Does anyone use a Kindle?

This discussion seems to begin from the unsupported assumption that the book business remains viable to address the question whether the Kindle will replace it. The current state of publishing suggests that the book business, by which I mean the manufacture and distribution of new books worth reading, is on its last legs, if not already dead. And the used book store business (that is, the recycling and distribution of books still worth reading) appears to be fading relatively quickly too.

My hope is that the Kindle and/or other electronic reader can revive the reading business, much in the way the CD revived music. The music business may be dying again, but there was a nice period when lots of wonderful recordings were suddenly available again in the new format. Sure, you could complain that digital media was not as good as records, but the problem was that many, many worthwhile recordings were entirely unavailable until CDs (for example, Scherchen's Beethovan recordings or Beecham's La Boheme). I am hoping the whole backlist comes back with the Kindle Nook.

As to the original question, many people find the Kindle good reading and Jeff Bezo's says you can read it in the bathtub by putting it inside a freezer bag; other people don't like it. It's not spoofulated, reverse osmoted, or high in alcohol. Borrow one if you want to see if it works for you. Otherwise, isn't the more relevant question which electronic reader has available content that suits your particular interests? Eugene Sue, I understand, has an exclusive deal with the Nook. Hegel is playing both sides of the street.
 
originally posted by Chris Sipes:
The current state of publishing suggests that the book business, by which I mean the manufacture and distribution of new books worth reading, is on its last legs, if not already dead. And the used book store business (that is, the recycling and distribution of books still worth reading) appears to be fading relatively quickly too.
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Chris,
Not that I dispute these statements, but you sound very sure of yourself.
How so?
Best, Jim
 
originally posted by Florida Jim:
originally posted by Chris Sipes: The current state of publishing suggests that the book business, by which I mean the manufacture and distribution of new books worth reading, is on its last legs, if not already dead. And the used book store business (that is, the recycling and distribution of books still worth reading) appears to be fading relatively quickly too.
Click to expand...

Chris, Not that I dispute these statements, but you sound very sure of yourself.
How so?
Click to expand...

Jim, Chris is saying what a lot of people are saying...and it has merit.

The publishers are certainly running scared, and justifiably so.

Once people try the eBook Readers, they generally have little or no interest in reading hard books. This is certainly the case with JoAnne and me.

With our Sony eReaders, we have multiple sources where the books are frequently free (often just as normal offerings or else due to special promotions) or otherwise priced in the $1 - $10 range. And the convenience and pleasure of using eReaders are superior to hard books.

I would not want to be trying to run a business with hard books these days.

. . . . . Pete
 
Just this evening I picked up three recent titles, one of which is a NYTimes bestseller, for absolutely no cost. In hardback, no less.

Well, no cost save the $.30 late fee I had to pay before the librarian would check them out to me.
 
originally posted by Florida Jim:
originally posted by Chris Sipes:
The current state of publishing suggests that the book business, by which I mean the manufacture and distribution of new books worth reading, is on its last legs, if not already dead. And the used book store business (that is, the recycling and distribution of books still worth reading) appears to be fading relatively quickly too.
Click to expand...

Chris,
Not that I dispute these statements, but you sound very sure of yourself.
How so?
Best, Jim
Click to expand...

Jim, all I can say is that I am fairly sure of myself in terms of my own taste in reading. I find a smaller and smaller number of new releases that suits my interests. At the same time, I read publishers' statements about the economics of book publishing and am not encouraged that we will see an improvement in quality (not that I think books by celebrities are bad per se, just that I find them unappealing as a matter of fact). And, at least around here, there is a small fraction of the used book stores there were just 10 years ago.

Perhaps you find that the book publishing business is serving your needs well. And perhaps things will turn around. I envy your enthusiasm. Me? I'm hoarding books and awaiting the apocalypse.
 
originally posted by Chris Sipes:
originally posted by Florida Jim:
originally posted by Chris Sipes:
The current state of publishing suggests that the book business, by which I mean the manufacture and distribution of new books worth reading, is on its last legs, if not already dead. And the used book store business (that is, the recycling and distribution of books still worth reading) appears to be fading relatively quickly too.
Click to expand...

