Earlier this week Jon Stewart (yes, we are a little obsessed) invited Amazon's Jeff Bezos on the show to talk about the new Kindle e-reader. In between the loud and jovial laughter by Jeff, Jon brought up a very important point that we wanted to share with you and then get some insight. After Jeff explained what the Kindle is Jon replied, "Books are decidedly low tech, almost comfortably low tech...When I was a kid and I moved, I had no furniture, but I had crates filled with books. It made me feel like my time on this earth, I had accomplished something."
Jon has a point. Books and the shelves they fill are as much a part of one's décor as the pictures hanging on the wall or the Thomas Paul pillows on one's couch. They, like someone's CD collection, offer up a glimpse into someone's life and personality that you may only find after years of knowing that person. They in essence are the Cliff Notes of a person's life. Plus, you can't really color code your Kindle collection.
On top of that, books are seeped with a tradition. A tradition of curling up on the couch and holding a thick, warm book; flipping the pages and smelling the paper and ink with every turn. With the Kindle you miss all that. Yes, you get in return thousands of books in the smallest footprint ever, but can you really give up the feel of a book?
We for example, and we feel very guilty about this, still buy magazines because we would much rather read off of paper than the computer screen. Plus, we would much rather lay on our side with a folded up New Yorker than have our hot and heavy laptop on our laps -- we've found it's hard to read on your side with a laptop.
Are you planning on buying one of the $360 readers? Do you already own one? Please tell us about your experience or why you've decided not to get one.
photos: Amazon.com
Olivia's Life in London…On a Budget 
Aftermarket Resources for Customizing IKEA Furniture 
Like us on Facebook
RSS Feed (Atom)
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Bracken Ridge Rug 13
12 Recipes to Know By Heart
How To Make Cake Pops
Comments (9)
I, too, am conflicted about this. I still buy the newspaper on Sundays, even though I can go online and read it. There's just something about reading an actual print copy . . . .
At the same time, given the situation we are in with regard to climate change forecasts, I feel obliged to ultimately read the paper online. I wish more magazines offered online viewing subscriptions.
Maybe my partner will get me a Kindle for my 40th b-day next week!
While I'm not sure how I feel about the Kindle, you can't compare it to a laptop. First of all, e-ink is a decidedly different reading experience. In addition, it's nothing like holding a bulky, hot laptop. It's smaller, lighter, and presumably much cooler.
I LOVE my kindle! It has changed my world for the better. It has eliminated the piles of books that I use to have all over and it used no paper, making it better for the environment. I can be reading a book and finish it and have a new book in 2 minutes. It is amazing! Having said that, I will admit that the Kindle is not for everyone. The books are cheaper than buying them in hardback, but not always cheaper than a paperback. I would say if you don't read at least 3-4 books a month the only benefit to having a kindle would be to be environmentally friendly and to keep the piles of books from taking up space in your house.
Why can't you have both? I don't like the argument that if you buy a Kindle, you'll stop buying and cherishing real books. I want a Kindle and will continue to buy books as well, because they serve two different purposes; the Kindle is for travel (or bulky books you don't want to be on your bookshelf later, ahem, Twilight), and real books are for curling up with. I use my cell phone, but I still talk to my loved ones face to face. There's no reason why you can't have it both ways.
I agree that this is a great idea for certain readable media...but I will always have certain books in paper copies...and I would hate to think of never smelling a "library stench" again...I love the smell of an old book...
I agree with Shannon from SF..."there's no reason why you can't have it both ways"
If they come up with a short-term, low cost book rental to go with an ereader, I think it will become far more popular. The DC library lets you do this with music and video material. If I could have Kindle and get a book on it for 4 weeks for, say, $1 (or less) it's a much more viable option than $10 to have it forever.
It's clearly a binary choice, because the moment any human on Earth buys a Kindle, everybody's books are going to spontaneously combust.
i spend a good deal of time on a sailboat (solar power/watermaker on board) and a kindle is a dream come true. i can store as much as i could possibly read ahead of time. i would otherwise not be able to take enough on a longer voyage.
with space not quite as much of a commodity on dry land, bring on the real thing!
It's definitely not going to replace displaying your most cherished books. However, given online alternatives like Goodreads and Shelfari, it's both easier and less expensive to track one's reading accomplishments digitally rather than using dozens of square feet of storage space (which you have to pay for transporting every time you move ... and holy crap, boxes of books are heavy!).
Right now I have dozens of boxes of books that are yet unpacked since I moved last year. It's frustrating trying to find that ONE book in the midst of all of them. If they were all ebooks, that would be much easier.
The Kindle is definitely nice to curl up with on the couch, tea at hand and cat on lap, by the way. :) I am totally in love with mine, too.