Jason

Caslon

Lara Amber

The printed word is not holy script. A lousy book deserves whatever fate I decree. I’ve consigned many a book to the recycle bin and not felt like a barbarian at the gates for doing it. I’ve torn off covers, cut out pages, highlighted text, scribbled notes, dog-eared pages,and pressed leaves and flowers. Most book lovers have done the same at one time or another. I consider books versatile, multipurpose tools. I also revere quality books and my shelves are filled with fine literature and art books, both old and contemporary, and these books will go to my heirs assuming they can still read.

As far as the cost of paper and declining resources ensuring the demise of books, doesn’t the same hold for Kindles, the plastic of which is derived from oil or cellulose (trees and plants)? Which is more biodegradable and recyclable, paper or plastic? And while the Kindle’s price is sure to come down in the near future, it’s also going to go back up when the supply of lithium, a battery component, runs short due to ever increasing demand. Also, where do all the dead batteries go? And while a Kindle may be a low power device, so is the iPod, the cell phone and its ear bud, the Wii, Xbox, PlayStation, laptop, notebook, hybrid car, etc. When we tally up all our low power gadget use, we aren’t conserving all that much electricity, are we? And I haven’t even mentioned all the little power bricks that require more outlets than are available in the average home.

As a gadget, the Kindle has its place. As a replacement for books, I don’t think so. Remember when the Segway was going to revolutionize the world? No one would ever have to walk! Urban cores would become car free! ‘Nuff said.

I think you missed something in the thread. Part of the appeal of the Kindle is it is easier then a book. It’s easily held one handed and don’t require turning pages or holding a book open. The “pixels” issue doesn’t exist, it’s not a monitor, it’s feels just like reading on paper to your eyes (even better with the adjustable font size).

I would never in my life level a couch with a book or any of the other things you mentioned. That’s just sacrilege to the printed word.

Yes, one day my Kindle will be obsolete. It will be replaced by better and cheaper models and I will be able to up-convert my files. Printed books on the other hand will disappear, just like carving blocks and hand copying were replaced by the printing press and sheepskin and bark was replaced by paper. The cost of paper, which will only go higher as our amount of arable land available for non-food production shrinks, will ensure that.

Lara Amber

For myself, I doubt I’ll ever buy a Kindle or some other text reader. I read a variety of newspapers from around the world and prefer doing it on a large monitor. The same goes for technical papers. When I’m reading for pleasure, I don’t want to look at more pixels or be scrolling or pressing keys to navigate a page. I can’t see myself lying in bed holding a Kindle. As I often wake up with a book pressed to my face or crumpled under a shoulder blade, I can see an immediate drawback to using a Kindle, aside from having to hold it with two hands in order to navigate.

Real books don’t have issues. They don’t go blank when the battery fails. You don’t need to charge them up. They’re not prone to dead zones. They rarely get stolen. They don’t break when dropped or sat upon. You can pass one on without needing an intermediary. They don’t need periodic upgrades. You can level a couch with them. Throw them in anger. Spill beer on them. Start campfires. They’re a ready source of emergency toilet paper too, just read it and wipe.

There’s nothing as tough and enduring as a real book. When your Kindle is just a distant memory and your digital library obsolete, the book will still be there.

This would greatly reduce costs for schools, increase accountability of students/teachers, and reduce the massive amount of weight a child caries on his back every evening as he lugs his school work home.

Lara Amber

The only problems are that it freezes (becomes non-operable) occasionally and she has once accidentally reset it and had to download all the books she bought again. The freezing problem has only happened 4 times in several months, but I imagine the Kindle 2 is a bit better. The reset happened because of the frozen screen. You can reset the Kindle to get the screen back, but you have to avoid resetting it all the way back to its original settings (then you lose your library).

I like the screen, but I’m holding out for the textbook sized Kindle. I want an 8×10 screen so I can use slightly bigger fonts (and can read textbooks).

It won’t end the printed book, but may end the printed Pulp book. The paper books will be the ones you want to physically keep, but I can imagine most books existing only in Kindle form within 10 years. We still go to Borders and Barnes & Noble because we like hanging out there. My wife even occasionally buys books there “just for fun”. So Kindle won’t totally kill paper books, but should increase the number of small and individually published books.

