The Kindle - Devil's Advocate post

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Richard
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The Kindle - Devil's Advocate post

Post by Richard »

I don't have a Kindle, but it seems that opinions about them are very divided.

Some say..

they're completely against them, only books are the real thing.
They will kill off book sales and Booksellers.

Others say..

They are handy on holidays, saves you packing a few books thus weighing you down.
Good for those with sight problems

My point..

They are environmentally friendly in so far as we're not cutting down thousands of trees to manufacture books and newspapers.

What do you reckon ?

Richard )t'
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Re: The Kindle - Devil's Advocate post

Post by Totally Scrambled »

Richard wrote:
They are environmentally friendly in so far as we're not cutting down thousands of trees to manufacture books and newspapers.

What do you reckon ?

Richard )t'

On the other hand the trees used to make paper, on the whole, come from managed woodland where the trees are grown specially for the purpose. If there was no demand for paper would these woodlands still be managed or would the ground be used for other purposes?
The managed plantations provide woodland which supports wildlife and helps convert CO2 to oxygen so can't be a bad thing. Also they provide jobs and revenue often for places where there may not be as many jobs etc.
I know they are mostly coniferous trees and that they may not be the most natural look for the area but they do serve more than just a source of paper during their lives. Everyone bangs on about The Amazon being the lungs of the planet but forget that one of the biggest forests (lungs) is the Taiga a huge band in the Northern Hemisphere.
Kindles are good for portability but you can't beat a real book. You can't twonk the kids round the head with a Kindle when they misbehave and still be able to read it :-D
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Richard
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Re: The Kindle - Devil's Advocate post

Post by Richard »

Totally Scrambled wrote:You can't twonk the kids round the head with a Kindle when they misbehave and still be able to read it :-D
Dom


Don't see why not Dom or just keep a log next to the bed :-D

True about the managed Forests, also of course many books are made with recycled paper.

I find it interesting to see the implications if the Kindle, or other, took over as in what would happen to Libraries etc.
In some ways Genealogy has taken a step in this direction where people have spent years copying Censors and other information and made it all accessible on the Internet.
I remember going to Somerset House in the Strand many years ago to look up a Will, now there's no need to do that.

It makes you wonder where it will be it in 50 years time, only the youngster Members will know that though!

Richard
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Re: The Kindle - Devil's Advocate post

Post by Mad Chick »

Totally Scrambled wrote:You can't twonk the kids round the head with a Kindle when they misbehave and still be able to read it


Yes you can, they're more robust than you'd think )t'

I love my kindle and now the kids have them too. My mum wasn't happy about the kids getting them as 'they ought to be reading proper books' }hairout{ Really not sure what her point is as the words are the same whether printed on paper or read on a screen - as long as they're reading them, I'm happy. Both my kids are reading far more since getting kindles as they are more transportable so carry them with them at all times and the books are cheaper or even free so I don't have to say "can't afford it this week' )t'

I do worry about the effect they have on book shops - I love spending hours wandering around book shops deciding what takes my fancy but until they start selling them at a price that can compete with the kindle, my finances dictate where I go...
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Re: The Kindle - Devil's Advocate post

Post by saint-spoon »

As far as I am aware hard copy books are tax free whereas online books for kindles are taxed. I don’t see how a Kindle is more eco-friendly, it uses electricity and is not compostable; books can be red over and over without being recharged and once they reach their end the will compost down a treat. I am not sure how long a book lasts in a library where it will get plenty of usage.
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Re: The Kindle - Devil's Advocate post

Post by Totally Scrambled »

Mad Chick wrote:
Yes you can, they're more robust than you'd think )t'


You obviously have a gentler twonk than me :-D
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Re: The Kindle - Devil's Advocate post

Post by LittleBrownFrog »

I have a kindle, and also an awful lot of books. I like the kindle, but its main appeal for me is the fact that I can knit and read at the same time - most books require you to hold the page open, so aren't 'hands-free' - I also like being able to store knitting patterns on there, and not have to keep track of a piece of paper. So - pure laziness really.
My books will outlive my kindle, and I wouldn't necessarily rush out and buy a new one.
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Re: The Kindle - Devil's Advocate post

Post by Lillia »

I somehow, feel like, in the end, there is a happy balance somewhere.

