Can the Kindle be stopped? Are books slowy becoming dinosaurs?

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   Billrrrrposted 11 years ago

   Can the Kindle be stopped? Are books slowy becoming dinosaurs?
   
   I've heard that some schools are abandoning books in favor of kindles.  I'm not fearful of change or progress, I just do not want to lose real books.

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2. 64

   Sapperposted 11 years ago

   In my opinion, that's a good thing. There is nothing that real books provide that things like the Kindle can't. My wife and I have two 7 or so foot bookcases filled with books, and still each have twice as many on our Kindles. You can buy new books whenever you want to, wherever you are. When you go somewhere, you can take all of your books with you instead of just a few. Most importantly, printing books is expensive. Kindle in particular gives people who otherwise would have it the opportunity to have their writing published. Sure more garbage gets through, but it's not like every printed book was a masterpiece.
   
   This is one of the few technology advances that at least has a chance to better humans intellectually.

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   Pennypinesposted 11 years ago

   I have never been keen on e-books of any kind, although I acknowledge it puts education into people's hands that might not otherwise be able to afford it. 
   And when I see children lined up for their morning school bus with large packs on their backs I shudder at the loads young bones are being forced to carry, especially in rural areas (where I live) where facilities for storage of their text books are scarce. 
   So yes,I see a definite advantage in kindle or other, but at the same time deplore the amount of garbage e-books seems to attract. 
   I belong to a writers group where a couple of  members have recently joined.  One of them concentrates on writing for e-books exclusively.  Her grammar and composition is execrable although some of her themes are both interesting and quite good. 
   So I have mixed emotions on the subject.

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   europewalkerposted 11 years ago

   I prefer a real book to a kindle any day. Kindles may be popular but I don't own one and don't plan on buying one. There is just something about holding a real book, turning the pages and the smell of books. I have been a book lover ever since I can remember. As a child growing up I and spent a lot of time in libraries. I guess I am just old fashioned but I won't be giving up my books and hope they do not become obsolete.

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   Mercia Collinsposted 11 years ago

   I don't have a kindle or any other electronic reading device. I love the smell of a new book. There is something about opening the pages of a book that is intimate and inviting, a screen is something between you and the words.

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      Mercia Collinsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Not all the world's knowledge, and to study anything in depth you need a real book. Books don't go wrong, or come in the wrong format.  Other electronic devices have been hyped and been popular, and then disappeared once their limitations were clear.

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   LoneWolfMuskokaposted 11 years ago

   Physical books will be around as long as there are people who are willing to pay whatever it costs (increasingly) to make them.
   
   The younger generation is much more comfortable with the electronic devices... which continue to get better in terms of readability. They don't take much in the way of physical space. They are much more accessible. And you can read them almost anywhere (although I'd never take mine in the tub -- I still read physical books in the tub 8
   
   Many people enjoy the look, feel and smell of a physical book, old or new. But the real reason for books is information. And the look, feel and even smell of books appeals to you because you associate those things with the information they contain. You wouldn't feel that way about a stack of blank paper (although that might bring a certain emotion to a writer or artist).

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7. 62

   dcollins3posted 11 years ago

   I love my Kindle because of the convenience but I will always buy and own actual paper books. How else do you let a friend borrow it and what looks better on a bookshelf than books?

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   old albionposted 11 years ago

   As time passes I think the kindle will win but not for a long long time. The feel of a new book, turning the new pages and the smell, oh the smell, all part of buying and reading a new book. Furthermore, ownership, bookshelves, being told off for leaving the book where you were reading it. One day all this will I fear be lost. Oh calamity..........
   Graham.

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9. 77

   Uninvited Writerposted 11 years ago

   Paper books are not disappearing. I believe there will always be a market for them. However, I think it is a good idea for schools to use them, it'll save money on textbooks.
   
   I really enjoy my Kindle and it's got me reading as much as I did when I was a teenager.
   
   To me... what is in the book is more important than the form it takes. However, I do still have 3 bookcases filled with books in my apartment.