Chris,
Not that I dispute these statements, but you sound very sure of yourself.
How so?
Best, Jim
Click to expand...

Jim, all I can say is that I am fairly sure of myself in terms of my own taste in reading. I find a smaller and smaller number of new releases that suits my interests. At the same time, I read publishers' statements about the economics of book publishing and am not encouraged that we will see an improvement in quality (not that I think books by celebrities are bad per se, just that I find them unappealing as a matter of fact). And, at least around here, there is a small fraction of the used book stores there were just 10 years ago.

Perhaps you find that the book publishing business is serving your needs well. And perhaps things will turn around. I envy your enthusiasm. Me? I'm hoarding books and awaiting the apocalypse.
Click to expand...
Not sure about Jim's enthusiam for the book industry, but I think you have a very negative outlook. What type of books do you enjoy reading?
 
If you don't enjoy reading books, I fail to see how he Kindle would change the experience sufficiently. Although I have only tried it on computer, its point seems to be to reproduce the experience of reading a book without giving you the material object, which is fine with me, by the way. In any case, if you do enjoy reading books, the mode by which the book will be delivered will always be secondary. If you don't, no mode will make it better. I just finished Richard Russo's Bridge of Sighs and I'm starting Anna Karenin (which I haven't read in probably over 20 years and need to read again). I'm doing it the old fashioned way. I'd happily do it some other way. The "book" industry may change, but those of us who enjoy reading, will still read.

The comparison to CDs is seriously inaccurate. CDs took over from tapes and vinyl because they provided better quality sound. A Kindle version does not provide better quality thought.

If 19th century French fiction, such as Eugene Sue, were on Kindle, I would be more likely to shell out for it sooner. But a movie version of Mysteres de Paris is on TV 5 France in less than 30 minutes, and I'm there.
 
originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:CDs took over from tapes and vinyl because they provided better quality sound.
Click to expand...

Oh boy, here we go. Jonathan, you just don't say things like that on the Internet. It's reckless.
 
originally posted by Kay Bixler:
originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:CDs took over from tapes and vinyl because they provided better quality sound.
Click to expand...

Oh boy, here we go. Jonathan, you just don't say things like that on the Internet. It's reckless.
Click to expand...

CDs took over because they have better sound than tapes and were more portable than vinyl. Sound quality between vinyl and CDs are comparable, if not slightly better on vinyl. That the record industry manage to spread the spurious proposition of the audio superiority of CDs is a testament to their marketing skill more than anything else.

CDs are currently dying mainly because MP3s have proven more portable [and the piracy issue] while vinyl is now making a comeback. The record shops that I go to are phasing out their CDs and converting all of their space to vinyl now because it is the only thing that sells. The New York Times have an interesting article on this phenomenon. Record companies are also accommodating vinyl buyers by offering free MP3 versions of the purchased vinyl albums.

Sorry for the thread drift.

N.B. I think books rock.
 
originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:
If you don't enjoy reading books, I fail to see how he Kindle would change the experience sufficiently. Although I have only tried it on computer, its point seems to be to reproduce the experience of reading a book without giving you the material object, which is fine with me, by the way. In any case, if you do enjoy reading books, the mode by which the book will be delivered will always be secondary. If you don't, no mode will make it better. I just finished Richard Russo's Bridge of Sighs and I'm starting Anna Karenin (which I haven't read in probably over 20 years and need to read again). I'm doing it the old fashioned way. I'd happily do it some other way. The "book" industry may change, but those of us who enjoy reading, will still read.

The comparison to CDs is seriously inaccurate. CDs took over from tapes and vinyl because they provided better quality sound. A Kindle version does not provide better quality thought.

If 19th century French fiction, such as Eugene Sue, were on Kindle, I would be more likely to shell out for it sooner. But a movie version of Mysteres de Paris is on TV 5 France in less than 30 minutes, and I'm there.
Click to expand...

