NEWS: The Kindle: A Heretic’s Library

CULTURE: The Kindle: A Heretic’s Library

by A.J. Focht

Technology is advancing all around us, and it’s not always easy to be for it when it continually changes so many facets of everyday life. I recently purchased a Kindle, after several days of convincing myself that it was ok. You see, I have complained about them for years, never intending to buy one. The concept of getting rid of my paper books was more than appalling, and the English major inside me died a little every time I saw someone with one.

Then things began to happen that made me reevaluate the idea of a handheld reader. Kindle announced its 3G Wireless model with access to Wikipedia from anywhere (little did I know it was actually full internet access). Soon after this announcement, I moved into my current apartment. It didn’t take me long to realize that I have too much stuff. My book collection takes up its own case as well as three other shelves. As I tried to shove all of my books into the tiny living space, I found myself considering the advantages of a handheld reader for the first time.





[Dii in Library]

While I love my paperback novels, it became harder than ever to justify them when I could own them all digitally – and fit them in my backpack. My backpack itself would end up being fifteen pounds lighter a semester as I would not need to haul around class books. Not to mention, my bank account would love to pay 50% or less, on average, per book. Still I didn’t budge. It wasn’t until this semester that I ended up giving in, mainly because the total cost of my books on Kindle and a new Kindle was less than the cost of ordering the actual books.

Upon getting my Kindle, I promptly played around with all the features. I found my way online, and updated my Twitter and Facebook from the Kindle. It didn’t take long for the comments to come in. Kindle haters are everywhere. I didn’t know that my hatred for handheld readers was shared by so many. After spending nearly an hour replying to messages and explaining my blasphemous error, I gave up.

The thought of the paper book becoming extinct scares a whole lot of people (but then lovers of papyrus scrolls were probably turning in their graves when the printed page became state-of-the-art). Kindle haters don’t care about the advantages to be had; it is all a matter of preserving a longstanding tradition and cultural artifact. They would rather move a whole paper library in boxes than have it at their fingertips at all times but composed of bytes and electronic ink. I can’t say I blame them. I felt like that too – once.

The more I play with my Kindle, the more I like the direction this technology is going. The ability to highlight any word and look it up in the Oxford English Dictionary or New Oxford American Dictionary is a convenient luxury. Notating books and documents is also easy as can be, and for those who hate marking in paper books, like me, this is a really nice change. The Kindle’s unique design and electronic ink, instead of LCD screen, makes the reading experience much more enjoyable than I would have imagined. Honestly, the thing I like the least is the internet access. I had expected full access to Wikipedia, and I was ok with that. Open internet access means I have distractions, not that I am going to complain about it.

I don’t know that I need my electronic reader to have internet, but I like all of the other changes. Now that I have the product in my possession, I am finding it very difficult to hold on to any of my past grudges against it. I don’t know that it would be so bad if we abandon paper books; I mean, it would save a whole lot of trees. I don’t ever plan on getting rid of all my paper books. It would be nice, though, to have only one shelf of my favorite titles (something tells me it will consist of the Harry Potter series and a load of graphic novels).

Related reading: My Life Is An Open Kindle by Mur Lafferty.

Well written!



then you end the first paragraph with:

I fear the English major inside you may have flat-lined years ago.

Seriously: It's the fucking opening paragraph. Try a little.

Electronic readers may play to the desired conveniences of some people, such as yourself, but they'll never be for me, and I refuse to support them. I'm squarely with Ray Bradbury on this one.

I can't see a time where I'd switch (especially permanently) to E-readers and I don't have one, but I find it sort of funny that people are posting in a medium that didn't exist 20 years ago (and quoting a 90 year old!) saying "I'll never!"

Sorry, but you don't know the what the world will be like in 5-10 years, let alone 50. I also find it depressing that someone with Ray Bradbury's imagination is so dedicated to what is, and what has been, rather than what could be. Sort of backwards thinking, if you ask me.

I love you and want to bear your book-babies!

My mom gave me her old Kindle when she decided to upgrade to the new one. I still have my membership to the book-of-the-month club and I still read actual books. I don't think I will ever give them up completely.

BUT...I cannot say enough awesome things about the ability to e-read my textbooks for class. First, it is actually about half the price of buying all of the textbooks in hardback format. Most quarters I spend $300+....this past quarter I spent $180 and only two of my three classes had e-versions of the text. Second, I work fulltime and go to class in the middle of the day...I hate hauling bookbags and supplies to and from my office. My Kindle, writing supplies, and a small notebook fit in my purse.

Then the other added benefit of the Kindle that I have discovered - no more naughty paperback books laying around your house for others to see. Now, they're all on my Kindle and I don't have to run around checking every room of the house for forgotten erotica before people come to visit...

