Fun Stuff > ENJOY
The Amazon Kindle and other E-Book Readers
Joseph:
--- Quote from: Wyr on 22 Jan 2009, 01:49 ---You are single handidly destroying literature in this world.
--- End quote ---
This confuses me a bit. Care to explain?
öde:
Well literature has to be on paper. It certainly can't be published like this.
Alex C:
I bet the cuneiform scribes said the same thing when some young punk started yammering on about his fancy shmancy papyrus.
Drambels:
I can't speak for the Kindle, but I love my sony e-book reader.
It can't compare with the feel of a real book, there's no comfortable way of holding it for an extended period of time, and the buttons can drive you mad.
But when you're done reading a book on it, you're not carrying a lump of paper around until you get home, to a used bookstore, or to the nearest thrash can. Just enter the meny and half a minute later you've started reading a new book. I'm used to carrying at least two books with me whenever I travel, so that's a big plus for me.
Let's not forget that there are thousand of free books available, even without resorting to pirating.
I would rather be without my computer than my reader.
Mallli_kite:
I'm sure to offend SOMEONE with this -- this is the Internet and it is inevitable. So, if you feel like being offended, you can start now.
<rant>I'm also a big fan of my Sony E-reader. I had an E-Bookman some years ago. I read books on my cell phone when I'm stuck in line. I spend hours on the computer reading and writing. I avoided the Kindle in part because I did NOT want the Blue Tooth/web enabled function -- the Internet distracts me enough as is.
I should add that I own currently somewhere close to 2500 bound volumes, hardback and paperback. I collect signed books. I buy new and used books. I trade books via the internet. I have a damned storage room I pay rent on each month because I have more books than I can keep in my house. Despite unloading books I no longer want, I just bought more bookshelves, for a total of 12 in the house, 4 in the storage unit. I love books. I love reading.
This argument has been everywhere over the last 8 years (possibly longer -- when did they first start talking about electronic books, 1992? 1990?) and I hear twomajor lines of thought -- one group of people who are all about the sensual experience of the book, and another who are more about portability and space saving. For me, it comes down to one issue -- I don't give a good damn about paper and covers of a "real book". What matters to me is the CONTENT -- you know, the words that make a book a book. Some people love books. Other people love reading. This doesn't mean there isn't something to be said for the sensual side of it -- the smell of an old book, or a new book; the sound of pages turning; being able to write notes and underline impressive bits of text; the heft and feel of the book in your hands. But if what you want is something to read, an e-book works pretty well, especially if you read while you travel. Hell, when desperate, those who just want to read will settle for cereal boxes, stereo instructions, or even the in flight magazine.
It's not even an 'either/or'. There are a LOT of books in the world. There are so many books that thousands of them are remaindered and destroyed every week (not even recycled -- most end up in landfills or incinerators). It's great to loan a book to a friend (never to be seen again, in most cases) and there is a huge thrill in opening the cover of a new book. In my e-book currently I have 96 books (all classics, as it happens) that I take where ever I want so that I can pick something to read whenever I'm stuck somewhere, or when I'm on vacation. (I used to pack between 6 and 10 books with me on vacation -- not that I expected to read them all, but just so I had some choice). I can read MORE because i can carry them easily.
So I get a little confused about people who denounce the e-book as 'the end of literature' and so forth, as if books ARE literature (no, not really, just the latest method of transporting literature -- as someone else pointed out on the thread, skin scrolls and papyrus, stone tablets, temple walls, and caves all precede the printed word).
Speaking of which, how many of you still write letters -- I mean really, with a pen on paper, an envelope and a postage stamp -- instead of sending an email or a text? Do you bemoan the loss of the handwritten letter since the rise of electronic communications? Do you miss the feel of unfolding heavy paper and scanning the carefully inked lines that took days or weeks to reach you? Chances are good that a fair portion of you have little experience with written letters since they were in large part replaced with electronic means of communication. But letters still exist.
I'm hoping that, eventually, publishing will move to an electronic format with print-on-demand for area hard copy distribution. Printing technology is more than up for it. Bookstores would be POD locations with a selection of finer hardbound books for collectors or sensualists. Publishers will concentrate on acquisition and author development, editing and layout, rather than units printed, units stored, and units returned or remaindered.
As for the Sony itself -- light, easy to read/low glare, after about 10 minutes it feels like reading a printed book. Requires a book light for reading in low light conditions (not back lit like a computer screen). Menus are simple to navigate and it's easy to carry. One draw back is that it doesn't support Mobipocket, a format which has a lot of free ebooks. Can support audio books or MP3 music, too. I have the second generation, having heard about some problems with the 3rd gen as they try to expand the technology. Battery life has been fantastic and recharging has not been a problem. </rant>
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