My husband and I were just talking about how nice it would be to not have to lug books around during travel and moving from home to home....

then again, when we DO settle in our last home, we would LOVE to have books.
Books are beautiful!
We both love them; not only the words inside, but the substance of the book, itself. :-D
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Re: The Kindle - Devil's Advocate post

Post by LittleBrownFrog »

Nothing quite beats a couple of hours spent in a good second hand book shop, I have many treasures and oddities from such afternoons on the Barbican in Plymouth. The kindle will never compete with that, and so book lovers will, I think, always be book lovers.
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Re: The Kindle - Devil's Advocate post

Post by bobsbabes »

I love my Kindle as an avid reader with a caravan weight has always been an issue.Books are heavy and Kindles are not . They use very little leccy and will charge via solar panel if i turn the 3g off I can get away with not charging my kindle for at least a month .
I pooh poohed the idea when they first came out but am now a convert downside is if i drop it in the bath it will be trashed ....ok so a book would be spolit but could still be dried out and read.
Also we never had any room to put our books which we now have and its such a tiny huge place :)
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Re: The Kindle - Devil's Advocate post

Post by Panteg Produce »

All I can add is my wife loves hers and it's far cheaper in th long run than buying books!

:-D
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Re: The Kindle - Devil's Advocate post

Post by saint-spoon »

I must say that I am hard pushed to find a case of anyone I know not liking their kindle (for those who own one). A good point about the solar charger made earlier as well.

If everyone on a holiday flight had a kindle instead of a couple of hardbacks would the flight use less fuel or would everyone simply pack more clothes?
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Re: The Kindle - Devil's Advocate post

Post by Annie »

I think I am with Lillia on this, no need to choose as room enough for either option. The assumption of if you have a Kindle then you don't buy books isn't necessarily true . The big bookbinding firm locally made a lot of people redundant way before the popularity of the Kindle, sadly they were not getting the orders through - not because of competition but because people were buying fewer books. If the use of a gadget i.e the Kindle encourages youngsters to read then how can it be anything but a good thing , if it takes them away from the everlasting play station games etc (which doesn't teach them anything apart from maybe co-ordination)and encourages them to explore their imaginations that gets a )app( from me. Richard pointed out the benefit to those with poor eyesight and speaking personally, the Kindle has improved Mum's life no end , to hold a book with print large enough for her to read , would then be too heavy for her to hold, the Kindle is light,doesn't require the user to be dextorous(I know that applies to books too) and in the case of the housebound , you browse the choice from the comfort of your arm chair (Mum would not be able to go out and choose a book herself). You have the opportunity to read a 'taster' FOC before opting to buy as well. Mobile libraries round here have been stopped due to Council cuts, so that is another option gone for those unable to access a library or High St in search of reading material . Too many what ifs imo to take the arguement into ecology.
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Re: The Kindle - Devil's Advocate post

Post by Lillia »

Annie wrote:......... Too many what ifs imo to take the arguement into ecology.


Very well said, Annie; all of it. It is very true about those house bound, in the hospital, confined to bed, etc...Kindle opens up a whole new world for these people who may not get to read much, otherwise.
The end result is what matters, being that more and more people are given the opportunity to read, more and more :-D
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Re: The Kindle - Devil's Advocate post

Post by Richard »

Yes, a balance is good.

I would point out that the Kindle is really just an extension of a Computer.

How many things would we not know or wouldn't have easily read up on without the PC. The Internet, if used correctly is a mind boggling source of knowledge and information, yet we don't argue that to read up on many things, books are better.
Think of all the surfing you do and how you would gather that info without a PC or Laptop. You'd have to buy an awful lot of Books.

But I shall take the centre view and agree with some comments where there's room for both - whatever turns you on!

Richard
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