The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    Orlando's picture

    E-Books: Technological Wonder or the End of Civilization?

    By Orlando on Sun, 06/12/2011 - 11:26pm |
    Count me as a convert. I love my e-reader and can't be bothered to turn a page.
    57% (4 votes)
    E-readers are evil. They'll have to pry my 10 pound copy of Lord of the Rings from my cold, dead hands before I ever use one.
    43% (3 votes)
    Total votes: 7

    Comments

    Nice poll, but gimme some more options...


    by Michael Wolraich on Sun, 06/12/2011 - 11:34pm

    You'll take what you get, and you'll be THANKFUL, young man.

    Otherwise, it's nothing but BLOGS for you. 


    by quinn esq on Sun, 06/12/2011 - 11:38pm

    C) Beats carrying massive tomes arounds, but all things being equal, I'd rather have a book in my hand

    PS The instant gratification of e-book delivery is pretty swell too

    PPS Thank you, ma'am


    by Michael Wolraich on Mon, 06/13/2011 - 12:23am

    I have a sister-in-law that loves her color Nook, and last week I was chatting with an older lady on the light rail that loved her Kindle. Even though I do a lot of reading online, I still love the company of books. Even though new books are cheaper on e-readers, it is hard to compete with 59 cents for a book from the thrift store.


    by Donal on Sun, 06/12/2011 - 11:36pm

    I do not own a E-reader but really have no opinion one way or the other. the are things I wish were available as E-books though. Certain electronic reference manuals that are just too big and bulky to have open to what ever page you have.


    by cmaukonen on Sun, 06/12/2011 - 11:37pm

     

    What do you read when the electricity is out and the e-readers batteries are drained?

     


    by EmmaZahn on Mon, 06/13/2011 - 12:07am

    Exactly Emma! That is why I love a good old paperback. I do have an e-reader app on my Android phone and I love being able to download and read on the fly, but it has not replaced my paper. Especially since Amazon had that controversy a while back where they actually deleted books from customers kindles.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/technology/companies/18amazon.html

    Call me a little tinfoil hat-ish, but I figure they cannot come into my house and take a "real" book of the shelf.


    by mageduley on Mon, 06/13/2011 - 12:47am

    I am in love with my IPad kindle ap. For a very long time I've been looking for in-print Irish Crochet patterns, I was unable to find any.  To my surprise I was able to get it on the kindle, it is incredible. I've been studying the incredibly complex patterns. I can't wait build my crochet skill set with the Irish Crochet techniques. I actually inherited two ivory hooks from my great grandmother that are just for this purpose. Yeah, I love it. It certainly isn't the end of the world for me, but hopefully carrying on an art that is being lost.


    by tmccarthy0 on Mon, 06/13/2011 - 12:12am

    Thanks for the comments, everyone! What prompted the poll was my desire to read the Harry Potter series again before the final movie comes out. Before I moved overseas, I bought a Kindle, because when I lived overseas before, I couldn't get books in English and my mom had to ship them to me. Kindle seemed like a great solution then--and it has been. I love my Kindle so much that I refused to take it on vacations in Indonesia that involved ferry travel. The Java Sea is shallow and mostly the smaller offshore islands are close enough that you could swim to one if the ferry sank. But since they overpack them with people and supplies, I wasn't risking the loss of my most necessary possession!

    But I digress...So, there I was, on Amazon, trying to buy Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. But it's not available for sale on Kindle. I've looked before, noticed it hasn't been available, and gotten something else instead. But this time, I really wanted it, so I tried to find out why it wasn't for sale. According to what I found (on the internet, so keep that in mind), J.K. Rowling doesn't "believe" in e-books. She thinks that stories should be read the old-fashioned way. I think that's kind of rich coming from someone who is greatly profiting from the release of audio books and feature films, but whatever. 

    As for me, I was nervous about the Kindle, wondering if I would like it. It took a total of ten minutes to get used to navigating through the pages and now I prefer it. As for running out of battery at inopportune times, I just went on a five-day holiday where I spent a good part of every day reading, and I didn't charge it til I got home. And mine is the second generation. I understand the newer ones go even longer. I'm not saying give up your books. I think that a person should be able to access a story in whatever medium works best for that person. For me, that's the Kindle. Because I don't have a permanent home, I can take my whole bookshelf with me when I move. Or, I can just carry it to the coffee shop in my purse. And I dig that! 


    by Orlando on Mon, 06/13/2011 - 8:05am

    <grumble> Philosopher's Stone </grumble>


    by Donal on Mon, 06/13/2011 - 8:12am

    Well, O, if you look at my suggestion below, you'll see that a sinking ferry won't be a problem.


    by Peter Schwartz on Mon, 06/13/2011 - 8:53am

    Put me down for B...for both and boring and never let your battery go dead. How about that for a boring answer.

    When the electricity goes out, and assuming you haven't kept your battery charged as instructed, you read all the books on your shelves you've been meaning to get around to. This assumes the electricity goes out during the day or you can stand reading by flashlight in the dark (I can't do it).

    Bigger problem--what happens when you're reading your Kindle in the bath and it slips through your wet, soapy hands into the drink?

    Before I buy an e-Reader I'll wait until they come out with a waterproof model you can read in ambient, underwater light while snorkeling or scuba-ing and is good to 100 meters underwater, like all the good watches. Naturally, it will have to be a G5, so I can download new titles whilst I head down toward that WWII wreck.


    by Peter Schwartz on Mon, 06/13/2011 - 8:51am

    Actually, if you put your Kindle in a ziploc bag, reading in the bathtub isn't a problem. I suppose I could do the same thing on a ferry, but it seems like a bigger risk somehow. 

    Speaking of a WWII wreck, I went diving in Bali at the site of the USS Liberty wreck. Kinda cool.


    by Orlando on Mon, 06/13/2011 - 9:24am

    It took me some time, but I do enjoy the e-reader.  I like the Kindle app on my iPad better than the Kindle itself, but I find both comfortable.  I've also been using The Daily's app pretty much every day.  I still like physical books, though.

    The one thing that hasn't happened yet, but I'm sure it will, is that nobody has written the brilliant tablet book -- something that isn't just a novel in another form but is a novel for the new medium.


    by Michael Maiello on Mon, 06/13/2011 - 10:41am