In October, Amazon.com is going to release a new electronic book reader called "Kindle". The reader will have the ability to download books without a connection to the computer, through a wireless modem that is featured on this gadget.
I've seen other electronic book readers, before, and I've been very reluctant to try one. Yes, I do love little electronic toys, but there is something sacred about a book in pure form. There is the texture of the pages, that I love to touch when I turn them. There is the wonderful smell that comes from new books, and the very agreeable musty smell that comes from old books, as well as the bookish smell as I walk into a library. There is that incredible feeling I get when I loan or give a book to a good friend. Let's not forget how great it is to hold in our hands a book that has been read many times, with dogeared pages and broken spines. There is something very spiritual and human about that, knowing that others have enjoyed the same passages and experienced similar emotions. I also enjoy savoring and looking at my bookshelves, seeing all my titles proudly on display for anyone who pays a visit to my house. I am sure others feel the same way, so I do not see these electronic readers replacing real books anytime soon.
For more information on Kindle, visit this page:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/09/06/technology/06amazon.php?page=1
32 comments:
I do agree with you Sophia (thinks: must try harder to disagree though)
Today I went to my favourite second-hand bookshop Cottage Books in Penn, which is a large cottage with a maze of old books in every possible alcove and only just room for browsers to pass in between the shelves. I had some books to dispose of and received £6 in total. I felt good to recycle them to new readers.
I'm constantly on the lookout for books remembered and loved but lost down the years. If it were possible to download these rarities via this electronic device I'd be a customer, so long as they were scanned from the original copies. In many cases it is just curiosity to see the old books again so this device would satisfy that.
Not to mention jottings in the paper margins by the owner/reader. My gal's grandmother used to write thoughts and reactions in her books, which we now have. Since she is no longer with us these notes are a passage into her thoughts and outlook on things at the time; and are really fun to read. I know some would be aghast at writing in a book (probably a high-school attitude hold out from when we didn't own the books) but I write in mine hoping that 50 years from now someone will find my words and remember me as I was.
Vincent, you agree with me? Let me check your temperature. ;)
Used bookstores and library sales are some of my favorite places to be. I've found some lost and forgotten books this way, too.
I wonder if you've ever heard of bookcrossing.com? You can give and receive books, there. I used to belong, and it was a lot of fun. One of the memorable things about bookcrossing, is that you'd keep track of a book's whereabouts, so you could see where it's been to and where it's going. Also, you can leave books in public places for other people to find, and if they record their found book on the website, you can see who snatched the book up!
Goatman, I love other people's jottings in books. Also, sometimes when I've bought used books from either bookstores or libraries, I've found interesting bookmarks, tickets and papers hidden within the pages. No one in my family reads much, so I don't have any hand-me-downs with interesting scribbles, though I wish I did. What you and your gal have is precious! Hang on to it!
I love reading other people's thoughts, but I've always been too careful with my books, so I've never written in them, or dogeared the pages, and in most cases I refuse to bend the spine. It's probably because of my OCD. (I haven't gotten into my OCD much on this blog....)
Ah bookcrossing.com! I must dispose of some books that way! I came across it once and it said to find a book somewhere (on a wall in a park under some trees) but I never did.
Hmmm...electronic books...I like audio books because I do something manual while listening, but I can pass those along to anyone with a CD player. As far as electronic books, I've printed off more PDF files than I care to mention. I have read them on line for reference, but being tied to an expensive and delicate piece of hardware is bizare. What if your battery goes dead at the park (even though it says it's good for 7,500 page turns) or your dog munches it, let alone trying to read a screen in bright sunlight.
Seems to me like just another way to lock in who gets to see what. I'll bet you can't pass on the electronic copy to someone else or buy an electronic copy at a yard sale.
The cost of the device is $400. Let's see, that's about 1,200 paperbacks at a yard sale for 25 cents each.
I'll not be buying one soon (or at all).
Vincent,
You never did look for it or you did look for it but never found it?
There is so much serendipity at bookcrossing! I've never seen so many generous people in one place. I found it difficult to keep up with the generosity! I know I haven't returned back into the Universe all the good favors done for me from that site.
Joe,
I have to admit... I do like audio books. It often gets VERY boring where I work. Seriously, months sometimes go by without any work. I try to surf the web as much as I can, but lately I've been giving audio books a try, and I do like them. The only thing I don't like about them, though, is that if I need to go back and reference something, I can't.
