I'm a reader. I LOVE reading. I carry a book or two or three with me at all times. At least two reside in my car, one in my briefcase and one is always tucked in a drawer at work (not that I ever read at work, who has the time) but for that occasional lunch hour that I have nothing to do, no personal or work errands, left my netbook at home, etc. Because of this habit of salting my areas with books, I am generally reading three or four books at a time. Recently a friend who also reads a great deal, asked me what I thought of the new readers for electronic books, specifically Amazons Kindle.
I love the idea of electronic books. Immediate gratification! Cringe...I know I do lean towards that more and more, perhaps its age or time availability. I wouldn't have to drive at lunch over to XXXXXXs Books (one of my favorite bookstores here in the Portland Metro area), dash around to find something new by the authors I read. Or a new author, which requires browsing time or at least one cell phone call to my daughter digging for anyone she's run across that she likes or thinks I would like, while hanging on to my bag and the books I've already found. If she hasn't any suggestions then another call to a close friend, and little time spent reading that lunch. With the Kindle I could sit at my desk download new books on it while working on spreadsheets, then go find a shady spot, set my cell alarm for an hour (otherwise I would read the afternoon away) and read. When done bookmark the place and tuck it into my briefcase and go back to work.
Sounds great...but then.....I love to hold a book, its weight, turn the pages, dog ear the pages where I left off, (and now you all will cringe) open the book and crack the spine. And what about falling asleep with an electronic reader? I've definately fallen asleep with books (not that the book was boring). What would happen to an electronic reader if you drooled on it, (Laughing), rolled over on it, or knocked it off the bed? Of course an electronic reader I don't suppose weighs much, so I wouldn't have to worry about flattening my nose as books have often almost done as I fell asleep reading. Another thing, a trip to a bookstore when I can take time and browse, soak up the atmosphere, meet friends, discuss books, is something I enjoy. A quick dash to an online bookstore and downloading doesn't seem to have the same ambiance.
I love the idea of electronic books. Immediate gratification! Cringe...I know I do lean towards that more and more, perhaps its age or time availability. I wouldn't have to drive at lunch over to XXXXXXs Books (one of my favorite bookstores here in the Portland Metro area), dash around to find something new by the authors I read. Or a new author, which requires browsing time or at least one cell phone call to my daughter digging for anyone she's run across that she likes or thinks I would like, while hanging on to my bag and the books I've already found. If she hasn't any suggestions then another call to a close friend, and little time spent reading that lunch. With the Kindle I could sit at my desk download new books on it while working on spreadsheets, then go find a shady spot, set my cell alarm for an hour (otherwise I would read the afternoon away) and read. When done bookmark the place and tuck it into my briefcase and go back to work.
Sounds great...but then.....I love to hold a book, its weight, turn the pages, dog ear the pages where I left off, (and now you all will cringe) open the book and crack the spine. And what about falling asleep with an electronic reader? I've definately fallen asleep with books (not that the book was boring). What would happen to an electronic reader if you drooled on it, (Laughing), rolled over on it, or knocked it off the bed? Of course an electronic reader I don't suppose weighs much, so I wouldn't have to worry about flattening my nose as books have often almost done as I fell asleep reading. Another thing, a trip to a bookstore when I can take time and browse, soak up the atmosphere, meet friends, discuss books, is something I enjoy. A quick dash to an online bookstore and downloading doesn't seem to have the same ambiance.
I thought about other types of reading I do, newspapers and magazines. I can go to the Oregonian online anytime and it's free, but I love my newspaper on the weekends. Getting up Sunday morning and sitting on the patio with a cup of tea and the newspaper is my Sunday ritual. I recycle my newspapers, some go out to the recycle bin, some line the debris trays of my parrots cages. I love getting my magazines and turning the glossy pages, reading, even turning to page 98 to finish the article.
The other thing about any electronic reader is the ability to lend or share books. I purchase a great deal of books, when I have to start looking for places to put them (the bookcases are full and now so is under the bed) I "clean house" so to speak and sort through books, box them up and haul them to work. We have a bookcase in the ladies lounge for our lending library. I donate books, I pass books on to friends and even box them up and send them to my daughter.
After the discussion with my friend, we both came to the conclusion that we love our printed books. I will look into a reader, my friend, not to sure about them. A reader would tuck easily into my briefcase and would hold more than one book and Icould leave my books at home. A call to my daughter to get her opinion on electronic readers surprised me, into all the latest, she twitters, or is that tweets?, is on FB, blogs, texts, etc., it seems that she's not sure about electronic readers either. She did say that she has downloaded some books onto her laptop, but for the price of an electronic book device she would rather get a netbook.
So my question to those of you who do Kindle: How do you like it? Is it all you hoped for? Storage capacity? Book availability? I'm sure this would be a NO but, lending ability?
To those of you that haven't, To Kindle or Not To Kindle?
4 comments:
Not to Kindle...but...no..not to Kindle.
No... no Kindle! Bookstores are magical wonderful places and they are dying because of electronic books. Books are real, organic things, made of paper. They are living things. The world doesn't need more electronic things.
I think it's wonderful that you have a house full of books. A house without books is sterile and cold.
I believe that if the world gets rid of its books for electronic books, it is just one step away from our being controlled as to what we read. I know that sounds unreasonably paranoid -- which I am not. But once we have purchased a book and we own it, it cannot be electronically deleted.
As Cedar says, ... not to Kindle. :-)
Cedar: Not to kindle...got it ;)
but.....well maybe just technical books dl to my computer for now, if the technical books grow I may think about it again for that particular use. They do weigh a ton and have broken more handles on briefcases.
Jo: The idea of being so portable is nice, but I do agree with you on many points, which is why I've not gotten around to purchasing a kindle. And I do worry about the lending and giving books to others. I enjoy passing on favorites to others, as much as I love having books passed on to me. I will probably continue to download technical books on to my computer.
There is such pleasure in holding a book; and yes they are living things. When I was young, books were another world for me. I could fall between the pages into any story and spent many hours housed within their covers. I most likely could now but for time constraints.
I love bookstores; Powell's here in Portland is one of my favorites. It is truly a unique place.
Excellent point on censorship, I had not thought of that aspect. I too worry at times that we are overdoing the electronic world. And it's not paranoid to worry about censorship in this world. Books have been a target in the past and continue to be with "fringe" groups into control.
Amazon has removed books from people's Kindles in the past. They caught hell for it, since the books were obtained in a fashion that the readers thought was legal. I can't remember what the book was or what came of it, but you can probably google it. The Nook hasn't been out long enough, I think, to have encountered the same kind of problems.
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