She always does that. Sheesh.
OK, it appears that I don't have a proper picture of my reading area, but in the largest part of our apartment the wife and I set up books that wrap around the room. There are thousands, and we love them all.
So, I really don't need an e-reader. But, being a geek, I couldn't resist looking into these neat devices to see if one of them would work out for me.
The Kindle came first. I remember sitting in a history seminar class on Abelard and Heloise when a student whipped a Kindle to look up a passage (much to the oohs and ahhs of our classamtes). He punched in 'Abelard and Heloise' and waited.
And Kindle didn't have it.
This was fun, for me, because it was obvious that he hadn't read the book at all (or he would have known that it wasn't available) and he got frustrated saying that he thought everything was on the Kindle. (My copy of the book was around $5. The Kindle is going for $140, right now, but it was much more back then.)
The next one I saw (personally) was the iPad's application for reading books. (I know, the Nook was first. I'll get to it.) Starting at $500 (and going beyond $800) this was a very expensive solution. I already have a laptop that was not only less than half of that price, but it is actually smaller than an iPad. And with Google Books and other online e-book options I've got a lot of online reading I can already do. (In fact, last week I forgot my copy of Hawking's 'Brief History of Time' and found a free e-book online that I used during class.) The iPad certainly makes many customers happy with its many applications, but I can't justify that kind of an expenditure for a device that I don't need.
Lastly, I finally got around to seeing Barnes & Nobles' Nook. And I liked it. It's small and light, and it's really easy to read. It is a lot cheaper than an iPad and can actually fit in a jacket pocket. Not bad, but what can I read on it? The sample one in the store had 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' pulled up, but that's not what I would use an e-reader for. I typed in a search for "Peter Brown" and waited. And waited. It took a while, but the Nook finally told me that my search turned up no results.
Nothing by Peter Brown? He's the most famous historian of late antiquity! This confirmed what I had been hearing: these fun e-readers are no good for the academic. I can read novels on them, sure, but novels are 50 cents at the local bookstore, and I would have to buy a LOT of those before anyone's e-reader every paid for itself. Also, I can't take notes on the pages. (Not that it matters, since academic books are in short supply on those things.) Of course, I've only mentioned three of the many e-readers out there, but I think I learned what I needed to learn.
I'm sure the e-reader is right for plenty of people, but, as for me, I'll sit by my fireplace and read my old books in my favorite chair. And I'll mark in them all I want (except for the antiques).
10 comments:
I got a Kindle because many of the books on my immediate to-read list, like Gravity's Rainbow and the Oxford History of the United States series, are simply far too thick and cumbersome to be able to carry around comfortably.
I have an iPad, and I think you are vastly underestimating their usefulness. On my iPad, I have both Kindle and Apple's iBooks. I tried the Nook app on here as well, and the selection, along with the app, sucked. My point? By buying an iPad, you're actualy getting all three e-reader stores. Additionally, the productivity of an iPad, due to the Apps (300,00 +) that you so quickly dismiss, is astounding.
I have purchased almost every book I have needed for class on my iPad, and use it exclusivelyfor my book reading now. I guess there's a good chance that, as a higher level academic, YOU might not find everything you need, but that's ultimately up to the publisher, e-book store, and the author.
Lastly, I have used these little netbook computers you describe. There are advantages to having a full laptop OS and ecosystem at your fingertips. However, due to their size, those advantages are minimalistic. Ultimately, I use my iPad over my laptop 9 times out of 10, the exception being when I have to do work (which, for me, is programming for Windows or iOS) because the software I use is either Windows or OS X specific. The iPad is a vastly superior reading and web browsing machine than a laptop. It is also very useful in productivity when writing papers, etc. due to it's powerful apps.
Well, I'm not an academic, so I don't have that issue. I do understand it, though. For me, I want an eReader for two reasons. 1) I have a lot of books I love, and being able to access my entire library (or a good portion) at any time is exciting. 2) with my ADHD and minor dyslexia, I can't hardly concentrate on reading print unless it's large print (less distractions for my ADHD brain). E-readers can max the print size for me (without having to buy large-print editions and look like an old man), making it easier to read.
Yeah, nothing's better for writing papers than a device without a keyboard..
Bear in mind, Kelly, I've seen what the iPad can do. I've seen it apps and it's e-reader program and it's all very impressive. But I don't need one. I can think of a lot of things that $500 could go to that would be worth more, to me.
That's why I ended this blog entry by saying that these devices were right for some people, but not for me. It just doesn't do anything for my lifestyle. And books are cheap.
Yeah, I've been told that an e-reader can access all of my books from on place, but I've never needed all of my books at once. I only need one at a time.
Agreed. And as a side note, there's a new history prof at A&M who I've been getting to know at the university and at church, who studied under Peter Brown. So cool.
I think e-readers will, in the long run, gain much more prominence. That being said, it's all contingent on availability of titles. I've found Kindle to be, by far, the best on that front. iBooks is probably second, and Nook was horrible. Nook was so horrible, in fact, that I deleted it from my device.
I just wanted to point out, Adam, that the net book to iPad comparison you made was not quite Apples to Apples. I've tried Kindle on a laptop, and reading experience just wasn't very good.
Kindle is probably the best multi platform book store. (iBooks is definitely a better reading experience if you can find the book). The iPad is probably the best e-reading device. I really think the Nook sucks. I'll admit though, I haven't touch the e-reading device itself.
The iPad is terrible if you want to read outdoors. The Kindle isn't backlighted, making it readable even in bright sunlight. The same can't be said for the iPad.
I've seen the iPad's e-reader application and I was not very impressed. The Nook, as Justin says, has got a great screen that is easy on the eyes and suited for more reading environments.
But it's still more expensive then just buying books.
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