It is good to travel light yes. I once insisted that we take The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde on a day trip (three times heavier than his complete works) and it didn't go down too well, but the potential of the kindle can help solve things like that and more.
I rejected the idea of an ereader for a year or two, but really it was silly. It is just dated nostalgia, most of it I think.
(Damn, no wonder I am a little tired I have just realised it is 2.08am! - all the best, good night.)
Well, anything corporations give us is for their benefit, for their profit maximization, and so I can't fully open my heart to the Kindle.
I feel some grief at the death of real books, and not only of the books themselves, but of the way that people used to look upon them as things of great worth - the most cherished, precious objects that people owned.
I think that eventually people will become so distanced from the spirit of books that they won't even wish for a special edition or one with great artwork. A person who cares for books will just be seen as stodgy, the same as people who value other real things over the virtual.
Last edited by Vonny; 11-26-2011 at 10:55 PM.
I don't like Kindles at all. Sure, the technology is good, but little digital copies of a book is nothing compared the the texture, smell, feeling of reading a physical book. Also, many authors are not allowing their books to be made into Kindle form because it is super easy to pirate the book, so in the interest of business, it ain't the best thing.
I often had a discussion with friends about this subject: is the reading the same on paper and on screen, and is the writing the same with a pen and with the keyboard? They told me language does not change. Agreed. But do the mental operations not change? I think so. The book The Shallows by Nicholas Carr, which I’m currently reading, gives interesting insights about that. I was raised without computer, nor cell phone, nor smart phone. I learnt to write with a pen, to express my thoughts with a pen, to give shape to my imagination with a pen. I learnt to read with paper books. I never read a novel or a long essay on a screen. I felt that, since I have the Internet and spend time for instance on this forum, I’m less patient in my reading. I was used to read hundreds of pages in one sitting, especially when I was student, and now I tend to be distracted by my use of the Internet. I need to remain in the silence, well concentrated, well immerged in my reading; and that’s why I prefer to spend days and sometimes weeks without surfing on the web. I’m curious to know if you, Neely and others, have the same concentration while reading on your Kindle as you had or have with paper books.Originally Posted by Neely
I am not going to buy a Kindle for the same reason that I won't buy a mobile phone and that is because I don't want one.
However, I have found that the Internet does interfere not only with reading but other things as well and were it not for the convenience of Emails and the fact that I am able to access all kinds of things on YouTube that I could not easily get elsewhere, I would get rid of my computer. Addiction to the Internet is very real and it is only by completely ignoring it that a person will be free from it.
"L'art de la statistique est de tirer des conclusions erronèes a partir de chiffres exacts." Napoléon Bonaparte.
"Je crois que beaucoup de gens sont dans cet état d’esprit: au fond, ils ne sentent pas concernés par l’Histoire. Mais pourtant, de temps à autre, l’Histoire pose sa main sur eux." Michel Houellebecq.
Yes some interesting points. In terms of levels of concentration it is too early to tell if the kindle is any different from reading paper books, I suspect not, in fact I have been reading much more since I got my kindle than before (though still not pre-internet levels). Some of this is novelty perhaps, but I don't think that reading from a kindle generally will have any impact on concentration at all, this is because the kindle uses e-ink which is entirely different from reading on screen. I would never read a full novel or any lengthy work over the computer.
However I definitely think that my use of the internet and computers generally has impacted upon my levels of concentration in the last few years. Not only that, but because of my computer use and with the vast majority of work being done on Word that my ability to express myself with a pen over a keyboard has deteriorated quite sharply (though I was never very good with this). I suspect this is a fairly common thing, I don't know? Having also schooled without computers, as computers were only just beginning to emerge then, I now find that I can write and think at least four/five times faster on a computer than I can with a pen. (Learning to touch type has been a massive benefit here of course.) When I give students feedback I even type it up in Word and print it off! I don't think that I go more than four/five hours without going on the internet, checking this or that, I certainly couldn't go two weeks, this has to affect levels of focus and concentration and impact in other areas too.
I do try to grab long periods without distraction and noise though, as I think this is important. I have managed to find myself several days over the last week where I have had complete quiet with no one in the house and no noise for hours on end. I always fit time in each day when longer periods of quiet and calm are not possible too. This is very important to me.
