I hate Kindles, Part 2
I made the mistake last week of posting a tongue-in-cheek critique of Kindle2, Amazon’s new e-book reader. Soon, the post, playfully called "10 reasons to hate the Kindles," sparked a nasty backlash on Fark. Milder examples of the constructive criticism included the words knee-jerk, idiotic, pompous and incoherent. Others are unsuitable for a family newspaper. What started it all? Some of you may recall the list's reasons, including:
You can’t leave it lying on your beach towel when you doze off at Ocean City ... Striking cover art can't be appreciated ... I can’t use my collection of random bookmarks, a ticket from the Paris metro, an Orioles game stub or a museum pass ... The battery never dies on my paperback of The Big Sleep.
Thankfully, Read Streeters were kinder than Farkers. Maybe you've read enough of my posts to get my twisted sense of humor. Some reasons that commenters added here:
Lauretta: You can’t lend to anyone, meanwhile saying, "You have to read this book."
Paul: Bookstores ... [the] real search engine, the real browser, with built-in chat rooms!
Cam: [It doesn’t] smell delicious, like a new (and sometimes old!) book does. ... I can’t feel your pages.
Amanda: 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!
Meanwhile, the folks at LibraryThing had some other great reasons, including: The sound of the pages turning. (There is something very soothing about that sound.) -- megkrahl ... I can't get authors to sign a copy of their book -- andyl ... Origami looks crap when made out of the pages of a Kindle ... MrAndrew
Comments
Ha! I can't get my book signed is the reason I've told people I'll always own print books! But I have to say, Dave, I especially appreciated the one about the bookmarks. Hear, hear!
Posted by: Jen Forbus | March 8, 2009 9:25 AM
I guess President Obama likes the feel of paper too. He says that's why he'd rather read a real newspaper than see it online.
Posted by: Harvee Lau | March 8, 2009 12:11 PM
Suggestion for #10:
You can't fall asleep reading it, because if it hits the floor, it's ruined.
Posted by: Carol | March 8, 2009 5:50 PM
I love to be inundated by books. A Kindle on a bookshelf just doesn't do it for me.
I'd be afraid it would be damaged on the beach & how can my favorite scribes autograph it for me?
Posted by: Diane | March 9, 2009 11:48 PM
10. You CAN fall asleep at night reading your book.
or
10. You CAN'T read dedications, the publisher's page or the acknowledgment page or author info.
or
10. You CAN'T throw it in the car to read while your nails dry in the nail shop.
Posted by: Marjorie | March 11, 2009 4:50 PM