I got one. Anyone else? Care to muse and discuss? In this early stage with it, I’m finding the Kindle surprisingly readable and fun. In its way, it’s making reading "new." At the same time, I find myself gravitating toward nonfiction with it, rather than the more traditionally "literary" genres of fiction and (certainly) poetry. Maybe I’m used to seeking out information on a screen, and so nonfiction feels more comfortable in that format. In any case, it’s been an interesting Christmas gift…
Amazon Kindle
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Interesting. I got about a hundred pounds worth of books for the holidays; so the Kindle certainly provides room for contmeplation. I don’t feel as opposed to them as I used to. But that said, many of the books I received are illustrated, which the kindle doesn’t respond to yet. It’s funny to me that, with art, we aren’t even talking about looking at originals anymore, it’s a discussion about quality reproduction. Of course, I still look at a lot of original art, but with illustration, things are becoming evermore fluid.
I hosted a family friend that came into town, and he and his wife each had one of these. It was surprisingly fun and a lot more portable than I expected it to be (thin and light). I found myself wanting one, although I’ve been relying on the library almost 100% these days and would like to see the Kindle integrate into a public “checkout” system somehow.
I have a lot of money wrapped up in electronic content, content that sometimes goes away thanks to DRM. Amazon seems to be a pretty benevolent company whenever it comes to their devices, however I am starting to trust and rely on the physicality and rights I entertain with physical CDs, DVDs and books. I still buy a fair share of music (DRM free whenever possible) but there’s an allure to the CD.
That said, I found myself wanting one, and see the value in it if I bought a lot of books in a year and/or traveled. Also, I think this could have a big shift in way classrooms work, if the publishers would let it. With its connectivity, it could be a dream portable classroom. Speaking of which, it’s crazy the way schools and colleges have changed in tech since I went there. Steph does crazy things on the computer now for her classes.
I don’t think I need a Kindle yet. Like Toby, most of what I read comes from the library. Once I look up the call number and find the book in the stacks there’s almost always another book next to it that is as good or better than what I was looking for. I find that the act of browsing educates me more than researching sometimes.
As far as the books that I actually purchase, they are mostly art books which of course the Kindle isn’t quite set up for yet.
I keep library art books around the house sort of flipping through them when I am moved to do so. In the UT library system anyone can recall a book at any time so I don’t feel too guilty about holding on to them for months or even years. Also, the books I check out are often so unfashionable that they haven’t left the stacks in over a decade. Once in a while I perceive that I’ve had a book for over a year and I can’t bring myself to return it so I’ll look it up on addall.com to see how much a used copy will cost. I am often surprised that I can get great art books for under $20.
Last week I was looking through a medieval jewelry book that I’ve checked out twice over the years and decided that it was time for me to see about purchasing it. I found the cheapest copy I could find was $1250 but other were listed for $3500. I immediately started scanning jpgs of the book so that I could return it the next day.
So in conclusion, I don’t think I’ll need the Kindle until it has more image processing capabilities and I can get and e-version of a obscure, out of print book for reasonable price. I have no doubt that time is coming but it’s not here yet. Perhaps Apple’s rumored tablet PC will bring about this revolution….
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/186247/hp_slate_lowers_the_bar_for_apples_tablet_pc.html
But now that you’ve had the Kindle for a couple of weeks Shotts, what do you think? Has it changed your life?