If you're into e-books and e-readers, you might like to know that Amazon, the on-line bookseller has made over 400,000 books available in the UK from their new Kindle Store. This includes 84 best-selling titles, national newspapers, magazines and over 9,000 blogs. Let's hope that extends to mine. Some contemporary classics are exclusive to the Store, such as Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children, Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, and Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead. Amazon have already begun accepting pre-orders for the new Kindle itself. Among its features are a new electronic-ink screen, which Amazon claims has 50 per cent better contrast than any other e-reader, a new sleek design with 21 per cent smaller body than the previous model, although it still has the same 6 inch-size reading area and a 15 per cent lighter weight at 8.7 ounces (247 gms). The new Kindle with Wi-Fi costs £109 and with Free 3G wireless and Wi-Fi, £149. You can learn more about the UK Kindle Store at www.amazon.co.uk/kindlestore and full details of the new Kindle and Kindle Wi-Fi at www.amazon.co.uk/kindle3G and www.amazon.co.uk/kindleWi-Fi Is this the end of printed books?
I don't know about you but personally, there is nothing like the feel and look of a paper book; it's a sensory experience not to be missed; not to mention the thrill of browsing round a bookshop or possessing the rows of books lining my bookshelves, lovely to see, great to hold, flick through and dip into. Some of them I will read again (and again), some come in handy for research, some I will lend to my most trusted friends as I know they will return them and some are signed by the authors. Hah! They can't do that with an e-reader. E-book readers have been slow to take off but they are doing well in America and now gaining popularity in the UK. For some, they will be another 'must-have', to leave around for visitors to see that they have the latest gadget, though little used; they will make good gifts and I would consider buying one to take on my holidays as reading is mostly what I do when I'm away, in the shade, in a quiet corner (typical!). I don't think traditional books will ever die out but if Kindles and their like help to encourage non-readers to begin reading books, newspapers and blogs, and as long as e-books are not viewed as a cheap alternative to print books, they will have their place in the market.
1 comment:
Interesting post Ms Katz, I personally hope that the Kindle doesn't take off. I am persuaded by the arguments of Micah White that devices such as the Kindle change our relationship to the text and hence to the author.
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