Digital Book Reading

In my mind there was simply no way to take the paper out of book reading. Something about dog earing and page turning and the dryness of each page between my fingers was just too much a part of the experience to give up. Then, at one point this week I found myself without a book to read. Then I remembered the Amazon Kindle. This device is a digital book reader — that it, it allows you to read electronic books on an electronic screen. More specifically, I remembered there being a version of Amazon's Kindle (iKindle) available for the iPod Touch. So I decided to give it a try. Within minutes I was reading "by Reason of Insanity" in all of it's digital glory. So, how did it go?

Well, first of all, it was a poor book choice. I picked it, admittedly, because it was the first option that seemed somewhat appealing of the free books available from Amazon. It turns out — surprise — I'm not really a fan of the "legal thriller". Nor am I fan of Randy Singer's writing style, obvious plot points, and contrived yet flat characters. That being said, the book is not terrible. Just not great either.

But that's not what matters. What matters is that reading a book in this digital manner was, believe it not, quite enjoyable. Within 20 (very small) pages (though I have no idea how many pages that equates to in the real book) I was used to the format and the medium itself became transparent.

I loved the idea that my book was stored inside a device I was already carrying with me. I didn't have to remember to lug around a book (or two or three) and it was almost impossible that I would forget it in a doctor's office or airplane seat back as I've done many times before. It remembers where I left off, allows me to bookmark pages and highlight passages, and the books download wirelessly so I can order now and read it now, even if I don't have a computer handy.

I can't imagine purchasing the actual "Kindle" device, though. $260 is not a terrible price point considering that it comes with free 3G wireless access. It does have some features above and beyond the iPhone/Touch app: The screen is bigger, for starters. And it's been created specifically for reading text. So the contrast is appropriate for reading and you can see it direct sunlight. Additionally, it has some crazy battery life, so you never have to worry about going without. But, at the same time, bigger means more to carry and, despite being engineered for the task, carrying fewer things is one of the points of going digital when it comes to reading. Then again, I've only read a quarter of one book in this manner. And I've never actually touched a Kindle. Maybe with time and some hands on experience, I'd change my mind. 

On the down side, books have always had a secondary purpose for me. Despite reading being a very introverted activity, the book itself became a social thing. Every book on my shelf was a conversation piece. I have always been a BIG fan of GIVING books to people after I've read them instead of loaning them out. Not having the books on my shelf, in my bag, or on my coffee table eliminates that possibility. Additionally, with Kindle, loaning a book is not an option. I'd have to loan you my iPod Touch or Kindle device to make that happen at which point, you'd have ALL of my books, among other things.

Barnes and Noble has recently announced the "Nook". A Kindle rival, this device promises to have all the features the kindle has, plus a secondary color screen and the ability to loan out books. Additionally, just like iKindle, Barnes and Noble has the eReader application available for iPhone/Touch. As soon as I finish reading my most recent purchase, The Stolen Child by Keith Donahue, I'll give B&N's eReader a spin. The book pricing is roughly the same, and B&N is claiming 1,000,000 titles to Amazon's 360,000. Sadly, neither of them seem to offer Suzanne Collin's new book, Catching Fire. 

Posted via email from revjim’s posterous