All are welcome. All are welcome. Come into the light.

We Kindle owners are a happy bunch.  We delight in looking at our Home screen and seeing the long list of books at our fingertips everywhere we go.  We love finding a new book on the Kindle store and clicking that "Buy now" button, knowing that in a minute or less we're going to be reading that book.

But we also know that not everyone is ready to join us on the e-book bandwagon.  We've discussed the objections that publishers and authors have over e-books, but there are also many readers who don't look too kindly upon e-books.  The recent announcement of Kindle 2 has spurred a flurry of "Why I don't like the Kindle" op-ed pieces.  Many of them have one thing in common:  fear.

Specifically, many bibliophiles are glancing longingly at their grand collection of books amassed over their lifetime and getting misty at the thought of a life without them.

"Will Amazon’s Kindle 2 Make Our Library Obsolete?" ponders Bloomberg's David Pauley.  Pauley brags about the library he had built in his new house and describes "the serenity I find when surrounded by real books."

Pauley writes "Today, I’m worried that technology will make books obsolete."

Mike Rau, a columnist for Dailypress.com, echoes the same type of worry in a recent essay titled  "Technology can't replace paperbacks."

"So, to my friends at Amazon (and Sony), I can tell you that I'm impressed with your device. It's a wonderful technological gadget.
But I cannot now nor ever support anything that might so directly contribute to the demise of the printed word."

If you aren't ready to embrace the Kindle or e-books in general, fair enough.  Old habits are hard to break.  And some people will always prefer the look and feel of real paper to an electronic screen.  But I don't understand the fear.  Why do some feel that it's either/or when it comes to e-books and physical books?

And the term "obsolete" bugs me.  When I think "obsolete" I think of 8-track tapes. 

Unlike most media that is supplanted by newer technology, the book will always survive because it's a self-contained delivery system.  Fifty years from now you'll be able to pick up a book from your shelves and access the content the same way you can today.  Sadly the same can't be said of that box of 5 1/4" floppy disks left over from my Atari 800 days.  Now that's obsolete.

My guess is that even when (or if) the day comes that e-books are overwhelmingly outselling physical books, that won't spell the demise of the printing press.  Perhaps decades from now dead-tree books will become less common -- they may turn into a niche market, much like the vinyl LP market is today (Ever try to convince an vinyl enthusiast that CDs are better?) -- but books will always be around.*

Even those who adopt the e-book as their preferred reading medium will most likely still turn to dead-tree books now and then for special editions or works from their favorite authors.  Some things are simply worth having in physical form.  And there's a big difference between a book you want to read and a book you want to own (And as long as DRM is around there will always be a large distinction between the two.).

So fear not, Kindle naysayers.  Your libraries are safe.  Books and e-books can live in harmony.  Join us.  We'll be here to welcome you with open arms when you're ready.

Kindleville readers, do you have any additional words of comfort for those who fear the death of print?  Or do you think there's a ring of truth to their worries?

* Newspapers might be a different story, but that's another column.

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Follow me on Twitter: @phigginbotham
What I'm reading on my Kindle right now:  American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Will Kindle users buy fewer books?

That's what Peter Smith at IT World thinks.

In his article "Amazon Kindle's impact on book sales?", Smith suggests that Kindles may have a negative impact on book sales. Why?

Smith offers two reasons:

1) The easy availability of free public domain books at places such as Feedbooks.com.

2) A change in browsing/shopping habits. Smith claims that having instant access to almost any book you want makes stocking up on books to read in the future unnecessary.

"So it seems to me that owning a Kindle would cut down on the number of books I purchased (but not the number of books I actually read)," Smith says.

My first reaction to Smith's assertion was "Rubbish," but looking at my Kindle reading history I saw that most of my books have in fact come from Feedbooks.

Still, I've bought several books from Amazon too -- definitely more than I would have purchased otherwise. It's tough not to buy books from Amazon via the Kindle given how easy it is. And odds are most of those public domain books I've downloaded for free are books I probably would have checked out from my local library rather than pay for anyway, so I don't think Amazon lost any of my money there.

I've heard a lot of Kindle owners say they read more than ever since getting their Kindle, but I've never asked precisely what they are reading.

What say ye, Kindle owners? Are you buying more or fewer books? Does Smith's argument hold water?

