Now, my home has no shelves full of books. All my (dead tree) books are in storage and I just have a kindle.

I still read as much as always, but I feel as if a certain degree of intellectualism is lost. No longer can someone look at my shelves and say "oh, I loved this book" and spark a nice literary discussion.

I should add, however, I am probably one of the few regular users of goodreads.com, though it is hardly a replacement (and I've only got one or two friends).

Which in its own way may lead some visitors to get an impression of your reading tastes too :-)

The majority of books I own either aren't on the Kindle or couldn't usefully be on the Kindle in its current form (most TASCHEN books, megasets like Modernist Cuisine, almost everything in large formats, atlases, Edward Tufte books, art and design annuals, anything with even the barest flare of graphic design..)

Oh I know, that is exactly what I meant. I fear the conclusions people might draw when the only reading material they see in my house are my girlfriend's Us Weeklys.

“If you go home with somebody, and they don't have books, don't fuck 'em!” ― John Waters

Though I remember reading a much more eloquent version of that quote somewhere this is all google brought up.

I realize the same cycle happened with digg, reddit, stack overflow, twitter, and facebook clones when they were the new hotness, but I really do wish designers and developers weren't so likely to take whatever the current fad is and apply it to their current idea.

I presume this is either a) pressed together like stones in arches are (therefore rendering the books inaccessible), or b) held in by hidden shelving, wire, magnets or magic. :D

Also... it's value on hn is that it also sparked a small discussion about having books/bookcases/bookshelves in your house or having a Kindle....... a google search would't have done that