Pages

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

the end of books?

Do you think we're coming to the end of the book era? Paul Krugman, writing in the NY Times thinks we might be.

...According to a report in The Times, the buzz at this year’s BookExpo America was all about electronic books. Now, e-books have been the coming, but somehow not yet arrived, thing for a very long time.... But we may finally have reached the point at which e-books are about to become a widely used alternative to paper and ink.

That’s certainly my impression after a couple of months’ experience with the device feeding the buzz, the Amazon Kindle. Basically, the Kindle’s lightness and reflective display mean that it offers a reading experience almost comparable to that of reading a traditional book. This leaves the user free to appreciate the convenience factor: the Kindle can store the text of many books, and when you order a new book, it’s literally in your hands within a couple of minutes.

It’s a good enough package that my guess is that digital readers will soon become common, perhaps even the usual way we read books.

Read the rest (you may have to sign up for a free NY Times account to access the article)

And what's this Kindle thing all about? Check it out here.

3 comments:

Pilgrim said...

NO, say it isn't so!

Willow said...

Well, I'M not in favor of it. But I do see the advantage EXCEPT when the battery dies. The battery doesn't die on my 100 year old dictionary that my grandfather owned.

I had lost your blog addie and just found it again.

Willow

Violet N. said...

Julana - I know. Yet, as much as I love books, I could see myself using something like this. Could you?

Willow - Yes, dead batteries are definitely a consideration - especially during times when you need to read, because there's nothing else to do - like while vacationing in the electricity-free wilderness or during power outages.

Glad you found your way back here. How is the new grandbaby? Not so new anymore, right?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...