On 12/10/10 21:01, mick wrote:
Talking of luddites... I'd like to be a real one here if I may.
Heh...see here is where we differ.
I actually /like/ books. I like the fact that I can lend them to people, I like the fact that I can read them in the bath, drop them when I nod off, and know that they are still (just) readable afterwards.
A book is ruined when it is dropped in a bath...the kindle may also be destroyed but your content isn't because when your replacement is linked to the account all previous purchases reappear via whispernet...so what's worse ? Hell you could lose or destroy the kindle at a critical point in the book and run to the nearest PC or any other device that has the kindle software available..log into your account and within seconds be looking at the very page where you got interrupted.
Ok the lend thing and the inability to resell..that is a problem but it's a sacrifice you have to consider against the (generally) much cheaper price of kindle books and the convenience of on demand delivery and being able to carry your whole library in something the size of a single paperback.
I like the fact that I can scribble in the margins. Ok not scribble...but you can make notes or highlight text...so no different really and at least it is erasable.
I like
way they are actually objects of beauty in their own right (can you imagine a bookshelf full of kindles?).
Where you see beauty I see clutter.....I hate the fact that our house is full of dusty bookshelves full of books that may or may not be read by us again but we can't I am told throw away "just in case" In fact this was pretty much the initial reason I got the kindle.
I like the fact that the words
remain the same between me putting the book down and picking it up again (that may not always be the case for electronic words).
That is the case for the kindle...in fact better than that your current position is saved so you can read the same book on mutiple devices and all the others will keep sync of what page you are on.
I like the
fact that when I have bought a book, I can be sure that the words will still actually /be/ there when I next pick it up and won't have been remotely erased by the publisher.
Ok yes that did happen...and the backlash was such that Amazon had to admit to it being a stupid thing to do and have promised it won't happen again...To forgive is divine and all that...
Oh and I like the way they feel and smell.
Oh I am with you to a degree...and for truly special books you can't beat having the physical copy. But personally I am treating it a bit like how I treat buying mp3's vs a physical CD. If the album is truly special to me then nothing beats having it in a format that if looked after will never be taken from me. For most material however I am willing to sacrifice that for some convenience and deal with the loss if it happens. There are still books I will buy as physical versions just as there is still music I will buy on CD. But in reality the more convenient format has expanded what and where I absorb the content and after all it is about the content.