In which my decisions confuse me

On By Luther M. SilerIn Geek

imagesI can’t recall a specific post, but I have to have talked about my distaste for ebooks in some capacity during some point in the (very nearly!) year I’ve been writing here.  I have thousands of books.  I love books– and I love books as physical objects, not as a carrier device for stories.

I got my wife a Kindle for either Christmas or her birthday several years ago, back when the damn things cost $300 and that sounded reasonable.  I bought it, but I refused to touch it.  I disliked the concept of e-readers that much.  I’ve softened since then; I do a decent amount of reading on my iPad, but I do a specific kind of reading on my iPad– mostly short stories or novellas or, occasionally, magazines; i.e., things that either aren’t available in print or that don’t store well.  And it goes without saying that The Benevolence Archives(*) simply would never see the light of day as a printed book; there’s no way to price it that would be both fair and profitable.  Ebooks are awesome for shorter works.  A freaking comic book costs $4 nowadays; you can’t get a 116-page document at that price.

Anyway.  It’s occurred to me in the past few days that since I’m literally trying to derive income from the Kindle’s existence nowadays, maybe it might behoove me to, y’know, own a Kindle.  So I looked into them a bit and today, being the type who really doesn’t like buying technology (or, really, much of anything) online, I swung by Best Buy on the way home to look at Kindles.

Maybe you don’t know this; I didn’t:  there are three basic flavors of the Kindle in existence.  The baseline is just called a “Kindle,” has a black and white screen, and retails for around $70.  Then there’s the “Kindle Paperwhite,” which has a screen (and front light) that is apparently vastly upgraded from the Kindle and, in general, looks like a more reputable piece of kit, which retails for around $120.  Then there’s the Kindle Fire, which has a larger screen, four times the memory, is in full color, and can access the Web and do a whole host of other stuff… for $120.

Here’s where I’m weird:  I have no desire for a Kindle Fire at all.  I have an iPad for everything the Kindle Fire can do.  I do a lot of reading in bed and the iPad is just a wee bit unwieldy for that.  The screen improvements of the Paperwhite appeal to me.  But I can’t find a reason to pay $120 for a Paperwhite when another tablet with a bigger, color screen, with better functionality, is the same price.

Or, to be clearer: I didn’t buy a Paperwhite today because something else that I don’t want was the same price.

I’m not sure that’s sound reasoning.

Feel free to make fun of me in comments.  In fact, I encourage it.

(*) Buy my stupid book!

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12 thoughts on “In which my decisions confuse me”

  1. The only reason I own a Kindle Fire is because I was given one. Someone for whom I’d done a bit of editing thought that I should have a device on which to read the digital version of his novel. This is good, because the print version of that novel weighs more than my cat. Despite the convenience, lower cost, etc., of ebooks, I still prefer the print ones. I’m a grumpy, grouchy old man, set in my ways and unwilling to give up paper with words on it. And the cat doesn’t like sitting on the Kindle nearly as much as sitting on a stack of print books. 🙂

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  2. Why not just read kindle books on the kindle app on the Ipad? Buying a kindle won’t give you any real benefits other than battery life? If that’s an issue – never has been for me.

    Have brought the book BTW. If I get time once I have read it – I’ll try and do a review.

    I have an ebook out too and am considering using espace (amazons print on demand service) that way it can be available to those who really want hard copy.

    Good luck with your’s.

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    1. Mainly the convenience of being able to read in bed; the iPad is too big for that (and while I’m an Apple wanker to my core, owning two iPads simultaneously is something that I just can’t allow myself to do…) and from what I’ve heard the lighting of the Paperwhite is easier to deal with in darkness than the light from a traditional tablet.

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  3. Bruce Goodman's avatar Bruce Goodman

    A Kindle is a bit like a microwave: I use the microwave to reheat my mug of coffee, when apparently one can roast a turkey in it. Still bought the microwave with the most capabilities. Still only use it to reheat the coffee.

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  6. All the grumpy old people who don’t want a Kindle confuse me, because it seems so well suited to grumpy old people. It solves so many of the challenges that older people face when reading.

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  7. Teanna's avatar teannadorsey

    I don’t like e-readers at all either, I just like the feel of a book. Your reaction to them made me laugh because it sounds like mine.

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  8. I have a Nook and love it. I still read books that are printed too. I was stubborn to start reading ebooks as well. I mostly have it for the web stuff and downloading books that are not in print. I have the Kindle app downloaded on the Nook, my phone, and the computer. 🙂 Mostly, use the Kindle on the Nook. Love your funny take on them. 🙂

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  9. After much the same resistance, I bought an iPad (mini) two days ago. I only bought it because I am about to self-publish and as I will be doing both print and e-book, I thought I ought to have some idea of how they appear on a screen. Have I bought The Benevolence Archives? No, not yet. Although I should support a fellow-author and I love the writing in your posts, I don’t read Sci Fi or Fantasy and I have a waiting stack of books, some dating back several years, that I want to read… and I don’t think you are going to be short of readers. Good luck!

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