A Kindle 2 hands-on roundup

A few lucky folks have already managed to get their hands on a Kindle 2.  We rounded up several of them for you so you can get a nice range of first impressions.

PC World

Financial Times

Ars Technica

Mac World

Engadget

Five Great Things

One thing about the new crew publishing here at Kindleville--we are not pushovers! We cast a critical eye on the Kindle 2.0, provided insightful analysis about Amazon's manufactured scarcity, and noted the antiquated thinking of the Author's Guild.

So, during a week of tough love for our favorite e-reading platform, I thought it would be interesting to start a conversation about the five things you like best about your Kindle. 

Here's my list:

1) I love that I can read the NY Times on an airplane without my elbows straying into my neighbors' ribs and my fingers getting inky.

2) I love that I can have the five books I've got going at once, plus sample chapters from 10 books I'm considering, in something the size of the paperback.

3) I love that the New Yorker is now available on the Kindle. I have a paper subscription and don't keep up the way I should, resulting in a growing pile of magazines that I will get to some day but that clutter up my office and remind me that I'm not keeping up. 

4) I love being able to e-mail myself documents and PDF's.

5) I love having a dictionary at my fingertips to look up words that in the past I would gloss over.

What are your favorite five things you love about your Kindle? 

An early sURprise

Stephen King's Kindle-exclusive novella, UR, was originally slated to be released on February 24th (presumably to coincide with the release of Kindle 2). But as of late evening on Wednesday the 12th Amazon had begun wirelessly delivering the book to customers who pre-ordered it.

I got mine. Did you get yours?

They just don't get it

You'd think book publishers would have learned something.  After seeing the recording industry ignore then dig in and fight new technology to the extent that now they're struggling to maintain their current business model, one would guess that book publishers and authors would see the folly and strive to avoid repeating it.

Not so much.

Before the floor of the Morgan Library in NY had even cleared after the press conference heralding the coming of Kindle 2.0, some in the business were already proving that they would not go gently into the good e-book night.

Paul Aiken, executive director of the Authors Guild, raged against the Kindle's new "Read to me" feature.  ""They don't have the right to read a book out loud,"  Aiken told the Wall Street Journal.  "That's an audio right, which is derivative under copyright law" (Fowler). 

Attaboy, Paul!  Cling to that vague copyright language!  Even if it means alienating a growing percentage of your customer base.  Who cares that it's only a "GPS voice," as Stephen King called it at the press conference, and not a true reading of the text?

Meanwhile Carolyn K. Reidy, chief executive of Simon & Schuster, was crying to the New York Times about the pricing of e-books.  “We do not agree with their pricing strategy.  I don’t believe that a new book by an author should ipso facto be less expensive electronically than it is in paper format" (Stone). 

As the young'uns today say:  "O RLY?"  The fact that there is no paper, no ink, no electricity to run the presses, no packaging, no shipping, and no money paid to retailers when unsold books are returned should have no effect on price?  Interesting.  Ipso facto indeed.

As John Siricusa at ars technica observes in his excellent (albeit too cozy with Apple for my taste) essay, "The once and future e-book: on reading in the digital age,"

In short, the terms [of e-books] are unbelievably favorable for publishers. It essentially moves them from print publishing margins to software publishing margins: pay once for the creation of the content, sell an infinite number of times with no additional per-unit cost.

So why do some publishers and authors continue to fight against the future?  Fear?  Greed? 

They certainly should take some time to study the recent history of technology and media distribution.  Maybe even have a lunch date or two with some record executives before they, too, learn too late and grieve their industry on its way.

The future is coming, with or without you. 

Paul

--

Fowler, Geoffrey A. and Jeffrey Trachtenberg.  "New Kindle Audio Feature Causes a Stir." Wall Street Journal.  February 10, 2009.

Stone, Brad and Motoko Rich.  "Amazon in Big Push for New Kindle Model."  New York Times.  February 9, 2009. 

Free E-Book for the Romantically Challenged

If your idea of romance is offering to drive during your next outing to the drive thru, this post may be for you. Livingonadime.com is offering a free, 32-page e-book that will give you some better options. 

The ebook--Valentines day on a dime--offers fairly creative, low-cost ideas for those in need. It includes sections on how to involve kids during the holiday, and has drink and food receipes. 

The one very minor fact to mention is that the front and end pages of the e-book do have Bible verses included, so if that makes you uncomfortable be advised.

Download Valentines Day on a Dime