I’m fairly fascinated with the Amazon Kindle. I’ve wanted one since version 1.0 came out, and as soon as I have an extra $400 to throw around, I’ll be investing in one. Almost none of my friends feel the same way. They are attached to the physical idea of a book. I feel like occasionally people who express interest in an e-book reader are seen as anti-literature. For me, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I love books. I own tons of books. I see my physical library transferring from bookshelves to my hard drive.
I analogize the transition to the changes in music. In the past decade we’ve gone from buying CDs to buying MP3s. Most people have their entire music collection on a hard drive. That’s an incredible change from our entire musical history. Why not have a similar change in literature?
I also see the Kindle as a possible future for magazines and newspapers, with instantaneous delivery to your device. Slate had a good article this weekend about the way the Kindle will change publishing.
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