Thanks to my parents, I got a Kindle for Christmas.
I buy — easily — a hundred books a year (and read twice that — I re-read a lot of my old books.) I read a lot. I ALWAYS have a book with me, I don’t care if I’m going to a club or a party or wherever, I’ve been caught in the oddest places waiting with nothing to do, wishing I had a book with me. So, I always do. It’s a throwback to when I lived in Victoria, and would get bored to tears waiting for my boyfriend to get high and discuss stoner philosophy with his friends. I’m not judging, it just wasn’t interesting to me. My book always was.
Of two of my three favorite book buying methods up until now… I have no doubt that I’ve purchased my last Chapter’s iReward membership (which I’ve maintained for at least 8 years, probably more), since their e-book partner (kobo) doesn’t support the Kindle. Even though the Kindle supports PDF’s, they haven’t been even remotely helpful when I tried inquiring about my options. Bah. Book Warehouse doesn’t even HAVE an eBook option. As for the used bookstore on the drive I visit often, well… I’ll miss them, but the convenience wins.
Admittedly, Amazon’s instant book delivery via Whispernet is a more attractive alternative regardless, but I did try to find Canadian options first.
That said, the Kindle has only been available in Canada for a few months. I’m hoping that the local sources are just scrambling to catch up and will be available in a few days. Right? Hello?
cas posted a link this morning to Seth Godin’s post on eBooks. Yes, bookstores are going to go the way of the music store, and it’s time to decide how to work with the new market, rather than desperately trying to hang onto the old one. Yes, there will be a lot of diehards who just love the feel of a paperback — and to be honest, I do too. But there’s no possible way to beat the convenience of a single device, especially when you’re as space challenged as I am.
We have what, 900 square feet? And that includes the second floor, where there’s no usable wall space. There’s one small bookshelf in the pantry, and it’s full — of Nick’s stuff. I have a shelf in a closet where I’ve currently jammed all the books I have at home… and still have boxes and boxes of books at my parents place, because I simply can’t keep them at home. Sorry, Mom.
And now? I can start replacing my rather excessive dead tree collection… with one small, slim device that I’ll carry with me all the time. No storage required. And as much as I love the look of a bookshelf full of books… or the feel of the paper in my hands… well, I’m willing to give it up. Quite frankly, it’s the content that counts, and I’ve already discovered that I am perfectly comfortable curling up in an armchair with an eBook — possibly even moreso, since it’s lighter than most of my books, and doesn’t hurt to hold it with one hand.
Also, free wikipedia access wherever I go? As one of the few who hasn’t gotten an iPhone yet (curse you, Bell!) this is super awesome. It’s not very fast, and I’m not very adept at typing on the tiny keyboard yet, but it’s got a lot of potential. As an example, I’m currently reading The White Queen, a Phillipa Gregory fictionalized (but semi-accurate) recount of Elizabeth Woodville’s marriage to King Edward IV, during the War of the Roses. This is the sort of thing that makes me want to go read more, and Wikipedia is my usual go-to for things like this.
How perfect is that? I spent several hours this weekend reading, and flipping back and forth from the book, to the wiki entry on Margaret d’Anjou and back again… without leaving my comfy chair. That? That is freaking awesome.
Reading an eBook really isn’t anything like reading a regular screen. Honestly, there’s no way I can say that enough. Their “digital ink” really is. It’s almost etch-a-sketch like (but with no gloss), with a slightly gray background and no backlighting. Yes, just like a real book, you need a light to read it with. It’s even a bit duller than a regular book, which makes me think when I read while I walk home at night, I may need a booklight rather than depending on intermittent streetlights. This is fantastic. Reading long paragraphs for hours on a computer screen does eventually give me a headache. So far, this doesn’t. And hell, everything gives me a headache, so score one for the Kindle.
So here’s my official review, based on my own preferences.
Pros:
- Easy on the eyes. Grayscale pictures look amazing, and electronic ink is nothing like reaing a normal screen. Really. I promise.
- Free wikipedia access via Whispernet
- Doesn’t take up any space
- Excellent catalogue via Amazon (so far, I’ve only found one book that I wanted that they didn’t carry).
- Doesn’t hurt my hand to hold one-handed the way a lot of dead tree books tend to do.
- The books I want are generally roughly the same price as dead tree, if not cheaper
- Literature-based “screensavers” are pretty awesome
Cons:
- Wikipedia is pretty slow via Whispernet (and my wallet is too small for my fifties, and my diamond shoes are too tight, I know)
- No Canadian ebook retailer wants my business, as far as I can tell
- Paging through an online catalogue isn’t quite as fun as browsing through a bookstore
- A little too convenient. I need to unhook my credit card from my Amazon account, I accidentally bought a book without meaning to when I was flipping through the Kindle store. However, their refund process is fast & easy (one click!) too.
Overall? I’m a convert. Join me… come to the dark side… we have cookies.
