So the Kindle costs as much as 40 paperbacks, and you still have to pay retail price for each book you put on it… Whereas for the same price without the Kindle, you’d have 40 more books to read.
The Kindle costs about $150 deeding on the features you want. You can also borrow e-books from the library with a download. The real advantage is size and the number of books you can carry around with you - great for travel. I’d also love to see them as an option for students so they wouldn’t have to carry around those 50 pound backpacks.
i have the Kindle app on my phone. I’ve downloaded many of the classics for free, with just a few exceptions. modern literature is not really something I like. Gimme “Wuthering Heights”, the “Kalevala”, “Siddhartha”. Don’t think I’ve paid more than $2, and that was a monstrous collection of Kipling. (“Do you like Kipling?” “I don’t know, I’ve never kippled.”)
Pab – generally I think you’re one of the finest minds on the planet – but on this issue I have to disagree. Right now I’m reading God’s War (Tyerman, Harvard University Press, about 960 pages + references, footnotes etc). I bought the book, but honestly it’s just too big, too heavy for recreational reading – but on the Kindle I can take it on the bus, read it in bed, and so on. It’s a brilliant work, wonderfully written, and offers insights into the middle ages that you might not have from other histories.
The next book on my reading list is “Christianity the First 3000 Years” which is 1100 pages plus footnotes etc. Again, if I limit myself to reading at a desk or table, I’ll never finish.
The other posters also make important points. E-books have a real place just as print books do. Oh – if you want a real Luddite, how about calling up Lord Byron? His speech on the Loom Weavers Bill is one of the great classics and he would be a great addition to the cast.
I go to the local used book store/cat haven often, to buy a book and an hour or two of quality lap time, and have noticed that the older paperbacks, at $1/book, are priced higher than at their original issue ($0.65-$0.85).
I understand inflation-adjusted dollars, I just find it amusing. I also cannot buy a book at Borders etc. anymore: I am too shell-shocked by the price. I have bought for my iPhone Kindle app, though, but the price is discounted.
Asimov made it clear some time ago: the very best Data Distribution Device (DDD) is one that is cheap, flexible, allows for a wide range of text, graphics, color or black & white content, allows you to absorb data at your own speed and stop and go back and forth at will, and can survive being dropped into a bathtub. It is a book. eReaders are getting better, but they ain’t there yet.
One issue with eBooks that I hadn’t considered until recently when a critic pointed it out, is that it removes one of your rights: to donate a book to your local library or sell a book. You don’t really own an eBook, you only rent it.
Kindles are great for novels but not so great for textbooks. Flipping pages back and forth or jumping to random pages is clumsy. I read most books on my Kindle but for some books dead trees still work better.
gutenberg.org is awesome. Some of gutenberg’s archive is available for free download direct from Amazon too.
If you want to read .pdf’s pony up for the Kindle DX. You won’t be able to fit a full page on the smaller Kindle legibly and scrolling .pdf pages is awkward.
e-ink screens are very close to paper in terms of eye comfort. The backlights on iPads and such are hard on your eyes.
As a librarian, I can see both sides. I know a lot of women (and some guys, too!) who love to take a good book into the bathtub with them. Can’t do that with a Kindle! Also, tech is advancing at such a phenomenal rate that the Kindle 1.0 is already obsolete. For the techies, and those on the go, though, the Kindle and other e-readers are just the ticket. We offer e-books through our library system, and they are very popular. As for the lowly book it will not become obsolete in my lifetime.
I love my books, but my Kindle is a God-send. I have to have large print and not all books are available in large print. Kindle lets me decide the print size.If it is available on Kindle, I can now read it, like the works of Winston Churchill.
The Kindle price is actually much cheaper than print copies. Also, there are many classics that are available for free, from Plato to Homer to Wilde and more.
Kerouac isn’t in the public domain. If you can’t understand why sites such as gutenberg.org are awesome, then you’ve never needed to read Sassoon at three in the morning, or find Dore’s Biblical drawings, or learn about the 369th.
Fairportfan2, thanks for the heads-up. I hadn’t looked at their index for (reasonably) contemporary writers. I just sent an e-mail about the issue to the SFWA Griefcom.
