When Amazon announced the creation of their new e-reader, the Kindle, it was met with a combination of trepidation, skepticism, and hope. For years, people have been waiting for the e-book revolution, the moment when, like music and the iPod, books would see massive consumption through digital means that might revolutionize the industry. Thing is…it hasn’t happened. Yet.
E-books still make up only about 1% of total book revenue. And while that number is up dramatically (from something like negative one jillion percent) five years ago, it still isn’t enough to justify all the hype. Yet the Kindle is supposed to be different. It is supposed to make reading books digitally as cool as music is to listen to on a small, money clip-sized device. And now that the Kindle 2 has been introduced along with cool new features–why is it that I still find myself so reluctant to buy one?
I should be the ideal Kindle user. I read dozens of books a year. My apartment can no longer house all of my books, to the point where I sneakily drop off read books at my parents house like Andy Dufresne dropping rocks in the yard in “The Shawshank Redemption.” The price tag is not such a hindrance that it would prohibit me from buying one (lord knows I’ve spent $350 on plenty of stupid things). Plus I read enough that considering the money I currently spend on books, the Kindle would pay for itself relatively quickly. I travel several weeks a year and always have to pack around the books I plan to bring. (when you find yourself debating whether to bring that extra pair of socks or that fifth paperback, you have issues)
Yet despite all of these logistical reasons, I still have not bought a Kindle. And I’m not quite sure why not.
It’s certainly possible that, if I ever do buy one, I’ll kick myself for not buying one sooner. But that’s the rub. I never hesitated in buying an MP3 player. And I got an iPod pretty much as soon as they hit they market. For some reason, music just seems to fit the digital mold better for me, and many other people. I also love the look of books on my shelf. I love the creased spine, love looking at them and remembering my favorite parts, even cracking open one or two just to skim. I love the pile next to my nightstand, and I love that if I ever have a really big house I’ll have a book collection that will line an entire wall. I’ve even thought (briefly, albeit) about what it would be like to own and run a bookstore. I just love those big, clunky, outdated things.
And maybe that’s my biggest holdup in buying a Kindle. I don’t think it’s snobbery to say that I’ve always considered books more valuable that other forms of entertainment. Even the most expensive books (which will take you between 6-12 hours to finish, usually), to me, are better values that a movie (2 hours) or an album (1 hour). Plus they tend to offer so much more. CDs never felt like they had much weight. They all looked the same, felt the same, and what the album looked like didn’t matter as much compared to how it sounded. The effect of a CD was replicated PERFECTLY by the iPod. The effect of reading a book, currently, cannot be duplicated from an e-reader. The content is the same, sure, but the feel is all wrong.
Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m being narrow-minded, and I’ll look at this post and laugh in a few years when I’m reading my Kindle 8. But for right now, I’m just fine with my big, clunky hardbacks and my creased, loved paperbacks. Even if the beat up Chevy with 150,000 miles and the brand new, factory fresh Lamborghini both get you from point A to point B, that Chevy still has a whole lot more character and personality in my book.
I honestly do hope the Kindle revolutionizes publishing, in that it encourages younger, more technology-savvy people to start enjoying books instead of plugging their brain into the wall or having it slowly eaten away by reality tv. For now, though, even if there’s exists a whole new world of possibility out there, I’m more than content rocking it old school.
