My former co-worker, Jackie, and I used to get together at least once a week to chat books and make recommendations to one another (like the Pink Carnation series which we both felt was a “delightful romp”). After Jackie left, I had no one to talk to regularly and am always thrilled whenever I get a little IM window or phone call from her. One day she called with big news. I never would have guessed it of her and asked if she’d share her experience with you. She’s a fantastic writer (you can read more at DivulgencesNYC), and thankfully she agreed!
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Ok, so I ordered a Kindle 2 from Amazon a few months ago. I tend to use the Amazon.com site as a quick reference for books in print, and was repeatedly bombarded by banner ads telling me to “Say Hello to Kindle 2.” Then, whenever I looked up a book or author, the price of their Kindle downloads was displayed, always under $10 (a nice list of traditional novels are free)–which even by my questionably meager math knowledge is measurably less than the going coin for print versions. Used books might be an option; however, buying pre-owned books purchased off the internet is a crap shoot. I anxiously hope that the splendid first edition of This Side of Paradise doesn’t smell like the musty basement where it’s been stored since the publishing in 1920. So, on economic principles alone, how could I not buy one?
Pondering expenditures, I’ve sat through innumerable cost analyses in my corporate life, and I think that publishers, authors, and publicists alike, have to appreciate the ease, price, and time savings of this electronic medium. I’m sure someone on the interweb has scrutinized numbers on the business end of things and they probably would agree there is cost benefit here from a business and sales perspective.
While I waited for delivery, I invented other reasons to justify my purchase–reasons which were not part of the original decision making, like the dragging weight of books when I travel or commute. Also, as a voracious reader, I have to wonder how much of the environment has been destroyed to sustain my addiction to the written word. Once I learned that magazines and newspaper subscriptions were also available, I mused that maybe I had found a newspaper which didn’t turn my fingers black.
My greatest concern was the immensely embedded tactile pleasure offered to me by books. I speculated my longing for the sense of a real book in my hands, the smell of ink and paper, the ability to show off or discuss what I’m reading on the train, and the anticipation, rustling, and feeling of physically turning a page. Indeed, I have an extreme romantic attachment to books, one that I didn’t imagine would be easily shaken.
When the Kindle arrived, it seemed and still seems like a simplistic device, hardly the cultural revolution touted by society’s pundits and techies. Although who’s to say? Look at the upheaval bread mold caused Pasteur. With a bit of futzing time, I learned how to fairly operate the gadget, but do have to say, I did not find it as intuitive as I expected; and admittedly, I still don’t know how to unfailingly bookmark or flag a section, and have since abandoned attempting it all together.
Downloading, also known as shopping, is easy. Off the bat, I purchased several books and snatched up all their complimentary classics. The actual reading of the first book was an uncomfortable struggle, and I wasn’t sure if it was the material or the mechanism through which I was reading it. The book, Pygmyby Chuck Palahnuik, was agreeable, but my time with the Kindle needed some acclimation. Being too lazy to add a hardcover to my daily carry load, I opted to keep trying; during The Girl with the Dragon Tattooread, I became hooked on Steig Larsson and Kindle. Something about how it fit into my life made sense, finally.
I realized on a recent trip to Europe that Amazon’s wireless service, Whispernet, has limited reception abroad–likely why curious Spaniards stared at the apparatus, confused.
I’m not convinced that the name Kindle was the best choice; the name is rather ghastly, actually. Or perhaps it is somewhat fitting that the fire of e-books will not be put out.
Hello, Kindle…
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The Kindle is a neat piece of technology, and I definitely think there’s a good market for e-readers like it. The problem with Kindle isn’t the hardware, it’s the corportate policies that keep books locked down. I can’t transfer purchases from one Kindle to another (like how you can hand a book to a friend if you want them to read it), I can’t put stuff that’s not from the Kindle store on it without jumping through a bunch of hoops, and as recent events have shown, if some idiot publisher decides that they no longer want electronic versions of their books out there, Amazon will remotely invade my device and take back the book I have legally purchased, even if it’s against my will. That kind of action is ghastly, and is exactly the kind of thing that will prevent ebooks from flourishing. If MP3′s had those kinds of restrictions when they started appearing they never would have gotten off the ground, it was only when people found out how cool it was to share them that digital music really took off.
If ebooks are ever going to become a major player in the market, they have to be open, shareable, and playable on a variety of players and readers and computers. Locked down technology doesn’t favor the growth of a new market segment, it only hinders it.
Glad to hear you like it! Having just moved, I know all about the hassle in moving books, and I thought about getting some sort of kindle… however the cost put me off. The free ereaders (including the kindle) for the iphone are working just as well for me, and I’m really digging the cheaper prices (well, cheaper most of the time).
.-= Ari´s last blog ..Good end to the first week of school =-.