Frankly, when the Kindle launched, I scoffed. I didn't see e-books ever making a significant impact on my life, and $400 for that thing? Pfft. pfffffffft. Even two years ago, I would have told you you would pry my paper books from my cold, dead hands. The feel, the smell, all that. A year and a half ago, I got my Kindle 2, because, well, I'd been doing some e-reading anyway, on PSP and Palm and stuff, and...why not, right? A dedicated device would at least better those makeshift solutions.

Fast-forward to today. I have a Kindle Wifi, I've given Kindles to both my parents and my grandfather, and I never read a paper book unless I can't find the book electronically. It's just that much of an improvement over the old way. The convenience. The small profile. The light weight. I will say that the vaunted savings on books hasn't been true for me, though. Not only did I get most of my reading material from the library, but even when I did buy books it was typically used, and even when I bought new, it was usually trade or mass market paperbacks, which are comparable or cheaper than Kindle versions most of the time. It's worth it, though.

I do hope no one gets fooled by upstart technology like the iPad, though. I'm sure such devices have many uses, but for reading, e-ink devices outclass them completely.

I think taking a stance on anything with such vehement conviction, without knowing much about it or giving it a chance, it really upsetting. I won't be trying to pry books out of anyone's cold dead hands. You can do whatever you want. I will continue to love my kindle, as well as real-live paper books! Yes, you can do both!

I think being open to trying new things is a good thing. Especially when it's so much easier for me to read more! I carry my kindle with me everywhere, because it's small, lightweight and portable. Sometimes, the books that I read aren't always all that portable...but they can be now! I read a lot more now than I have in the past few years, and I love it!

If this technology is getting people to read more, because of the conveniences of the product, than where is the harm? I see only advantages!

I put the Kindle app on my iPhone and surprisingly, it has a color setting that makes it look close to an older, slightly faded, hardcopy book. Yes, the screen is still shiny, but it's not bad to read. I prefer my Kindle because it isn't shiny, but if I get stuck somewhere and have time to kill, the phone works in a pinch.

I love my eReaders. I still buy paper books out of gratitude to the bookstore owners who are such treasuries of recommendations. But if it's a book I found without their aid, it's going on my kindle account. I have moved house too many times, and carried quite literally tons of boxes of books over my years. The fetish object that is a book is a beautiful thing, but having my library in my pocket at all times is a charm all its own.

Paper books, in our age, are luxuries, like ice cream or fine chocolate. Enjoy. But spare respect for the new worlds ePaper opens, please. Tell me of the subtle spice of an aged book, and I'll smile in appreciation. But don't be bitter about the coming of the new. Let me tell you of night train rides between Prague and Berlin, reading my way through volumes in series after the lights cut off in the sleeper car, by a glowing iPhone screen.

The most important part of any book is the author's words. His or her writing style will shine through regardless of the medium.

I still read newspapers.

There are still some important things you can't do with e-books. Like lend them to friends. (Well, the Nook and now the Kindle support a really crippled loaning feature where you can loan a book once and once only, ever, for 14 days, to someone else with a compatible device, if the publisher lets you, but that's obviously not sufficient.)

The kindle proper is no worse for your eyes than a conventional book. ePaper looks pretty much like standard paper. Kindle software on a computer, iPad, etc. is a different story.

The only complaint I have against this kind of technology is that it makes information more malleable, and potentially liable to manipulation and control. It would be far more easy to ban, to manipulate or to locate all copies of a book if all books are on networked devices.

Paper will always have a place. But so too, will the new technology.

As much as I love real books, I am tempted to get one for travel.

+1

I still have an ever-growing room full of books, but they can be a bit of a pain to bring places. If I'm traveling by myself, I can zip through 3-4 books in a week. That's a lot of space and weight that could be saved with an e-reader.

But, when I'm at home, sitting in my big comfy chair next to the fireplace, dog at my feet, cat on my lap, hot tea on the table beside me, there will always be a big heavy book in my hand.

On a related note, my sister works a night job in NYC. She monitors (mostly) sleeping patients, so she has a lot of time to read. Combine that with an hour's subway ride, and the Kindle is perfect for her. But that just reinforces the "travel" idea.

I did buy a kindle for my dad for Christmas, because it matches his personality. He likes to read, but he's not much of a fan of the books themselves. He never re-reads a book, and as soon as he is done with them, he brings them to me to take to the used bookstore (since he doesn't want to be bothered with actually going to the used bookstore.)

He loves it, even thought I'm not sure he's downloaded a book yet. Anytime he gets a new piece of technology, he wants to spend about a month figuring out everything it can do before he actually uses it. Which has resulted in about 10 calls to me and at least 2 to the technical helpline to get him back to square one. But, he keeps thanking me for it and saying how much he likes it.

Our library is starting to do that, and I think it will grow with the new library expansion we have going on. But don't they do it on a time-restricted basis? Like, you can bring in your kindle and check out books, but in two weeks, the book disappears from your machine?