I had a hard enough time spending $300 on my iPod a year and a half ago, and I use that thing all the time. I find there are lots of electronic gadgets that I'd like to have, like laptops, iPhones, etc. But, I'll never have an iPhone because I don't want to spend a hefty monthly service fee. A laptop MAY be something I can get, but it will be sometime next year. I don't know why electronic toys excite me so much. :)
Books are very special Sophia, I agree with that, and the senses involved, very real that book, no electronics ever gave me that sensation. I guess these things are handy tho, and great for some people.
Thanks for the visit, I will reply to all later tonight. And read these comments closer, have to get off for a bit now though. See you later Sophia, Love and Peace to you always. Jim.
Jim,
I could see where it would be handy to take on vacation, for instance. If you're a fast reader and can read three or four books on vacation, it would be easier to carry one piece of equipment as opposed to packing and lugging around four books.
I don't believe they'll ever be able to have all the titles I'd like to read on the gadget. For instance, I probably wouldn't find Manly P. Hall's _Secret Teachings of All Ages_. They probably only have mainstream favorites, and I'm not a mainstream kind of gal.
I have some technical books on computer, for reference and such, don't use them much. I remember IMEMINE telling me about his computer reading the books to him, sounded pretty nice, sitting back and eating/drinking and listening to the book, I have done that with some library tapes and such, I guess it would have its' place, plus not having to lug volumes, have it all on electronic file. Even with the technical books though, it is painstaking to look things up.
Seems nothing is perfect. Books tho certainly are special things in this world, real things.
I suppose I have to be the one who doesn't agree.
In my freshman year, I was tasked to research and describe a device I expected to be on the market in 20 years. Looking at advancements in flash memory and my own hope, I picked the portable digital library.
Then I found out the Sony Libre (our Sony Reader) had been released in Japan and sold for about $500 dollars.
Too much money!
Now, it's $300... too few books available I thought.
Now, with Amazon and Google... I think it would be worth it and I can see it as a present to myself.
Like someone said in the article... it's not to replace a book, but a STACK of books.
I don't have room here for the books we have, and I'd be glad to cut down on a few future additions.
You gave me hope Sophia! :)
I have to agree. I do love the experience of a real book. I love being able to highlight and write in the margins my thoughts. I love making the book part of my furnishings.
First time I have been by in a whle. Thoroughly enjoyed getting caught up. You always provoke thought, old friend.
As for books, I agree. There is something sacred about a book that contains knowledge of the ages. I doubt I would enjoy The Prophet or The Teachings of the Compassionate Budha or even Lewis Carroll nearly as much in electronic form.
Here is a compromise.
I have a Palm Z22 which I bought for $100 about a year ago. On it I have stored many free books which I read when when I am waiting in line or at the airport.
I do not recommend it for reading a lot because the resolution is not great but it is ok for reading for half an hour.
I keep it in my Palm in my pocket all of the time and use if for many other functions such as translator, beeping calender, phone list, todo list, password list, shopping list. It is password protected, rugged and reliable. If they come out with another one the same size with better resolution I will buy it. Then I might use it more for reading.
I have tried reading from a lap top and I did not like it. Perhaps the screen was too wide or the image quality too poor. I am curious about reading on a very good display. Quality makes a big difference.
Sophia, I love the idea of bookcrossing and have just joined it but I am far too much of a book snob. I don't want to find any old book.
I am only looking for one book at any given time. Usually I don't know what that book is till I find it. The Cottage Bookshop is my equivalent of Bookcrossing. They take my unwanted ones, pay hardly anything and sell them as cheap as they can whilst making a living.
When I look at the ones they reject, I see their point and in some cases recycle them as waste paper, on the grounds that no one's brain should be cluttered with their content.
But I am a book-snob and quite unable to read the Da Vinci Code or the Celestine Prophecy or self-help books or indeed almost every book you can imagine.
Only the rarities which call out to me.
Watching teevee, a Belgian channel,
while listening to Sheryl Crow,
the 1992 unreleased album, finally,
surfing the net and downloading,
I kept glancing at my cupboard of books
mostly Dutch translations of works
by Dale Carnegie, or J. Krishnamurti,
The 48 Laws of Power by R. Greene,
not having read a page, honestly,
after acquiring it > a decade ago,
an aikido manual of one master,
(a disciple of my former teacher),
some books on ninjutsu, kendo,
taichi, qigong, pakua, and budo,
Emotional Intelligence by D. Coleman,
The Power of Intuition by P. Goldberg,
The Inner Athlete by D. Millman,
(I'm such a bad reader, ~ dislexic),
and hoping to put back an old computer
with a 1782 disk-controller fault
together again after buying
some old stuff from a school -
they had to dump the rest of it
in metal containers for destruction
or perhaps for donation to a store
that specializes in very old things
for natural culture vultures like me -
not having found a single chance
to sit on my SS reclining chair
that can convert into a rocking chair,
turning my place into a pigsty,
full of massive and heavy oak furnitures
I kept accumulating among other things;
I will tell you more about it later.
