Electronic Reading Devices

Today we were discussing the Kindle; the new electronic book device being sold and promoted by Amazon.com. I was given an article written by Stephen King in, I believe, the Amtrak passenger magazine where he talks about his testing out of the new product. He seems to like it but makes some very good points about it, particularly in comparison to other media such as audio books. He says, "I've argued all my life that the story means more than the delivery systems involved (and that includes the writer)." He goes on to talk about how he doesn't, "understand the prejudice some people seem to feel about recorded books...", as I don't. And he feels that the quality of the audio book is only as good or bad as the words written by the author and views the Kindle in this regard as well. Because the book he was reading on the Kindle was so engrossing he forgot that he was reading using an electronic device once the words pulled him into the story. He also feels that the advent of items like the Kindle does not sound the death knell for the physical book because, "There is a permanence to books that underlines the importance of the ideas and the stories we find inside them..."

I tend to agree with Mr. King, and that's saying something since I'm not a fan of his work by any stretch of the imagination. However, there is a reason that electronic books have not really made huge inroads into the book market, that is the physical aspect. I have bet my career on this by opening my bricks and mortar shop and fashioning it to be a sensory experience for readers. There is just something about actually feeling the pages and turning them. And when we read in bed at night, like many of us do, we just don't seem ready to take an electronic reading device with us. That would be like going to bed with R2D2.

I really can't say I know a heck of a lot about Amazon's Kindle. I do give it a full thumbs up for reducing the price of the just published hardcover best sellers to something most everyone can afford, even if the price of the device is a little high right now. However, there is something that cannot be done with a Kindle that can be done with a book -- you can't lend your Kindle books to your friends like you can your physical books. How many times have you been talking with friends about the book you're reading and offer to lend it, or give it, when you're done? I know I do. But if I'm reading the book on the Kindle how can I pass it along without passing the whole Kindle along? Hmmm. Perhaps there is a way that I don't know of but I'm more of a mind to think that there isn't because it would force more people to purchase the Kindle and purchase the download of the book, thereby boosting sales numbers and revenue. Nice try Amazon and publishers, but I think my little used book shop is safe for the moment. I think I'll still be getting books traded in with the initials of all the previous readers in the group lining the front pages for years to come. And given that hardcover books may be going the way of the dinosaurs in the next few years (a subject to be taken on in a future post) it will be interesting to see what happens to the electronic devices and the download market.

What are your thoughts on the issue? Are you ready to take an electronic book to bed with you?