Thoughts on Kindles

[alliancesjr]

Print is not dead.

That said, it's becoming a bit of an inconvenience. There's a lot of talk going on about e-readers - Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iPad Library, etc. - that tends to toss people into two very different camps: Print Is Dead, and Books Are Smelly¹.

I understand both arguments, and I've often put myself in the Books Are Smelly camp - or at least, I've defended the position. My actual position, though? Lies in the middle. And no, it's not a Golden Mean² here; it's an actual valid position.

While real, printed books will always be my preference, I've made plenty of trips where I had a whole backpack full of the things, for the travel, or for relaxing while I'm there. I read fast, and will finish a book quickly; that, or I'll want to switch off between a couple ones I've been meaning to read for a while. For situations such as these, I'm hoping to be able to purchase a Kindle for my birthday coming up.

That said, I definitely don't want to be sitting in my favorite chair on a lazy Saturday afternoon with the sunlight filtering in through the window just so, without an actual book in my hand. I'd feel wrong.

So there you have it. The two can definitely co-exist; you just have to keep an open mind.

---

1. "Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower, or a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell musty and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer, it has no texture, no context. It's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then the getting of knowledge should be tangible, it should be, um, smelly."


2. I usually call it the Grey Fallacy, in deference to the X-wing series where I first heard of it.

Comments

[skybreak-seeker.livejournal.com]

What's a Kobo?

The thing to remember about the Kindle is, it's basically a primitive version of the PADD from ST:TNG. It has Wi-Fi, Internet, can read almost* any text file format including .pdf and several others. I know from experience that lugging a bunch of RPG books in a carry-on sucks, so that functionality is very welcome.

The Kindle isn't a replacement for books, but it is a fantastic gizmo in its own right.

[sonozakitwins.livejournal.com]

The Kobo is the Borders brand e-reader. It's got a very simplified design and a pretty wide format compatibility going for it, but... not a lot else, tbh.

I have a hunch the design was intended to appeal to the less tech-savvy, which is fine. It wouldn't be my e-reader of choice, but there's a definite demographic it seems to be doing well with. Out of all the readers I've seen, the Sony readers look the most attractive to me.

[greyduck.livejournal.com]

My primary went to Borders to look at the Kobo, but they also had the Sony 350 on hand, she tried that, bought it instead of the Kobo, and loves it. And she's a far more voracious reader than I.

For what that's worth, anecdotal and such. :)

[westonian.livejournal.com]

Clearly what we need is a smelly Kindle. Leave one in the bookshelf for a month, see what happens.

[sonozakitwins.livejournal.com]

Part of me would really love to get a Kindle for no other reason than to lock it to wikipedia, take a sharpie to the back and write "DON'T PANIC" on it.

All it needs is a text to speech function with Peter Jones' voice and I'll finally be able to realize my dream of having a Guide.

[alliancesjr.livejournal.com]

(http://www.xkcd.com)