After a long, long day
I finally succeeded.
Well, almost!
Jim, earlier this year a good friend told me about some software that reads text for you on the computers. It's called "Natural Readers". If you like, go check it out. Enjoy.
http://www.naturalreaders.com/
Hi Sibbia,
Glad I was able to give you some hope. The electronic books do seem expensive.
I don't know if your situation could be any worse than an old friend of mine, who lived in an apartment and had a book obsession. She had them stacked up high and had to have paths to her desk and around other areas of the apartment. I didn't see how anyone could read so many books in one lifetime!
Mark,
Maybe someday in the future they'll come out with an electronic book that has a tablet with which you can make electronic notes.
Hi Zareba, it's so good to see you again! Nope, reading these things on a machine will never be the same as reading them in book form, never! The only good thing I can see in electronic books, is that they can never get those little bookworms or bugs inside of them! Unless of course they catch a computer virus.
Mossy, that's a good compromise. At least in your case, you're probably getting your money's worth as you are using it for all sorts of different functions. I'd like to have a Palm just to store all my addresses in! Yes, the Palm is another gadget that once tempted me. :)
Vincent, if I could offer a little bit of Bookcrossing advice: you can do a search on the site for the book you'd like to read and see if anyone has it "available". If they do, you could send them a message and ask if they'd like to do a trade for any of the books in your list that are available. One tedious but fun thing to do is to log in all the books you own and keep record of them on the site. You can give them each a status, such as "permanent library" if you decide you want to keep that book, or "available" if it is a book you'd like to trade.
Which type of book do you normally look for?
Anonymous, it's great to hear from you again. You disappeared for a very long time. I thought you would never visit again, and the thought saddened me, because I like your contributions to this blog.
The sample of titles in your library sounds quite fascinating. I'm sure J. Krishnamurti is a good read. I've often wondered, though, if others not born in his caste could have been great spiritual teachers, too.
I have a reading problem, too. When I was younger I didn't have this problem. It developed in my early twenties. I have OCD and this often causes me to repeat things in my head, and so during reading it manifested, and before I knew it I was constantly rereading sentences over and over again. So, this slows me down quite a bit. It takes me a long time to read a book, when others could read the same book in less than a week. It's discouraging, but have you ever listened to an audio book? Recently I've determined that I enjoy them, and will probably listen to them more often.
Thanks for you're visit. Hope to see you again, soon.
I finally said goodbye to Gudrun;
she's almost as good as the goddess,
perhaps taller, above six feet.
My little boy is now taller than me
but maybe he will never be as tall.
He came to see me and he stayed
For the weekend and we played
basketball; he lost everytime.
A week before that a Great Dane
jumped at me; he was after the ball.
I knew that, so I evaded him
touching his lower jaw lightly;
't mus've been my calculating mind
that kept me so cool and serene.
A week later a car hit my Cleo
when I stopped for a biker,
some pain in my left shoulder.
The left portion of the bumper
was warped; I knew it wasn't me
who was at fault so I took it easy.
I spent some weekends listening
to the Dixie Chicks all day,
went to the country and western
festival and watched some dancers.
I listened to a young woman sing;
she sang a song sung by the Chicks.
But I don't remember which one;
'mus've been about walking away.
And I was about to do the same
when I noticed she kept looking at me
so I stayed and became her fan.
She was very pretty, that I can see
but she's a bit on the heavy side.
I know I'll never see her again.
Well, I have to be on my way
Brunhilde is waiting for me.
Anonymous,
Hello. I am not very familiar with Norse mythology, so I am unaware of who Gudrun and Brunhilde are. Do you like mythology? I get the feeling that you do.
Is Cleo a type of car? What country are you in?
How old is your son?
Lots of questions for you. :)
Sophia,
See http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Sigurd
That should be Clio (Renault).
17.
I am European.
Brunhilde is my soulmate. She's out there, somewhere.
Anonymous, if you give me Andvarinaut, I'll gladly play the role of Brunhilde! ;)
Just teasing... yes, I'll look further into this. I've always wanted to educate myself with more mythology.
Nice to know you better!
Very funny!!!
Sorry, I don't believe in soulmates. Better luck next time, baby. ;>)
You say here that you don't believe in soulmates, but in your previous comment you said that Brunhilde is your soulmate. Which is it, eh? :)
Just kidding...perhaps I do.
Where art thou, Brunhilde?
Are you Sigurðr? :)
I think everyone has a soul mate. That means you do, too. You'll know when you find her, because you can't stop thinking about her.
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