Kindle Schmindle
I have a house full of books. Every room in the house has bookshelves. Last summer, I put four new six foot tall shelves in the basement and filled them, front and back — that got the books off the floor around the rest of the house. That’s the second time I’ve done this.
So, some people like the clutter of books, as I do. Some love the feel of a nice deckle-edged hardback with crisp paper — some more than others.
I understand, even if I don’t share it, the appeal for some of having all their books in a convenient, portable form. And, undeniably, it’s cool to be able to have instant access to a big library of books. (How big is something I’ll return to.)
But, for me, the Kindle is not that. Look, toilet seats are made of the same stuff that Kindles are (and the comparisons don’t end there).
The iPhone (or iPod Touch) Kindle, is a different matter. Instead of black ink against grey, you get stark black type on white, very legible. It’s also smaller and lighter and the pages turn instantly. And it’s not plastic.
So, am I won over? Maybe eventually. Several huge problems remain. First, you never know how many pages long anything is. I think Jeff Bezos thinks his numbering system is somehow the obvious, futuristic equivalent. For me, it’s just dumb.
And, I’ll never get comfortable with the idea that Amazon can delete (flush) anything I buy. iTunes can’t even do that.
But, worst of all, is the incredibly limited number of books in the Kindle store. If you’re looking for modern poetry, forget it. Wallace Stevens? No. T.S. Eliot’s “Four Quartets”? Nope.
How about Science Fiction? Robert Heinlein? Two novels, but no Stranger in a Strange Land or Door into Summer. And there is nothing by perhaps the greatest Sci-Fi author of the latter 20th century, Stanislaw Lem.
There’s no Vladimir Nabokov and the only Faulkner is Carolyn (a specialist in SM fiction, as it happens).
I could go on and on.
Amazon advertises that there are hundreds of thousands of books available. Maybe someday they’ll have books I’m interested in reading.
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I’m a big fan of the Kindle. I’m not smart enough to be reading Nabokov or Faulker, so the selection of books also works for me. I agree it has design flaws, but the comparison to a toilet seat is kind of rough!
So don’t buy it. I understand liking paper. Don’t get all huffy and tell us why we shouldn’t buy what you want.
errr … don’t want.
Raised a lot of the same questions I have. If Kindle is so great why does Amazon maintain such tight control? Why does Amazon have its ‘own’ format? Why does Amazon have the ‘right’ to delete a ‘book’ I HAVE PAID FOR?. No, no, it needs to be more ‘Reader friendly’. Chris is right, but, you are free to make your own decision, he will not destroy, or delete the contents of your Kindle, but Amazon might, and then where is your investment. A book can be found on the shelf and bring back wonderful memories of the story, of your life when you read the story, of the times you re-read or discovered another friend in print or in life.
I have no use for Kindle myself, but I don’t see that as a reason to trash it – and, by extension, people who enjoy it and are satisfied with the selections. Methinks Mr. Guerin speaks from the place of way too much defensiveness. Perfectly justified defensiveness, assuming somebody is trying to stuff a Kindle down his throat and force him to give up his library.
I disagree with those readers who find Mr. Guerin defensive. It seems I can’t touch my computer without having to close a Kindle ad. The amount of response ought to be at least proportional to the amount of hype, so Mr. Guerin should in fact add to his account. The folks at Amazon are certainly trying to shove the nasty little gadget down our throats!
I love books, and I love reading. My den is floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall bookcases stuffed with years of collecting favorite authors.
The ‘idea” of the Kindle is intriguing, as was the idea of other, dedicated ebook readers. I read 2-3 books a week, pure escapism and the ability to carry a library in my pocket is intoxicating.
My problem has always been an unwillingness to carry multiple electronic gadgets. My phone, camera, ebook reader etc.
The PDA was a good step forward and I have tried a couple. The ability to perform other tasks in addition to reading was nice, but I found that I used them almost exclusively as an ebook reader. Still had to c arry a phone…
Now smartphones are the next logical step and I rejoiced at the multi-tasking possibilities.
I owned several Windows Mobile phones, loving the Microsoft reader for the clear type, scalable fonts and ease of use, but disappointed in the available software for other uses. Again, they were primarly used as book readers with the ability to be annoyed by people calling when I was trying to read.
Recently I sipped from the Apple koolaid and got an iPhone 3gs with 32gbs of memory. I waited for a long time before diving in because there wasn’t, for a while, a decent book reader among the thousands of “apps” created by, and marketed to, pre-teens and those with attention span issues.
As of today, I have no fewer than 5 ebook reader apps on my iPhone!
Each one does something different, but better than the rest. EasyReader does Text superbly, while GoodReader is the only PDF reader worth using. Kindle, B&N and Stanza allow me access to the free books that Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, Baen Publishing etc put out to tease in the buyers.
I am in nerdish-bibliophile heaven.
Thanks, Eva, that’s exactly what I was going to say in response to Jericho. Did anyone see the interview with Jeff Bezos in the NYTimes recently? He’s bent on ruling the book world. Amazon, the retail equivalent of the biggest river in the world.
Now, I actually love Amazon, and have spent a not-so-small fortune there on books and music. But, Kindle is always in your face. You can’t make it go away. I’d like to light a candle to the Kindle and send it up in smoke!
As I said, I do like the Kindle app on my iTouch, and all indications are that handhelds will be far more popular in the long run, so Preacher is on the right track.
But, will the publishers go along? They’re already holding back e-versions of new books ( http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/publishers-delay-e-book-releases/?scp=1&sq=publishers%20delay&st=cse ) and writer’s estates are laying claim to the digital rights of their authors’ back catalogues ( http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/business/media/13ebooks.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=estates%20book%20rights&st=cse ), so Amazon has a long way to go to solve my main issue, which is the availability of the books I want to read.