a friend, or lover. I can't give you as a gift. You threaten--so everyone says--the lifeblood of books, but this remains to be seen. But mostly it hurts my eyes to read you. Yuk. I don't mind, Kindle, if you exist, just don't try to take the place of that you can't replace: books.

You can't leave it on a beach towel when enjoying the beaches on Long Island. You are afraid to fall asleep with it because the drop to the floor is a CrAsH instead of a thud. No batteries required... other than sleep, nourishment & lots of chocolates. lol.

10: You can't just let Kindle fall open at a random page and browse whatever fate wants you to see. There's a reason we gave up scrolls for pages!

11: Yeah, a Kindle can hold a lot of books but it does not have the same salutory effect on the soul as rows of books on your bookshelf in all their myriad colors and sizes and shapes, warming the room and your psyche whenever you walk in.

13: Hurricanes. Two weeks without electricity. No lights, no computers, no gasoline either, so car was started only for food and water runs. But even with just candlelight, books work fine.

It's sad when people think it's okay to criticize and make fun of what may possibly be someone else's livelihood. For those of you sitting on the eBook fence, my Blog today deals with this to some degree.

And remember people, it's not oneor the other, it's a choice. And I love bookstores as much as the next guy,but I get a whole lot less crappy attitude from my handheld device than I do from poorly trained and rude sales associates. Am I saying don't go to bookstores? Heck no, I LOVE THEM, but I am saying that more people might go to bookstores if the employees actually cared about their jobs and customer satisfaction. I'm just saying.

Karen Syed...nominee for Publishers Weekly Bookseller of the year...author...publisher...eBook enthusiast
http://karensyed.blogspot.com
Laurel, MD

I just discovered that you can read ebooks faster then regular paper books; don't know about Kindle,how smooth or easy it is to manipulate, but I read an e-book in no time at all, not having to turn pages and keep my place with a bookmark. The ebook was greatt - using a mouse to scroll down as slowly or as quickly as you want. You can tell I don't read many books on line or by audio either.

I suppose if Emily were here she'd shake her head and say, "There is no speedboat like a Kindle to ground us in the here and now."

David included five examples of etexts' trump card: hyperlinks. The biggest distinction between paper and emedia is: emedia more or less embraces multifunctionality and multithreading -- paper invites readers to cocoon themselves with a single thread.

Hmmm ... orgy? ... or tantric?
It depends.

To me the obvious deficiency of the Kindle or any other single-screen reading device is that you can't go back and forth between pages nearly as easily as with a book. How many times have you gone backward to reread a choice passage, then flipped forward, then flipped back, or compared later information with earlier information? The Kindle may have back and forth functions, but this is still much more easily done with a book.

Ironically..i ordered a KINDLE today...so many free e-Books available for review..so little time.

and i do read Real Books...preferably...

I love this list :D
Especially #5 - I use my husband's backstage passes as bookmarks! And #9 - I threw Pet Semetary under the bed when it scared me!

My #10 reason is because you can't use it up here in Canada.

I love my kindle. So far I have downloaded the whole King James Bible for 79 cents (thats $0.79) and the Illiad by Homer (written in 650 BC) for free, and Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky for 99 cents (that's $0.99), plus I downloaded a synopsis of the greatest fiction Vol 1 for free. Also, I read on their website that you can sell Kindle books that you write and get 35% profit. It says that clearly.

One gets the Kindle for the e-ink which has advantages over other forms of e-book reading. Also, http://www.oberondesign.com/ makes astounding leather covers for the Kindle line which compensate for your feelings of loss (if you have any) on the book covers issue.

Hey Dave, I know that your post was in jest, but I'm also sure that you meant it. And here's the thing: I love my real books too, but at some point, we have to give up some of the nostalgia that we have for them. We're wiping out entire forests to print our beloved books, just so that we can feel the weight of them in our hands or so that we can look smart in front of pretty girls. Is that really worth a little nostalgia? We don't have to give up all real books, by all means, buy your classics and your keepers for your shelves, but all of this pulp-fluff-candy stuff we like to read, all of this Oprah-told-me-to-read-it-feel-good stuff can be read without dipping into future generation's resources of wood. I mean, for many of us book lovers, we are starting to have to quantify our libraries in the number of trees accumulating on our shelves, rather than how many books we have on our shelves.
I'm no environmentalist, but maybe it's time we trade in some of our nostagia for a little responsibility.

I hate it! hate it hate it hate it

I've compiled my own list of reasons to - well - be wary of the Kindle based on my interests as a design critic.

why i hate the kindle and all E-books the number 1 and most important reason is JOBS the kindle will cost millions of jobs worldwide. these jobs wont be replaced they are forever lost. lets start with the people that make the equipment to cut trees then the people that cut the trees then the people that transport the trees then the people that process the wood to make paper then the people that make the ink then the people that make the books then the people that make book covers then the people that package the books to ship them to distribution centers then the people that pick orders to ship the books to all the stores or directly to the customers then the people that transport the books then the people that work in book stores or online book stores then the people that deal in used books then the thousands of libraries, and that is only in America now we are less then 7% of the worlds population. electronic distribution has destroyed the music industry, has badly damaged the photography printing industry is currently destroying the movie industry ans in 5 years will destroy every news stand and bookstore in the world. so next time you buy a kindle think of how mant people that you will put out of work

Kindle is another sign of a brain dead society. Seriously, don't read at all if you only read off a kindle. It will destroy book stores...lazy cheap ass people who can't get off their ass to go and buy a real book.

Reason #10: A little something called 1984!