Jack Williamson only died a few years ago, and Ben Bova is still alive.
Fairportfan2, the Griefcom tells me that Gutenberg.org runs a full copyright check on everything, and keeps the proof on file. So we can download from them with a clear conscience.
A writer doesn’t always own the rights to material; some publishers purchase all rights, and sometimes there are slip-ups.
also a proud Luddite who remembers 12 cent comics and 50 cent paperbacks (which could be bought from coin operated vending machines at the airport). never tried an ebook, though i have visited gutenberg.
For unimportant books, I buy paperbacks. I can keep them, give them away, or trade them in at the used-book store, without any trouble at all. For important books, I buy the hardcover version. If an unimportant book turns out to be one I really want to keep and reread often, I buy the hardcover. If the day ever comes when one can only rent ebooks and must purchase a piece of electronic gear on which to read them, it will be an evil day for scholarship and the preservation of knowledge.
As someone who, at one time, had a 5,000 volume book collection, I will never give up my love of physical books. Nor will I ever give up my Kindle, even though many of the books on the Kindle have counterparts on my shelves. It’s just a lot easier to carry a Kindle with me when I go out to dinner or suchlike, and a lot more comfortable to hold a physical book when I’m at home. Both have their place.
Coyoty Premium Member almost 14 years ago
So the Kindle costs as much as 40 paperbacks, and you still have to pay retail price for each book you put on it… Whereas for the same price without the Kindle, you’d have 40 more books to read.
cdward almost 14 years ago
The Kindle costs about $150 deeding on the features you want. You can also borrow e-books from the library with a download. The real advantage is size and the number of books you can carry around with you - great for travel. I’d also love to see them as an option for students so they wouldn’t have to carry around those 50 pound backpacks.
Bill Thompson almost 14 years ago
Kindle sounds like a great way to read the books on archive.org and gutenberg.org You can’t find most of them in print anywhere.
emjaycee almost 14 years ago
i have the Kindle app on my phone. I’ve downloaded many of the classics for free, with just a few exceptions. modern literature is not really something I like. Gimme “Wuthering Heights”, the “Kalevala”, “Siddhartha”. Don’t think I’ve paid more than $2, and that was a monstrous collection of Kipling. (“Do you like Kipling?” “I don’t know, I’ve never kippled.”)
Samskara almost 14 years ago
Pab – generally I think you’re one of the finest minds on the planet – but on this issue I have to disagree. Right now I’m reading God’s War (Tyerman, Harvard University Press, about 960 pages + references, footnotes etc). I bought the book, but honestly it’s just too big, too heavy for recreational reading – but on the Kindle I can take it on the bus, read it in bed, and so on. It’s a brilliant work, wonderfully written, and offers insights into the middle ages that you might not have from other histories.
The next book on my reading list is “Christianity the First 3000 Years” which is 1100 pages plus footnotes etc. Again, if I limit myself to reading at a desk or table, I’ll never finish.
The other posters also make important points. E-books have a real place just as print books do. Oh – if you want a real Luddite, how about calling up Lord Byron? His speech on the Loom Weavers Bill is one of the great classics and he would be a great addition to the cast.
steverinoCT almost 14 years ago
I go to the local used book store/cat haven often, to buy a book and an hour or two of quality lap time, and have noticed that the older paperbacks, at $1/book, are priced higher than at their original issue ($0.65-$0.85).
I understand inflation-adjusted dollars, I just find it amusing. I also cannot buy a book at Borders etc. anymore: I am too shell-shocked by the price. I have bought for my iPhone Kindle app, though, but the price is discounted.
Motivemagus almost 14 years ago
Asimov made it clear some time ago: the very best Data Distribution Device (DDD) is one that is cheap, flexible, allows for a wide range of text, graphics, color or black & white content, allows you to absorb data at your own speed and stop and go back and forth at will, and can survive being dropped into a bathtub. It is a book. eReaders are getting better, but they ain’t there yet. One issue with eBooks that I hadn’t considered until recently when a critic pointed it out, is that it removes one of your rights: to donate a book to your local library or sell a book. You don’t really own an eBook, you only rent it.
klipt8 almost 14 years ago
This sort of thing is very mucha matter of taste, but Ihave to agree with Pab. I admit I am a luddite, andI don’t care!
celeconecca almost 14 years ago
I am luddite, hear me read!
