After several month of mental debating, I’m still not sure what I think about Amazon’s Kindle (http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Amazons-Wireless-Reading-Generation/dp/B00154JDAI/ref=amb_link_83624371_1/192-3781136-6222461?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=1M0TZ3G9HJ8REYS54BQ8&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=469942651&pf_rd_i=507846). As a regular reader I feel it is my obligation to protest this “advancement.” The book is a pretty perfect form. There’s nothing better than the sound of a book being opened for the first time, the new book smell, and the excitement that comes from flipping through pages and pages of words you’ve been anticipating for a long time. There’s also the appeal of displaying books. Books tell a lot about a person, and bookshelves are a quick and modest way to highlight aspects of your personality that you’re most proud of. I can’t bring up Les Miserables in every conversation, but I can put my copy of it on display.
But I can’t help thinking Kindle is to books as the ipod is to CDs. That seems like a connection Amazon wants people to make. The choice of the color white and focus on thinness are reminiscent of Apple products. Itunes is commonly considered innovative, and CDs are almost obsolete, digital books are a logical next step. I don’t want to turn into one of those people who is wary of technological innovation because I’m stuck in my habits. I’m afraid rejecting Kindle would liken me to the people who refused to use the internet when it started to get popular.
Amazon is also really good with advertising. I’ll be book browsing and find something I want to read right away and then I see I have the option to download the book on to my Kindle. The Kindle button tells me about a world with no more disappointment when I find out my public library doesn’t carry something, no more waiting a week for a book to be delivered, and no more faded excitement when the book finally comes and I’m too busy to read it.
I just can’t imagine Kindle being the way of the future. No one wants a single purpose electronic device anymore. Sure it can get on the internet (http://xkcd.com/548/), but so can my (much cheaper) ipod touch.
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Another really interesting post, one I (as I hope you would guess) have a vested interest in too.
ReplyDeleteHere's what I'll say about the iPod/CDs thing: the form the iPod REALLY threatens is the album. Not the vinyl disc but compositional form. Ten to fifteen related tracks. Done well (as I also know you know) an album is a whole thing in and of itself.
I wonder what the Kindle does to longer form writing. Not sure it does anything, exactly. The idea is that it has a whole book on there. So, you know, fine. But it's hard for me to imagine that certain KINDS of books work better for Kindles than other.
Nonfiction books with distinct, stand-alone chapters? Definitely. War and Peace? Not so much, maybe.
And/or maybe it's a boon to short-story writers?
It'll certainly be interesting.