Do you ever feel like we’re just copying star trek? I always feel like the kindle is just the precursor to the PADD (personal access display device for those NOT in the know).
The only thing the original and TNG series were missing was the little apple symbol in the corner of each device. #applewhore
I’m still on team trade paperback. Sadly.
Give me a year.
k.
I’m waiting until they fix the horrible interface and give me touch screen and colour. Why is the back button on the right side?
The lack of touch screen is a bit surprising, I’ll give it that — I’ve shown it off to a few coworkers, and every one of them has gotten their grubby fingers all over my screen. :D But I actually find the buttons in exactly the right spot for where I hold it. (Although I keep hitting the “Next” button on the right, expecting it to be the back button — but that’s just “I need to get used to it” better, I definitely want to keep a next button there.)
The inability to search wikipedia without leaving the book I’m reading first is a bit odd.
I don’t really miss the color, though. Maybe if I were using it for non-fiction books…. but I like the greyscale.
I’m with you totally on the Kindle. Beth and I love ours and even my parents have gotten into the act, both having one now, too.
I wasn’t at all sad to switch from my collection of CDs to MP3s on my iPod. While I like album art, they were mostly just taking up room and were far less convenient than carrying thousands of songs on a single device. I’d really like to give up DVDs, too, for the same reason, but don’t think digital video downloads are quite up to it (yet). Although, I gladly traded video tapes for a DVR.
Books are a bit tougher, as I love our library of hardcover books. The paperbacks will be easier to part with, I think, but going digital for books, too, is definitely the way to go. Kindle is leading the way right now, but eventually, I think we’ll all be there (unfortunately for book stores).
I have read that some book publishers are trying to delay the publishing of e-books by up to four months after the release of hardcovers for popular authors, but I think that that approach is ultimately self-defeating and will fail.
Another win for Kindle: Kindle apps for iPhone/iPod Touch and for PC. They sync automatically with the Kindle device, so I can pick up right where I left off on my current book on whichever device I’m holding.
I’ve had good luck with the hardcovers I would otherwise buy (not that I’ve bought a lot yet), which makes me super happy. Pretty as they are on the shelf, I don’t actually WANT hardcovers to read. I read on the go, carry them with me, etc… and hardcovers don’t fit in my bag. I’d have been perfectly happy paying the “brand new” premium for a paperback that I could carry with me.
In fact, I’m still perfectly willing to pay a “brand new” premium for ebooks. I’d expect it to be a little less than current hardcover prices, since I’m not paying for the price of manufacturing, but I’m happy to pay a little more for a brand new book.
Only downside I’ve found so far: I, uh, forgot to charge my kindle last night, and the battery is dead. Crap. Now I’ll have to grab a newspaper to read on my way home… :D Wireless is now off, I’ll only turn it on when I need to now.
The Kindle is *very* new in Canada. Like, a month or so. It was available in freaking ZIMBABWE before it was available here. Bah. So, it’s not leading the way here at all — very, very few people I know have eBooks, and those that do have the Sony eReader. In fact, I don’t actually know anybody locally who has a Kindle. Dig me, I’m a trailblazer.
Here in the U.S they’re getting very popular. Amazon reported that they were the top gifted item on their site this year, and on Christmas Day, ebooks outsold paper books. That’s pretty impressive, even if it was for one day. And if both of my parents have one, they must be getting pretty ubiquitous around here.
What would love to see, and I’d be willing to pay for it, is bundles of hardcover + ebook and optionally + audio book. I want the ebook to read on my Kindle, and the hardcover to grace my shelf in the library. I’m not sure why they’re not doing this yet. I’d think it would also help ease a lot of people into the transition to ebooks.
I’d be willing to try one out, but I can’t see wanting to switch from a paper book. VHS to DVD, whatever. Tapes to cds to mp3s, couldn’t care less. But books are BOOKS. I don’t have any other way to describe it.
Erin: A lot of people felt that way about vinyl, too. :)
You should check if Amazon has the e-book version of the Ben Bova sci-fi novel “Cyberbooks” (assuming you like a light sci-fi read). You’ll find the story’s focus rather relevant.
As for e-book devices, I think I would like to try them, but the price needs to come down for me to find them appealing (big book collection). Actually, if the much discussed Apple tablet turns out to be real next month, it would potentially be the full colour and touch capable successor to devices like the Kindle. Read an article about how the tablet would be great for digital versions of comic books/graphic novels.
However, the whole topic does remind me of the original Star Trek episodes where a lawyer tasked with defending one of the Enterprise crew rails about the law and information being found in real books, and not digital formats.
As for vinyl – apparently, it’s big news story is that it is making a big comeback in popularity as of late. Go figure.
Some other quick comments (mostly on the cons side).
