So last night, after a very long break, I started reading a paper book. Since I bought my first Kindle in May of 2008, I gradually stopped reading paper books at all. They are bulky, heavy, inconvenient. If you underline quotes in them, the marks are usually indelible. Besides, you can neither transfer underlined quotes and notes on the margins to your blog nor tweet them. And what's the point of a good quote, if you can't share it with anybody and receive instant feedback?
When another book or article is mentioned within a paper book, I can't find out how much it costs and what other people have to say about it. And it is really confusing to be reading a book whose Amazon ratings are unknown to you. How should a reader even know what to expect from it?
Another annoying thing about a paper book is that whenever I encounter a word I don't know, pressing my finger on the margin next to the unknown word does absolutely nothing. A dictionary doesn't come up to inform me what the word means, which is beyond inconvenient. And what is one supposed to do when one gets bored with the book? A paper book doesn't allow you to switch to a game or even play music. It doesn't even know how to narrate the text for you out loud while you are doing something else. What is a reader supposed to do, just stay reading and not do anything else in the meanwhile? How is that even possible? And how is one supposed to update one's social media while being stuck with this unwieldy paper device? I mean it isn't like a person can be expected to go for an entire half hour without checking their Twitter account, their e-mails, and their blog, right?
In short, paper books are a horrible drag. Who on Earth invented these cumbersome, inconvenient things that haven't released a new version in 570 years?
8 comments:
But, if you take a pen and mark a sentence on your Kindle, the mark stays there when you begin reading a new book and you have no idea what it is about!?
I can't believe my eyes! Clarissa, you of all people, to make fun of the KINDLE! What happened?? :))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
I'm not making fun of the Kindle, Anonymous, I'm making fun of me. :-) :-)
Oh Pagan Topologist, everybody makes fun of us, blondes. :-) :-)
I would buy a Kindle, but it has DRM. I guess I'll be the last person on earth without any DRMed products. Not criticizing anyone who does buy DRM-infected devices, it's just not for me. :-)
-Mike
I'm so not sophisticated enough to have a principled position on DRM. :-) But thanks to you I at least know what it is.
Great post!
My father just told me that when he started reading this post he was sure that I was seriously saying that I hated books. He was terrified that I must have been spoiled entirely by my life in the US. :-)
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