The Great E-book Debate

A lot is being made of the Kindle--the electronic reader that has a wireless Internet connection, allows you to store hundreds of books inside and read them on the screen, as well as instantly downloading books in electronic format for $9.99 each. There are a lot of benefits being touted, such as that you don't have to carry around a lot of books to have them at your fingertips (the Kindle is narrow and lightweight).

I've seen the pro-vs.-con argument phrased as a "Usability vs. Nostalgia" conundrum, and while I agree that there are nostalgic reasons to hang on to books, this way of framing the issue sets books up to fail--who wants to let nostalgia and silly emotions get in the way of better convenience and usability? I've even seen some people start to write about actual books as "analog books" (Seriously? Analog books?). The word "analog" automatically denotes something hopelessly behind the times, in my opinion--and again weighs the outcome in the mind of the reader before they've even read the article.

So this is my response to that: Why real books are more user-friendly and convenient than e-books, in my opinion.

I can't read an eBook in the bath. I love reading books in places where you wouldn't want to take a Kindle: in the bathtub, on the beach, in an inner tube floating on a lake. You get your book so wet it can't be read, and it'll cost you a couple of bucks to replace it. You get your Kindle wet, and you're a little under $300 in the hole. Clear disadvantage to the Kindle there.

Kindles are EXPENSIVE. Speaking of how much it costs: even if you're a voracious reader, reading is an inexpensive hobby. You can go to libraries and buy your books used--and you don't have to furnish an arm and a leg to feed your reading habit. But a Kindle will cost you a lot--Amazon is selling it for $259 right now. In my opinion, it's a way of making a low-tech, inexpensive hobby more pricey and less easy to get into. If Kindles become the norm, will people stop reading as much because they can't afford one?

I look at a screen all day. I need a break. A lot of workers look at computer screens from 9-5 every day, if not more. When I read, I'm getting away from the screen. I love getting unplugged from the world and reading a book. A Kindle keeps your eyes glued to the screen--not a fun way to spend a vacation, in my opinion.

Your Kindle can run out of batteries. Kindles have a long battery life--up to seven days with the wireless turned on and two weeks without. But they still have a battery life. What if I wanted to take mine camping and there's no plug-in on the mountaintop? Or what if you just forget to plug it in? A book may be heavier in your backpack, but it won't run out of batteries.

You can't write in your Kindle. My books tend to be lived-in. I dog-ear, I write in the margins, I highlight. You can't do that with a Kindle.

You can't lend your books out. I love exchanging books with friends--and of course if I read mainly on a Kindle, I couldn't do that. I'd have to lend out my entire Kindle, and not read anything til my friend gave it back. Or *gasp* be stuck with "analog" books until then.

No sensory book experience. When talking about the things Kindle takes away from the reading experience, a lot of people bring up the sensory book-reading experience--the smell of a new book, the way the pages feel and sound as you turn them, and so on. I think this is ultimately a losing argument--it draws on emotion and nostalgia, which have a hard time standing against the next new thing in popular opinion. But I believe there's something to it--you just don't get that sensory experience with a Kindle.

Do you use a Kindle? Do you prefer it over books? And, do you feel it's better in some situations than others?