NEWS: The Kindle: A Heretic’s Library

I would love to get an e-reader for travel. I would still end up buying paper books. Nothing is going to make me give up Pratchett hardcovers. I think an e-reader would be great for books I want to read but I'm not sure I'll want taking up space on my shelf forever.

The more I think about it, the more split I am. There are so many factors.

1: the local bookstores here are crap.
2: I get most of my books via Amazon anyway
3: I have to buy a lot of books over the next few years
4: I'm out of book-space as it is

However

1: There are used bookstores within an hour of me in two directions that are WONDERFUL
2: I like to underline
3: I have quite a few books I need to sell off at the moment, which would give me some space.

I can also see it that several of my books are well-loved and thus well-worn. I imagine it couldn't hurt to have digital copies of your faves, so you always have them.

But then again, I do have several copies and editions of my faves.

Let's just say that if someone gave me an e-reader, I would use it, but I probably won't buy one for myself just yet.

The Kindle doesn't support the format that most libraries are using for e-books, and their selection remains small and heavily in demand even if you've got one of the e-readers that does support library books (which are, unfortunately, generally inferior to the Kindle in many respects, including price these days.)

There are regular e-book bargains, though - I've dozens of Kindle books that cost me nothing at all, and quite a few more that are either normally priced in the $1-3 range (indie authors, mostly) or were that low on sale. There are blogs that track that sort of thing. It's not a good way to pick up specific authors, but it helps supplement reading material and introduce you to stuff you might not have seen otherwise. And there's Project Gutenberg and similar if you have an interest in older, out-of-copyright literature. (Also, there are torrents. But that's bad, don't do that. )

I find Ray Bradbury to generally be really sentimental about stuff like that. Even when he writes about crazy futuristic scenarios, it's often with a tinge of wistfulness or regret. Great imagination, but also really fond of simple traditions.

Personally, I don't really care about the smell of books, and I'm not in the habit of underlining or writing in the margins. I got an e-reader recently and it'll probably replace novels for me.

I'm very resistant to these devices. Firstly, I just find them patently unnatural. I like curling up with a book on the couch or in bed. Just as Morgan, I enjoy the tactile sensation, and the smell of a good book. Reading a paper book isn't just about the words on the page, it's an experience unto itself.

Secondly, I like collecting books. I like having shelves and shelves full of books, so to me the space-saving advantage of such a device is moot.

Thirdly, I don't want to end up having to re-purchase the same e-books when the technology is upgraded. Even though I have a nearly eidetic memory, I like to reread my books over and over. Once I buy a paper book, it's mine forever. With the speed at which electronics technology evolves, the e-book device I buy today may not be compatible, or even completely non-functional in five years. Even with minimal care, a paper book can last at least a hundred years. The paper book I buy will be around for the entirety of my lifetime, and l can pass it on to future generations of my family to enjoy. The operating system never needs to be updated. If the power goes out, I can still read my paper-book so long as the sun is up, or I have some candles.

I can also share a paper book with my friends and family. Just like downloaded songs, downloaded books have all sorts of DRM and anti-sharing software attached to them. I'm highly skeptical that I could transfer e-books bought on one device to a new one if I wanted to upgrade, or transfer them to a friend's device if I wanted to lend it out. The sharing of books (and through the books, knowledge) is a practice at the core of our civilization.

I love books, I love bookstores, new & used. I can NEVER see myself giving up on good old paper books totally, but the draw of an e-reader of some type is pretty strong right now. Thats really been brought about by the fact that in 2 months I'm going to be packing up & moving to another country, on the other side of the world & I'm faced with having to dispose of almost all my collection of books. About 25 years worth of them in all.
When it comes to books I'm a hoarder, I hate to let go of even the ones I dislike!
With a kindle I could keep my entire collection with no problems at all. The expense of carting several hundred books or varying sizes across the world just isn't worth thinking about!

But you're talking about two different things here. One is purchasing new e-books, the other is buying a new device to read them.

For example: Yes, people upgrade their devices to listen to music often, but the mp3 has been the standard for 15 years now. I don't have to replace my music collection when my device breaks.

I do agree that one of the problems is that there is no universal e-book file type, one that is used by all devices. Once that gets sorted out, I can imagine e-books will take off more than ever (and already, Amazon's kindle just passed the last Harry Potter book as their all time greatest seller).

Again, I'm not an e-book user--and I have a huge collection of books. I just think its funny hearing the same arguments being used against them that were used just 10-15 years ago with music devices. I imagine that in 10 years or so I'll have a decent e-reader and a bunch of books, just like I have iTunes and a bunch of records now.

There's -almost- a universal standard - EPUB - but Amazon doesn't use it and has no real incentive to. But even with the nearly universal file format, most of the ebook stores use various DRM schemes that are not compatible with various devices.

That said, there are tools to strip DRM, just like there were for music, and there are tools to convert files from one format to another with great ease, just like there were for music. Better, actually.