It’s The Content, Stupid

I admire the feel and smell of a good book. But recently, I must confess, I’ve started to apply the same attitude towards books that I have towards packaged music and DVDs. It’s about the content, stupid. I’ve had shelves of dusty books taking up space. I’ve bought ridiculous furniture to hold hundreds of CD jewel cases. And recently, I’ve resisted the temptation to jump into the gorgeously high definition 1080i world of BluRay Discs. Why? I think I’ve fallen out of love with traditional physical media.

The affair began innocently, with the conversion of my CD collection. I experienced the convenience of having my entire music collection at hand all the time, anywhere. Storage price began to drop precipitously. I could now download audio books using Audible.com…

…and then the Kindle arrived. It’s done the same thing for printed matter as the iPod did for music and recorded content. In a package scarcely bigger than a paperback, I can now receive (via highspeed wireless connection) fresh content, newsfeeds, blogs, newspapers and thousands of books without effort. I can purchase content at a discount and  bring the equivalent of a library with me without breaking my back. And I can take this little guy everywhere – to the park, outside, in the car…it’s not as delicate as a laptop and definitely more readable in outdoor settings.

I was skeptical. I know it’s a first generation device. I know the forward and back buttons are a little awkward and require one to hold the device a certain way. But you know what? Instead of reading a single book, I now carry at least three and read them simultaneously. Instead of receiving piles of messy newspapers, I now get the Wall Street Journal and New York Times delivered to me in seconds each morning.  And the Kindle allows me high speed access to the web in places I wouldn’t necessarily bring a laptop.

The Kindle has surprised me–pleasantly. I have to get back to my book now.