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Where content meets technology

Mar 23, 2009

How I Talked Myself Out of a Kindle

It takes me a really long time to buy a gadget. Over the course of months I deliberate whether I really need the device and, if I do, what options I should get. The current object of my rumination is the Amazon Kindle 2

and, right now, the pendulum is on the "not buy" side of the swing. Here are the arguments that are keeping it there.

  1. I like to share books with my friends and family. The exchange of books can be a nice social experience. You loan or borrow a book and you have at least one person you can discuss it with.

  2. I buy used books. Used books can be a great deal. I like to browse used book stores and tags sales to find interesting books at a reasonable prices.

  • The paper book just may be the culmination of reading technology. More durable than a papyrus scroll, cheaper than liquid crystal, what could be better than paper?
  • My personal library is a carbon sink. You see an overloaded book case, I see hundreds of pounds of carbon not released into the atmosphere. A Kindle would be powered by a coal plant on the other side of town.
  • I would rather read than talk about my reading device. I have hardly ever seen anyone actually reading a Kindle. Most Kindle owners that I see are too busy getting interrupted by strangers who have an opinion about the future of eBooks. A shy person like myself appreciates the camouflaging qualities of a nice boring looking paper book.

    • There you have it; those are my reasons. They are working for me right now but, in case you are not convinced, you can click through this Amazon Associates link

    and put a little money in my Kindle fund (because that I know that I will eventually cave).

    posted at 05:11  ·  ereader