A couple of weeks ago, I was chatting with a friend about Amazon’s Kindle. He said he wouldn’t buy one not because he didn’t believe in e-books, but because he thought the Kindle itself was a bust: badly designed and with no ability to share books with other Kindle users, something he thought was imperative.
I could see his points, but even if he had told me the Kindle was the greatest thing ever and that I was a fool not to buy one, I’m sure I still wouldn’t own one. Admittedly, I am something of a luddite (no Facebook for me, thanks! And seriously, I still don’t even understand what Second Life is supposed to be). But I just have no interest in getting my books in e-form. I love my books. I love them on my shelves. I love the feeling of the paper. And yes: I love the smell of the glue. Maybe none of that is rational—good writing is good writing, after all. But the truth remains that I don’t want an e-book gizmo, and neither do most people I’ve talked to.
In my internet travels today, I read a great rationale for why books are here to stay for the foreseeable future. This is my first time visiting Nick Hornby’s blog, but it's a good first impression.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
E-Book Schme-Book
at 11:05 PM
Labels: Bibliophile
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2 comments:
I totally understand this! After 2 yrs in a studio being told that if I really loved the book, I should store it in the garage, and everything else I read went to the charity shop - I wouldn't give up my hard copy books for ANYTHING. I'm a lukewarm technology fan, but no one is taking my books away, ever!
I've said this before, I think, but I like the convenience of carrying most of Terry Pratchett's 20 + book Discworld series on my palm pilot. I like knowing that even if I forget my regular book, or finish it unexpectedly, I always have something to read. That said, I'm fairly certain I've read the entire series top to bottom (with the exception of Going Postal), and there are a few favorites that I own (or plan to own) as hard copies. Ebooks will never replace real books for me, but they're a handy supplement sometimes.
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