Can anyone present me with an argument against Kindles and ebooks that isn’t based in “But I like the way books smell” nostalgia?

sostark:

I’m really not trying to be snarky here. It’s just that every few weeks I feel like I see something like this post, in which someone waxes poetically about how many fond memories they have with books. I have those too, but I also have them for VHS tapes. I don’t remember anyone being so up in arms about the arrival of DVDs. 

I’m pretty ambivalent towards the things personally, but I have heard some slightly more substantial arguments against them than the romantic ones you mentioned. I doubt any of them are dealbreakers for you, but they’re interesting nonetheless.

-Ownership: I’m no law-talking-guy, but I believe that ebook sales exist in a weird limbo between ownership and leasing. There are limits to what rights you have with your ebook related to what you can do with it (lend it, gift it, resell it, etc.).

-The Library: You can borrow ebooks from lots of libraries, but the selection is limited. This will improve in time, but right now I consider that a drawback.

-Preservation: Books you had as a kid, you can still read. But do you have a VHS player at home? There’s a tough question with all media as to whether the technology to decode it will be readily available in the future. This also gets into cross-platform compatibility. Not all ebooks can be read on the other guy’s machine (I think you can get Kindle on Nook, but not Nook on Kindle..maybe?). How will that shake out as more manufacturers enter the market? [Hacked e-readers and pirated ebooks, obv. And more writers going on speaking tours, selling merch to try to make a buck.]

-Electricity: You don’t have to charge the battery in your book. I guess most of them last for a month or something without a charge, but I still think there’s value in not having to plug in. It’s a minor point. That’s why this is at the bottom of the list.

Feb 15. 26 Notes.

Notes

  1. michaeltalbot reblogged this from sostark
  2. shaun-hufty reblogged this from sostark
  3. craig0 answered: books look better on a shelf (mostly)?
  4. comicbooksandwiches answered: augh, tell me about it. not really an argument, just an observation that people seem to believe digital = free. NOT TRUE. still gotta pay.
  5. timglennofglendora answered: I own a kindle. Love it, except for academic reading. It’s incredibly difficult to skim, or refer back to specific pages, etc…
  6. crisisaftercrisis answered: I find it very uncomfortable to read off a screen. Even with legislation for school/work I’ll print it out rather than read the pdf.
  7. bminortoa reblogged this from sostark and added:
    pretty ambivalent towards the things personally, but...have heard some slightly more...
  8. sopoforia answered: Bathtub reading without the terror of destroying hundreds of dollars of electronics, and I can turn pages faster than Kindle loads new pages.
  9. reworkit answered: Layouts - the kindle has one size and layout and text. In some books this is important (granted not in most).
  10. surplus-plus answered: DRM. But the convenience is worth it.
  11. 1takejake answered: Roommate going to Iraq tomorrow for 2 months Friday; he bought a kindle last week. Books are a great mental escape but the weight adds up.
  12. ohryankelley answered: Well said.
  13. ohryankelley replied:
  14. shewhoisnot answered: It’s the same size as a freaking book. Sure it can hold like 5,000 books but when will you ever need to be carrying around 5,000 books?
  15. sostark posted this