Kindle-ing

First off, I am a bibliophile. I love books. I love the way they feel in my hand, I love the smell, the slight crackle you get when you first open one up, and the anticipation of heading home from the bookstore with a bag of new universes, stories and characters I will meet in the next few days. I also love to own books. I love going into my office at home and seeing floor to ceiling bookcases filled with books I've read, and am going to read.

I also love gadgets. I have an ipod, a gps, a pda, cell phone, wireless Internets throughout the house, a usb turntable for the laptop, everything an aging punk needs to transfer his vinyl to the digital realm. I work in the video/web industry, technology doesn't scare me. I am not afraid.

The kindle should be something I embrace, a new way to read and store thousands of stories. It has the opposite effect on me. I abhor it. I don't like the way if feels in my hands. The screen resolution and contrast, while adjustable, just doesn't appeal to me. I spend my day looking at a computer monitor, I don't want to curl up with a blanket and a monitor.

Not to mention the fact that it eliminates one of the greatest joys of books. Browsing and wandering through bookstores, new and used.

Now word has come out that the purchases you make from Amazon are proprietary. that the books you download are DRM protected. You don't actually own that book. At any point, the powers that be at Amazon can rescind your ability to read that story. That pisses me off. I love rereading books. I have comfort books I can go back to time and time again, when the need arises. (See Good Omens; The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch.)

E-books are coming. I know that they are the future of literature. I realize I stand virtually alone in my disdain. I also realize that sounded incredibly pretentious.

I don't care.