tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7940147318718213582.post2329319982461300410..comments2023-10-29T04:01:21.024-04:00Comments on Beyond Hall 8: Kindles Rarer Than Leopards or LamborghinisUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7940147318718213582.post-2471298202203578752008-08-25T17:31:00.000-04:002008-08-25T17:31:00.000-04:00When I've spoken to book clubs or other literary g...When I've spoken to book clubs or other literary gatherings the past 5-6 years, I've often asked, how many here have ever read a full-length novel on a digital device? Any device, desktop, laptop, e-book reader, cellphone, doesn't matter. But it has to be a full-length novel, not consulting a reference work, because novel readers tend to be compulsive readers. So adopting a digital device for reading means a fundamental change in a long-established habit.<BR/><BR/>Only once did someone raise his hand. Every other time -- zero. Not a soul. But then last year I asked the question to a crowd at the Texas Book Festival in Austin and about one-fourth (25 out of 100 or so) raised theirs. A bit of a surprise, if they were being honest and hadn't simply taken a disliking to me and decided to fuck with my head (always a possibility considering my relationship with crowds).<BR/><BR/>Two months later, I was stunned to find my niece had one -- mostly because I would have been stunned to find my niece reading much of anything, let alone forking out some serious cash for a device that she might not use more than once or twice and that certainly didn't award her instant coolness with her (cute, male) peers. <BR/><BR/>Kindle may well represent some (small, incremental) breakthrough -- altough I agree with Ed that much of the chorus of hosannahs over it sound like bullshit to me. This is especially true of the claims that it's the reading equivalent of the iPod (not so, given the huge number of readers and the comparatively tiny number of Kindles sold). The claim that "it's just like a paperback" is also bullshit. It's far too large and clumsy for that; its size doesn't suit most pockets or purses (except the larger bags). I find it unattractive and plasticy with hard, sharp edges. Compare it to the elegant, curvy, palm-friendly design of the iPod or the iPhone, and you wonder what any of the hooplah is about.<BR/><BR/>It's not that I'm against digital reading devices per se; I just haven't found one that I could see myself using repeatedly and comfortably -- switching my reading habits for, in other words -- and I've been trying these things out since the old Franklin electronic reading book days more than a decade agao.book/daddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02397479813169956070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7940147318718213582.post-71478555398523791452008-08-13T21:09:00.000-04:002008-08-13T21:09:00.000-04:00You may be right about Papua New Guinea, Edward. L...You may be right about Papua New Guinea, Edward. Last time I went there, it was hard to get connectivity outside Port Moresby. Friday is the worst day, apparently. It's public servants' payday, and they all rush out to buy SIM cards for their mobile phones, thereby jamming the network!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com