I think that technology is great, especially the internet and the kindle - I am not a fan of phones personally, though I think that the negative affects of technology are clearly evident. Again it is a question of balance and moderation. The overuse of which I suspect greatly aggravates things like ADHD and contributes to general restlessness and hyperactivity along with computer game use and TV. I think that there are certain groups of younger people that don't get 5 minutes peace and calm in an entire day which I think is disastrous. I always limit the use of internet/TV with my own children and the positive impact on behaviour, concentration and creativity is as immediate as it is obvious.
Last edited by LitNetIsGreat; 11-27-2011 at 11:18 AM.
Who really needs to carry more than one book around anyway?
Heh. Why do you think some of us hang around this site?
"You understand well enough what slavery is, but freedom you have never experienced, so you do not know if it tastes sweet or bitter. If you ever did come to experience it, you would advise us to fight for it not with spears only, but with axes too." - Herodotus
https://consolationofreading.wordpress.com/ - my book blog!
Feed the Hungry!
Interesting, Neely. I work the whole day on Word, and I use a pen for my personal writings. Schizophrenic?
i love the actual book!
if you want to make a difference in life, EDUCATE A CHILD
All, a smart phone I can understand, but a cell phone you won't bother with? These days, that's basically a necessity.
No, millions of people have been have been conned into believing that it's a necessity. If that were the case, the world would have come to a standstill before they came into general use. I admit that there have been a couple of occasions when one would have been useful but certainly not a necessity. I would be prepared to bet that 99% of mobile phone calls that I see taking place on the street are unnecessary. I have two landline phones in my home, why would I want a mobile ?
"L'art de la statistique est de tirer des conclusions erronèes a partir de chiffres exacts." Napoléon Bonaparte.
"Je crois que beaucoup de gens sont dans cet état d’esprit: au fond, ils ne sentent pas concernés par l’Histoire. Mais pourtant, de temps à autre, l’Histoire pose sa main sur eux." Michel Houellebecq.
What is up with and modern technology?
Nothing as long as it remains our slave and we don't become a slave to it.
"L'art de la statistique est de tirer des conclusions erronèes a partir de chiffres exacts." Napoléon Bonaparte.
"Je crois que beaucoup de gens sont dans cet état d’esprit: au fond, ils ne sentent pas concernés par l’Histoire. Mais pourtant, de temps à autre, l’Histoire pose sa main sur eux." Michel Houellebecq.
I don't really get it either.
people say they are good for traveling , but when I'm on vacation I'm usually doing things unique to the location that I can't do at home, the typical sitting on the beach all day thing isn't for me.
people also say they travel for business , I've been on a few business trips and I'm usually working and entertaining people, out to lunch and dinner and when I get back to the hotel room it's late and I'm tired with an early start again tomorrow. How much reading can I really do?
I know some literature buffs do indeed read more than one book at a time, maybe one fiction, one non-fiction or biography, but do you really need both at the doctors office?
people say it's great to have 100 books with you at all times but how many do you need , I think the power of having that many is great but I just don't know if it's really needed that often.
people say it great that they can download a book in a minute but I think that just makes it easier to impulse buy and buy a book you might not actually like. I don't mind waiting for a book I've ordered, I've got plenty on my TBR list. Of course a company will make it as easy as possible to buy their product.
some of the Russian classics are free but the translations of them aren't the greatest so in the end I'd have to buy an updated version anyway.
Some books aren't available in e-form. Some are cheaper, some are more expensive. The meme that they are always cheaper isn't true. Some, like the Library of America edtions don't seem to be available at all.
I'm glad some people like them and if it makes people read more it's only a good thing.
One thing I noticed was that they are all mostly 6'' screens and with the font just below half of the available options it seemed like I was constantly flipping thru the pages b/c less words fit on the screen as compared with a typical paperback. To me this was distracting, and I don' t consider myself a quick reader. I know the font is adjustable but it was just below half and it didn't seem any bigger than more books I own. I went home and looked at fonts of books I had to confirm.
has anyone else noticed this about e-readers? that you are flipping the pages more and more b/c less text fits on the screen (even without it blown up real big)???
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