I May Have To Eat Crow Regarding Kindle

[redbrunja]

So, my Fiction class on Friday sucked and was a complete waste of time for several reasons, but one of the things that happened was that I had two people comment on what I was reading (on positively, one simply asking what I was reading) and I ended up going into my  whole I-hate-people-talking-about-what I read spiel. Which I felt really bad about, because both of the people commenting had positive things to say. In fact, one of them had a kindle and he pulled it out as an I-read-trash-books-and-no-one-knows solidarity thing.

And actually, his kindle was very cool. It was very sleek and about the size of a hardcover book and I didn't have the same instinct to skim that I do on the computer. I didn't feel the same disconnect with the text that some people reported and I think the dictionary feature is nifty. Now, I still think it should be back-lit and I have issues with how close a kindle book is to a corporal book in price but that experience plus hearing a UN worker rave about being able to have a whole personal library in something the size of a hardback is winning me over.

Comments

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

I've been reluctant to pick up any of the dedicated readers -- I'm not crazy about carrying around multiple single-purpose devices, especially ones this bulky and costly; but back in the days when I had a really long daily subway commute, I carried around a ton of e-books on a PalmOS PDA slightly smaller than a paperback, and it was WONDERFUL. I was carrying the device already for multiple reasons -- cellphones were dumber back then, so this PDA carried around a lot of memos, photos, scheduling alarms, electronic games, was used for mobile wireless email/browsing, etc. -- and it was WONDERFUL to always have dozens and dozens of books in my purse or coat pocket, without having to add any extra weight or bulk to the stuff I needed to carry around. No matter how much time I spent on the train, or waiting on the platform, there was always something to read -- and so long as it was already there at my fingertips, I also managed to get in a surprising amount of "found" reading time if I was stuck in a slow checkout line, waiting for a meeting to get started, etc. I don't drag the old PDA out as much these days as my phone's taken over most of those functions now, but I'd absolutely fire it up again if I were planning a trip, and would probably end up upgrading my cell to a fancier iPhone-type smart phone that can run reader apps if I wind up with a similar long daily transit commute again in the future. (And yes, if backlighting doesn't bother your eyes, it is EXTREMELY useful if you're ever trying to read in poor lighting conditions, like dimly-lit subway stations at night.)

I have no real interest in replacing my hardcopy library -- I like the sensual experience of having a book in my hands too much for that. But e-books can be a great supplement to physical copies -- there are some favorite titles where I'd keep multiple copies around, say a nice hardcover to enjoy at home and a used paperback that I didn't worry about throwing into a toteback to read on the go, or loan out to friends. Ebooks hit a similar niche for me -- there are a few things that I love so much that I absolutely would not mind paying for them again to get a portable, searchable copy. For the rest, though, I mostly kept my PDA filled up with free content -- there are TONS of out-of-copyright classic older texts available on Project Gutenberg and some academic sites, lots of authors/publishers make freebie copies available of older works to get new readers interested (and Amazon seems to have similar free specials available in its Kindle store), and I'd even snag a lot of favorite pieces of fanfic for rereading. If you're interested in more than just the latest big-name-author bestselling titles, it is not at all hard to fill up an electronic reader with hours and hours of reading without spending a dime.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

I hear you about not wanting another one item product. That said, since I'm always carrying around at least one book ANYWAY, except on the days when my bag is monsterously heavy, it wouldn't change much for me.

I always have a book for the precise reason of found time - I have no patience for waiting in line with nothing to do, waiting for the bus, waiting for class to start...

I have no real interest in replacing my hardcopy library -- I like the sensual experience of having a book in my hands too much for that.

So far, just about everyone I know has been like Kindle is great/terrible but it will NEVER replace hardcopy, which I find both expected and reassuring.