Maybe The Medium is the Massage might be due for a reread.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:
If you don't enjoy reading books, I fail to see how he Kindle would change the experience sufficiently. Although I have only tried it on computer, its point seems to be to reproduce the experience of reading a book without giving you the material object, which is fine with me, by the way. In any case, if you do enjoy reading books, the mode by which the book will be delivered will always be secondary. If you don't, no mode will make it better. I just finished Richard Russo's Bridge of Sighs and I'm starting Anna Karenin (which I haven't read in probably over 20 years and need to read again). I'm doing it the old fashioned way. I'd happily do it some other way. The "book" industry may change, but those of us who enjoy reading, will still read.

The comparison to CDs is seriously inaccurate. CDs took over from tapes and vinyl because they provided better quality sound. A Kindle version does not provide better quality thought.

If 19th century French fiction, such as Eugene Sue, were on Kindle, I would be more likely to shell out for it sooner. But a movie version of Mysteres de Paris is on TV 5 France in less than 30 minutes, and I'm there.
Click to expand...

Maybe The Medium is the Massage might be due for a reread.
Click to expand...
Missed that one, must be shelved next to The Joy of Sax.
 
originally posted by Yule Kim:
originally posted by Kay Bixler:
originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:CDs took over from tapes and vinyl because they provided better quality sound.
Click to expand...

Oh boy, here we go. Jonathan, you just don't say things like that on the Internet. It's reckless.
Click to expand...

CDs took over because they have better sound than tapes and were more portable than vinyl. Sound quality between vinyl and CDs are comparable, if not slightly better on vinyl. That the record industry manage to spread the spurious proposition of the audio superiority of CDs is a testament to their marketing skill more than anything else.

CDs are currently dying mainly because MP3s have proven more portable [and the piracy issue] while vinyl is now making a comeback. The record shops that I go to are phasing out their CDs and converting all of their space to vinyl now because it is the only thing that sells. The New York Times have an interesting article on this phenomenon. Record companies are also accommodating vinyl buyers by offering free MP3 versions of the purchased vinyl albums.

Sorry for the thread drift.

N.B. I think books rock.
Click to expand...

My take is a little different: high quality audiophile DACs wedded with a variety of digital storage options have supplanted CDs with the exact same sound. While dollar for dollar CD player quality is still better than DAC quality, that won't go on for long. When it shifts, CDs will truly be dead, because their is no sound difference, and the DAC system is so much more convenient.

LPs and turntables at the top end still exceed the quality of digital. Sit down and listen to an LP12 next to the top end Naim CD player and most folks will agree. LPs are making a sort of comeback but it is for a nerdy core, not the general population. But, at the low end, you can spend $1,000 on a gorgeous old Thorens and have wonderful sound quality that is tough to beat with CDs.
 
originally posted by Kay Bixler:
originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:CDs took over from tapes and vinyl because they provided better quality sound.
Click to expand...

Oh boy, here we go. Jonathan, you just don't say things like that on the Internet. It's reckless.
Click to expand...

He really needs to stick to his Chateauneuf.
 
If you bring one to the bar I promise to take it away like an elementary school teacher and I will not return it till the end of the semester.You have been warned!
 
If you bring one to the bar I promise to take it away like an elementary school teacher and I will not return it till the end of the semester.You have been warned!
 
If you bring one(Kindle) to Terroir I promise to take it away like an elementary school teacher and I will not return it till the end of the semester.You have been warned!
 
Digital technology has and will continue to diminish the old monolithic business models of the legacy analog formats. The analog formats will continue where support exists for their unique attributes that digital can't supplant. Are we experiencing a period of substantial transformation and realignment
of dominant methods of distribution? Obviously, we are, but are we seeing immanent "deaths" for the
analog formats, only insofar as they were once the only game in town and will live on indefinitely
in limited fashion and steady graceful decline.

My eyes tire more quickly reading screens, my ears fatigue quickly from anything but the best digital audio reproduction. I always appreciate fine prints of great film photographs when I see them in person.

Will there be coffee table Kindles?
 
originally posted by Dagan:
Scott Kraft always has to have the new toyIf you bring one(Kindle) to Terroir I promise to take it away like an elementary school teacher and I will not return it till the end of the semester.You have been warned!
Click to expand...

Fuck I'm waiting for the iSlate/iTablet/iWhateverthefuck. Nya nya na na na!
 
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