Kindle: You've got to be kidding me

[Tchocky]

Agreeing with CCIP here. Most evenings my eyes are raw from reading JSTOR or some badly scanned journal, so anything with readability superior to a monitor would help.
Re: modern technology in general, there's a difference between buying to have and buying to use/need.

[AVGWarhawk]

Neat idea. Save tree or two in the process, etc. I'm a book fan....period. I read in bed or in the bathroom. No fear of the book fizzling out if I drop it in the toilet.

I pride myself on the collection of books I have and enjoy reading them again after a year of the first initial reading. Besides, the price of fossil fuels might lead me into using them to keep the house warm

[Rotary Crewman]

Not in a 'Haha, told you so way' It will be intereting to see this thread in around 2-3 years time. Only because, like my sceptic self when ebooks first arrived, if peoples opinions have changed.

I'm not saying no to books, but this is something very very useful for people like me.

[mookiemookie]

I agree with the other posters who say that in a technical sense this could be a great idea. But reading for pleasure for me is all about the feel of opening a book, the smell of the paper, the bindings, the gentle crack it makes when you open a new one for the first time, and the shelves upon shelves of books I own...it's like the bigger my collection is, the more proud I am. I love being able to answer yes when people see my bookshelves and ask me "You've read all of those?" For me, no electronic reader can hope to replace real books read for pleasure.

[RickC Sniper]

A useful tool for the severely disabled who have much difficulty turning pages, etc.
For others....an eye killer, I would think.

I prefer a real book, which I can manage sitting up, but I have difficulty as stated above when I want to read while in bed. I don't own one, but am considering it for that purpose.

Rick C

[RickC Sniper]

LOL, you guys will kill me for this I think, but even a very nice bound book I have someone BREAK the binding of it so it will lay flat open for me.

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by RickC Sniper

LOL, you guys will kill me for this I think, but even a very nice bound book I have someone BREAK the binding of it so it will lay flat open for me.

Nah, books are intended to be used. I routinely mangle mine.

Rotary Crewman: Not in a 'Haha, told you so way' It will be intereting to see this thread in around 2-3 years time. Only because, like my sceptic self when ebooks first arrived, if peoples opinions have changed.

I'm not saying no to books, but this is something very very useful for people like me.

You may be right, we'll have to see. Part of my objection is the hype Amazon is trying to induce. Just look at their product page, way overblown. (Of course, if you do decide to buy one of these marvelous devices, be sure to use the search box here! :rotfl: )

Seriously, this is nothing more than a laptop or a PDA with improved text reading app. I agree is can be a useful product, but it will not revolutionalize the book. Bezos is just trying to win a second Oscar, methinks he needs to look elsewhere.

Bezos: "You have a product so revolutionary, you'll have no problem selling it."