One thing I really dislike about the Kindle is that it doesn’t support page scrolling, only page flipping. I fell in love with ebooks on my palm pilot about 10 years ago, for the same reasons you list for the kindle now — but the biggest win was most definitely that I didn’t have to deal with pagination. Rather than move my eyes up and down, and use my thumbs to ‘flip’ a page, I would much rather just keep my eyes stationary and either tilt the ereader to scroll, or move my thumb (a la iPhone). Easier on the eyes in the long run.
The other con for me is that the books have a net cost that is much higher than the dead tree versions, with less abilities afforded to the purchaser.
When I buy an eBook from the kindle store:
* I pay as much as the paperback cost.
* I cannot lend it to other people (and, contrarily, I cannot borrow it from other people).
* I cannot resell it when I’m done.
I buy very few books; and even fewer new, but I read a lot and I resell what I do buy. So, the kindle really puts a damper on my reading habits.
There is no browsing experience any more. As you mention, the bookstore experience is gone. But, we also lose the ‘I found this book on a coffee table in a motel’, or ‘spotted this on my friends shelf’ experience as well. Most purchases are conscious efforts, which means we lose some of the discovery process. I think Amazon can probably do a pretty good job of fixing this through software though.
The last thing is more of a wish than a complaint or compliment. I’m really waiting for the digital library to take off, or digital book rentals. I would be thrilled if I could do a per-book monthly ‘rental’ for a buck; or a 19$ a month subscription for unlimited reads, with a x books out at a time. The kindle could easily move in this direction, and it would be amazing! I hope the corporation sees this as a good potential.
@Perry
I don’t think it’s so impressive that the Amazon store sold more Kindle books on Christmas day than paper books.
Think of it like this.
Christmas morning, I wake up and get a bunch of new awesome novels as gifts. Do I [a] go online and buy more, or [b] curl up on the couch and read for three days?
Alternately, same Christmas, different household, someone wakes up and gets a shiny new Kindle as a gift. Do they [a] admire how gray, and fully devoid of content it is, or [b] go online and buy a book to read? (OK, you also have [c] read Wikipedia… but lets leave that out for comparisons sake).
Having a kindle without buying a book is like getting a Nintendo and not buying games.
The really interesting test of sales will be the January sales, compared year-on-year with last year. Once everyone is done the first bit of excitement, how will the book-loving-masses spend their non-Christmas dollars?
@Dave I fully understand why people bought the books on Christmas day. Obviously, they had received the Kindle as a gift and wanted to start reading on it.
My point was, for the ebooks to outsell paper books, even on that one day, that was a lot of Kindles sold.
I think it is plain that paper books will soon go the way of records/CDs, VHS tapes, and DVDs. Sure, some people prefer vinyl, and some will always prefer paper, but most will go with the convenience of digital.
@Perry: Agreed – there are a lot of kindles out there.
I suspect, though, that Christmas day is probably a traditionally low sales time for books (everyone who wants one, just got one), so it probably wasn’t a big target to hit.
@Dave Agreed. And I do think looking at January’s year-over-year ebook sales will be interesting. Actually, for every month next year, it ought to be interesting, and I suspect well over the 2009 numbers.
Hmm. I definitely like the pagination. I want my eBook to duplicate the Real Book experience as much as possible. I also read alot while I’m doing other things, so the “hands free except to turn the page” is a huge sell. The fact that I don’t have to hold a page down is *awesome*. We won’t talk about some of the elaborate contraptions I’ve created to hold a page in place while doing something else. :)
The not being able to resell thing isn’t a huge downside for me: I haven’t sold a book since I was 12, and had to make a conscious effort to donate afew to the thrift store last time I moved if only because I needed more space. I reread *everything*. Even the crap. I only get rid of a book if it was absolutely unreadable (and I don’t think the thrift stores need more of those.)
On the other hand, not being able to loan it to my mother is going to cut down on HER book reading, I think. Since I store most of my books at my parents place, the method is usually: Cart it out to their place, loan it to Mom, she puts it back on my bookshelf (at her place) when she’s done. On the other hand, she got the Sony eReader for Christmas, so hopefully she’ll be reading her own digital books… :)
I’m kind of looking forward to comparing the eReader to the Kindle, actually.
The Nook from Barnes & Noble apparently does have a mechanism for loaning books. You can temporarily transfer a book to someone else’s Nook, during which time you are not able to read it on yours. I think it is limited though, to a time duration and to loaning any particular book only once, but it’s better than nothing. Perhaps the Kindle will eventually get this feature if it proves popular.
My desires for the Kindle are based on the spiff piece of technology that it is, but for me the drawbacks are too big to surmount. Changing file formats, different formats for different e-readers, and planned technological obselence will kill the centuries-old tradition of loaning books. I’m personally looking forward to inheriting the library that my parents own.
Perry’s suggestion of hardcover + e-book and/or audiobook is ideal for me. Author’s get paid the most for hardcover versions of the book and the numbers on e-books show that authors are getting reamed on e-book residuals, even compared to the usual reaming they get on paperback books and audio books.
Still, it is a sexy device.