Comments on: Loomings

By: Gary

Gary — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 04:32:56 +0000

Christine, you bring up even more good points. Using those scraps of paper is another way in which to truly “own” a book, indeed. You made me laugh about forgetting to charge up the Kindle before hitting the beach. Pretty much as bad as forgetting to bring your real books, huh?

Yes, it would be great to be chosen as one of the select few to send the junk to the “Kindle-only” format. But who gets to decide who gets to be among the select few? I guess we would also have to find a way to be in charge of selecting the selectors.

By: cemming

cemming — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:53:02 +0000

It’s also difficult to review a book on the Kindle, or to read it mindfully, as you’ll have to scroll back and forth through the pages, rather than leaving lovely bits of paper tucked inside to note references as I often do. That’s part of the tactile satisfaction I find in books that can’t be replicated by a digitally-enhanced paper screen. And how horrified would you be on vacation to find that you couldn’t read at the beach because you’d forgotten to charge up your book? Grrr.

I also love the trees and rain curses upon some of the terrible books that waste them. I’m wondering if we could eliminate the paper suck by publishing terrible books only to the Kindle. Just kidding. . . . sort of.

By: Gary

Gary — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:14:52 +0000

Thanks, Amy. You brought up some things I hadn’t considered or didn’t know about (one-time downloading and fan fiction). I’ve never liked reading large amounts of content on a screen, either, so it makes me wonder what it’s like to try to read a whole book.

I haven’t actually looked at a Kindle yet, and I’m curious about the electronic paper technology and if it’s really that much different than reading on a regular screen. Like you, it’s hard for me to imagine using anything other than a traditional book for my pleasure reading.

I’ve also heard that advertisers can put ads in your “books” on Kindle, which can’t be anything other than obnoxious.

I can see myself eventually using a Kindle for work-related stuff, but like you, I don’t see it as a complete replacement for traditional books. I hope market demand never creates that kind of lopsided situation.

By: bibanon1

bibanon1 — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:07:15 +0000

I have followed the Kindle story with interest and I’m not convinced about it. I do not like reading things on a screen. The convenience is intriguing but it just isn’t the same as a physical book. I think the issues with replication are interesting as well. Because of the fact that they have special coding on these e-books, they can only be downloaded once. This means you cannot move the copy you bought to your desktop or another Kindle. Fan fiction is a big subculture as well and this coding prevents fans from pursuing this sort of hobby which often drives the popularity of books series. And what about being able to share your favorite books with other people? Can’t do that with Kindle. I’m not convinced.