Maybe I'm just a Luddite, but I really don't like reading long-form literature on a computer or Kindle. Mostly because of the eyestrain, but also because of the physicality of the book (and the kindle/computer's lack of it).
Still waiting for electronic paper...or something that lets me access the web's info in a physical, eye-pleasing way. Until then, I'll still be looking for the deadtree version first.
How do you consider what the Kindle does different from electronic paper? Matching the true physical dimensions of paper seems impractical when you no longer need more than one page.
After about a year on the Kindle, I just finished re-reading a set of novels. Maybe I just don't find it as important, but the impossibility of losing my place and inline dictionary beat out any physicality problems.
Well, I don't know much about electronic paper, so I could be mistaken. I was thinking the ideal would be a physical book-like object whose pages were changeable.
It's about physically having a book in my hands. The kindle, while more efficient, just feels awkward. To me, it's the same as reading on a computer, minus the eye strain. It has no style or substance, like a book; it's just a piece of plastic/metal.
I actually had the opposite experience. I have both the electronic version and the paper version of a very large book. While it is fun in a nostalgic way to read it from the book, it's really awkward to read it anywhere other than a table with something to tilt it. The kindle I can take anywhere and be quite comfortable with it. For example, reading it while lying sideways in bed is a piece of cake.
Luddites were against technology that cost them jobs and made them generally obsolete. They'd weren't simply anti-technology. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite
Given that, you may be set in your ways, or have standards that don't match the trends, but I wouldn't say you are a Luddite. (Though, perhaps, you are a deadtree publisher..?)
Oh, yeah, I know what a Luddite is, and yeah, it wasn't the best word choice. I jokingly grasped at the word nearest to my situation - guy-who-doesn't-like-LCDs isn't quite as catchy. :) I'm as tech-savvy as anyone, but I prefer to work/read on standard paper if possible.
(not a deadtree publisher though - just a guy with irritable eyes)
Still waiting for electronic paper...or something that lets me access the web's info in a physical, eye-pleasing way. Until then, I'll still be looking for the deadtree version first.