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      IDONOposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      My only concern with your textbook response is if too much time is spent by a young person looking at the artificial display on a Kindle, what will happen to their eyesight? Can they adjust back and forth from a Kindle and a  bla ckboard? ( if used)

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    jaydeneposted 11 years ago

    Hello, I wanted to say that as a former bookstore owner that kindle will do one thing for books. This is simply driving up the prices of hard copies, especially the valuable ones, and collectables. I feel as the generations loose the sense of value for hard copies, the actual books will become highly collectable, as they will be publishing less in order to get them electronic.   This is the way i see it and I am always going to look out for and keep high value books and maybe one day i will buy a kindle as well.   thank you this is a great question

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11. 78

    jacqui2011posted 11 years ago

    Sadly, I think that books are becoming a thing of the past. With devices like kindles and tablets, you can download books without having to leave the house. I live in the UK and most of the little bookstores (and some of the bigger ones e.g. Borders) have closed down, and libraries are not as popular nowadays as they once were. I have a kindle which I use when I am going on holiday, as I prefer not having to carry heavy books with me, but at home, I prefer having a physical book.
    
    Books are a wonderful source of learning and it is a pity that they are slowly being cast aside in favor of digital devices. I feel sorry for the generations ahead, who may never know "real" books.

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    R Dorian Greyposted 11 years ago

    I think Kindle would be an especially good thing for schoolchildren. I remember how I used to drag pounds and pounds of books around to every new class. Books that would be 'obsolete' within two years because of new developements and then what? They would end up on the old paper stack. For this reason a Kindle is so much more ecologically acceptable. How many trees less do you think they will fell if we all start reading schoolbooks on our Kindle?
    
    No doubt we will see great development of collectors items of real paper books. More expensive yes, but there is so much more energy going into the creation of a real book than one on Kindle.  E-books hurray, for many reasons.

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    Wesley Clarkposted 11 years ago

    I love my kindle.  I also love books that I reserve and check out from the library.  I think the item that will be abandoned is not necessarily books, but bookcases.  I am becoming more and more "minimalistic" in my life and I realize I can have books either on my kindle via the "cloud" or can merely check them out of the library.  Books in the home, once read, merely collect dust and take up space.

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       R Dorian Greyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I agree a hundred years with you Wes. I kept throwing old books away but it still seems like a shameful waste. No use storing that stuff when I'm almost living out of my trunk.

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    Lisa HWposted 11 years ago

    I have both Kindle and books.  It depends on my purpose.  There are some books that I want, regardless of whether I have Kindle.  On the other hand, Kindle is handy for so many things.  I have tons of free literature/publications for reference purposes, and I wouldn't have a whole lot of that stuff if I couldn't get it for free (historical documents, class literature and poetry from different countries, entire collections of one person or another).  Kindle also lets a person have a more current and/or specialized reference library that takes up no space and that can be carried about in one's handbag.  I love getting a newspaper on demand for a few cents on Kindle.  BUT, when I think, "Hey, that's a book I want to read," I also want to own the real book.  Makes no sense, really.  I just do.
    
    I guess, when it comes to reading, I separate my "business reading" (including news in that) with my "enjoyment" reading - just the way I separate business from enjoyment when it comes to writing.
    
    With the exception of reading Hubs that I run into (because I'm here anyway) and that interest me, I don't read anything on the Internet at all - ever.  Thank goodness there will always be books, and I imagine some version of one kind of e.reader or another.      As we see here, it doesn't seem rare that reading people want both real books and Kindle.

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    RolyRetroposted 11 years ago

    I love gadgets, have an ipad, iphone, 2 laptops, several home PCs, but still love physical books.  I love going into book shops, browsing the titles, and the physical feel of a book in your hands.
    
    I always loved books as a kid, and I think that e-readers are a bit clinical, they just dont feel right to me.
    
    So I will be keeping up my physical book buying until they stop making them.
    
    Roly

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    Romian1posted 11 years ago

    There is no way books will be extinct.  As recent natural disasters have shown, any community is susceptible to power outages and the time to get power back is unpredictable.
    
    As soon as portable electronics run out of battery power and if there are no other places to find power for recharging, the Kindle and the like are just dead weight. 
    
    If one has to pass the time under these scenarios, a good hard copy book under sunlight or candlelight beats Kindle any day.

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