I am not sure if it is because I am a ‘geek’ or just because I am lazy, but I love gadgets that make
my life easier, faster, and BETTER – gadgets, which 6 months ago, I didn’t even know I needed! But
there’s one I just cannot get on board with ...electronic reading devices.
I will never buy one!
I have lived in 3 countries in as many years and have very few possessions that I haul around with
me; honestly nothing of value. The one thing I do take with me everywhere is my books (even when
I am limited to only 20kg of luggage). Backpacking around Europe with the complete works of Jane
Austen and Crime and Punishment would not have been the same if I merely had a Kindle.
I just do not see how they can replace the joy of buying and owning a book. But we have all seen
what happened to the record store and CDs with MP3s and music downloads. This did not bother
me, and I do think storing thousands of songs on one small device offers value to the user. I also
thought the changing marketplace was a good thing for the music industry and consumers of music.
Making music more accessible to a wider market, and yes you can say the same for books. But I just
don’t see the benefits of devices like the Kindle; books have been around for centuries. It was the
first form of commercial and readily available media; it has been used for escapism since the bible.
Books are already accessible to large target markets.
I am sure what happened in the music industry foreshadows the fate of the book.
But the next generation will miss out on so much if they don’t experience the joy of books. Already
modern parents are entertaining their children with their iPad. In contrast my mum gave me her
nearly complete collection of The Baby-Sitters Club.
I love the relationship I have with books, and I will not aid and abet the growth of digital books in any
way, shape or form, when to me they fail to capture or enhance the experience of a paperback
I am not sure if it is because I am a ‘geek’ or just because I am lazy, but I love gadgets that make my life easier, faster, and BETTER – gadgets, which 6 months ago, I didn’t even know I needed! But there’s one I just cannot get on board with ...electronic reading devices.
I will never buy one!
I have lived in 3 countries in as many years and have very few possessions that I haul around with me; honestly nothing of value.
The one thing I do take with me everywhere is my books (even when I am limited to only 20kg of luggage). Backpacking around Europe with the complete works of Jane Austen and Crime and Punishment would not have been the same if I merely had a Kindle.