Thanks Lara for your comments. I agree with all of them.

By the way, the bathtub thing… It’s been done, and it survived a very brief dip in our tub. Just turn it off and wait until it dries out before using again. Note: Not recommended as your results may vary.

Or take Lara’s advice and put it in a plastic bag. It shouldn’t overheat as it doesn’t use much power.

Hope this helps everyone.

We’re in a tricky age where the cost and action of duplication is virtually nothing, so people stopping and thinking about what it is they actually have is happening less and less. After all, an instant “copy” of a book at the push of a button, how could that be “stealing”, right? What we’re seeing, I think, is the general premise of trying to get people to “do the right thing” and pay for things they want, even when they don’t technically “have to”. One way to look at it would be to tell the business and intellectual property owners “but, you wanted a free market with no laws, right?”.

Though, I think that’s where the “free chapter” comes from. You get a taste so you don’t feel like you need to buy something you haven’t had a chance to look over. I think a good thing to do would be to let people share that chapter from their kindle to another.. so people don’t have to log on to the web to get one, but I don’t know that it physically matters, but more it’s a psychological thing to “get it from a friend” instead of some “machine on the internet”.

If they _really_ want to help only have “purchased copies” out there, they will devise a way to let you transfer a book to a friend in a way that _does_ remove it from your kindle/list and puts it on theirs. You basically loan your “license” to them for that book, since that’s what their server is really tracking anyway. If that was a free service, you’d have lots of people loaning books and very little reason to “steal a digital copy”. But, then, I think you’d have the book people mad that their sales numbers are down and want to know why it’s so easy for people to swap books.. especially when I can swap a book instantly with a friend 1/2 way around the world.. you’ll end up with virtual book clubs where lots and lots of swapping goes on.. facebook, myspace, twitter, etc etc.. lots of places people could meet, virtual libraries, etc etc etc. A good idea for consumers, bad for businesses..

But isn’t that always the case?

Durability has been brought up. Many people take their Kindles to the beach & desert or use them in the kitchen to read recipes, or even take them in the tub. The trick is to seal them inside a ziploc bag or one of those dry-bags people use to keep documents safe when rafting/boating. The screen can still be read and buttons pushed while protecting it from sand,water, and spaghetti sauce.

There is a concern for other damage. A kindle boards user reported last week that he barely missed being involved in an accident where one car t-boned another in an intersection. He was on his bike also crossing the intersection. His bike went down and smash went his Kindle. Though it should be noted the only thing lost would be the Kindle, not the books. Amazon keeps track of all the books you bought from them on their servers for free re-download. Books from other sources would hopefully also be copied on the home computer.

Lara Amber

I’m 50-50 about getting one.

I do love that it will allow people who’ve had to give up reading (like my grandfather) because of print size issues, etc to return to the written word.

Not only can you access wikipedia, but one of the features Amazon isn’t talking about is the built in free mobile web. I can go to any website, just like on a cellphone, though it will be the mobile version and black & white. The monthly cost? Nada. Amazon picks up the tab. I just pulled up S&R on my Kindle 2.

Many books are less then 9.99, the 9.99 titles are usually the bestsellers that are still in hardback in the store. I got plenty of books for $5-6, the same price as their mass market paperback. Occasionally they offer books for free, to introduce a new author or series. I just got the Cook’s Illustrated How To Cook Library for free.

Lara Amber

It just might take a shift in the earth’s poles to get me to read off a screen though. Reading an old fashioned book is such a sensual pleasure. The feel of the paper, the smell of the ink, the weight of the book – it all contributes to the pleasure of reading. I love buying second hand books – the fact someone else held it and read these pages before me adds to the experience. I love to find a clever margin note or maybe a doodle on the page. The thrill of finding a first edition is hard to beat.

For me books make a home – they tell our children that stories are valuable enough to keep. Don’t get me wrong – I am not saying folks with high-tech readers don’t value stories. Just look at the difference between your music collection all hidden away inside an IPod and a library with shelves of books accessible to anyone that walks into the space. One is very private and one public.

The Kindle is a different experience – I hope it brings an equal measure of joy to its adopters.