Huh?
About a week ago, the New York Times posted an article about how e-books are catching on (finally), and cited Amazon's undisclosed Kindle sales stats to support its argument. I'll likely have more to say on e-books as the year progresses, but I couldn't help but point out this incredible letter to the editor that the Times received in response to the article:
Print book lovers are not the only ones who are turning to e-books. People like me who couldn’t find time to read books for leisure are rediscovering the pleasure of reading because of the convenience of pocket-sized electronic devices that make it easy to download a variety of books, access them instantly anywhere and any time, and replace idle time with enriching, enjoyable reading time.Let me see if I get this straight: Dorlene wasn't reading because she didn't have the time. Thanks to e-books, now she has time. Why? Do the books read themselves? I'm led to conclude that purchasing the books - in person or online - was what took too much time. These are the sort of people who would be in favor of a "meal pill" replacing lunch. Still, her letter to the editor doesn't come close to topping this one, the Heavyweight Champion of Crazy Letters to the Editor for 2008.
Dorlene Kaplan
New York, Dec. 24, 2008
Labels: ebooks
posted by Patrick @ 3:19 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
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Thank you for posting my letter to the editor of the New York Times on your blog, Patrick. I make it clearer on my web page – bornagainreader.com – that my iPod Touch makes it easy for me to read during the many spare moments that occur during each day, time that would otherwise be wasted. I also now purchase print books because when I fall in love with an author I’m unable to obtain all of his or her work in ebook format. If someone invents a pill that has the taste, texture, aroma, and nuances of a delicious meal I will be first on line to buy it.
Dorlene
If you label yourself a reader and use your free time to read then Dorlene's comments on not having "time to read books for leisure" and e-books replacing "idle time with… reading time" may seem incompatible. Yet, some people don't exactly know when or how much idle time they will have on a given day.
Having an e-book on you at all times allows you to take advantage of the time you do get. Sure, I could get hold of a large backpack and fill it with all the stories, reference books, non-fiction books and newspapers with which I am currently engaged. Then I could carry that around all day even though I may never get a chance to even open the bag. Or, as I do my PDA, I could just always carry around an e-reader. Then, if I get the urge to either write something down or read something someone else has written down I am covered.
I can't see an e-book turning a non-reader into a reader. However, an e-book can certainly increase the amount of material an average reader like me will ingest. Regarding a 'meal pill', I'm still for consuming the real, full lunch. If I happen to eat alone then that's just the time of day that I can put my e-book to work.
Dorlene,
Thanks for finding this blog. I get what you're saying about suddenly finding a bit of time to read and then having an ereader to help fill that time. (And Lee, you make some excellent points on that as well.) I suppose that as the kind of person who has carried a book with me everywhere, the ereader wouldn't make much of a difference in my life. I guess we'll find out if it will, though, as I recently got an iphone and the Stanza application (Dorlene, I see you use Fictionwise, so I'd be curious to hear if you've tried Stanza). I'm not opposed to ebooks per se, I just didn't see how they would make it any easier to read. I'm not sure they will for me, but I'm glad they have for you.
Lee, you say that "you can't see an e-book turning a non-reader into a reader". No one was more surprised than I was! When I downloaded the first book to my Palm TX three years ago it was an experiment to see what reading on a digital device would be like. Boy, did I get sucked in! It changed my life for the better in many ways. For example, now when I have to be somewhere I don't wait until the last minute to leave and then get anxious because I might be late. I plan to get there early so I'll have time to read. I even eread when I'm waiting for an elevator -- I couldn't do that if I had to dig around in my backpack and find my place in the book.
Patrick, I tried Stanza and gave it up because it doesn't have a dictionary look-up feature, which I use frequently. I downloaded Webster's Third International Unabridged Dictionary and when I encounter an unfamiliar word I just tap it and the definition appears. This feature alone has enriched my vocabulary more than any word-building course. Of course, you could look up words in a print dictionary but that takes time and interrupts the flow of reading.
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