Technojunkie almost 14 years ago
Kindles are great for novels but not so great for textbooks. Flipping pages back and forth or jumping to random pages is clumsy. I read most books on my Kindle but for some books dead trees still work better.
gutenberg.org is awesome. Some of gutenberg’s archive is available for free download direct from Amazon too.
If you want to read .pdf’s pony up for the Kindle DX. You won’t be able to fit a full page on the smaller Kindle legibly and scrolling .pdf pages is awkward.
e-ink screens are very close to paper in terms of eye comfort. The backlights on iPads and such are hard on your eyes.
freddy-59 almost 14 years ago
i refuse to get either an ipad or a kindle. i love my books. rock on luddites!!
librisleo almost 14 years ago
As a librarian, I can see both sides. I know a lot of women (and some guys, too!) who love to take a good book into the bathtub with them. Can’t do that with a Kindle! Also, tech is advancing at such a phenomenal rate that the Kindle 1.0 is already obsolete. For the techies, and those on the go, though, the Kindle and other e-readers are just the ticket. We offer e-books through our library system, and they are very popular. As for the lowly book it will not become obsolete in my lifetime.
Spyderred almost 14 years ago
What a great source of titles for my beloved Kindle! And Kindle’s even better on an ipad. The illustrations, maps and so on are clear.
The Old Wolf almost 14 years ago
Mogg’s teeth - paperbacks used to cost 15 cents!
leilahosley almost 14 years ago
I love my books, but my Kindle is a God-send. I have to have large print and not all books are available in large print. Kindle lets me decide the print size.If it is available on Kindle, I can now read it, like the works of Winston Churchill.
The Kindle price is actually much cheaper than print copies. Also, there are many classics that are available for free, from Plato to Homer to Wilde and more.
3hourtour Premium Member almost 14 years ago
…I can’t wait until they just imprint books into my brain…
Bill Thompson almost 14 years ago
Kerouac isn’t in the public domain. If you can’t understand why sites such as gutenberg.org are awesome, then you’ve never needed to read Sassoon at three in the morning, or find Dore’s Biblical drawings, or learn about the 369th.
Pab Sungenis creator almost 14 years ago
It looks like the electric is going back off tomorrow or Tuesday. Getting some reruns ready just in case.
Bill Thompson almost 14 years ago
Fairportfan2, thanks for the heads-up. I hadn’t looked at their index for (reasonably) contemporary writers. I just sent an e-mail about the issue to the SFWA Griefcom.
Jack Williamson only died a few years ago, and Ben Bova is still alive.
Bill Thompson almost 14 years ago
Fairportfan2, the Griefcom tells me that Gutenberg.org runs a full copyright check on everything, and keeps the proof on file. So we can download from them with a clear conscience.
A writer doesn’t always own the rights to material; some publishers purchase all rights, and sometimes there are slip-ups.
yyyguy almost 14 years ago
also a proud Luddite who remembers 12 cent comics and 50 cent paperbacks (which could be bought from coin operated vending machines at the airport). never tried an ebook, though i have visited gutenberg.
ChiehHsia almost 14 years ago
For unimportant books, I buy paperbacks. I can keep them, give them away, or trade them in at the used-book store, without any trouble at all. For important books, I buy the hardcover version. If an unimportant book turns out to be one I really want to keep and reread often, I buy the hardcover. If the day ever comes when one can only rent ebooks and must purchase a piece of electronic gear on which to read them, it will be an evil day for scholarship and the preservation of knowledge.
ChukLitl Premium Member almost 14 years ago
There’ll always be used book stores. Spys & hitmen have to pick up their messages somewhere. Amazon & eBay just don’t have that great musty smell.
farren almost 14 years ago
As someone who, at one time, had a 5,000 volume book collection, I will never give up my love of physical books. Nor will I ever give up my Kindle, even though many of the books on the Kindle have counterparts on my shelves. It’s just a lot easier to carry a Kindle with me when I go out to dinner or suchlike, and a lot more comfortable to hold a physical book when I’m at home. Both have their place.