An interesting article about Kindle in the New York Times:
Most arguments for or against Kindle (and other electronic reading devices) revolves around the user’s reading experience.
The argument of this article, however, revolves around the book as an object in everyday life. It argues that we use it, just like other types of status symbols, to size people up. In the writer’s own words, “judge people by the covers of their books“.
When we see someone driving a Porsche, we instantly associate the person with wealth. So what happens when we see someone reading a particular book? It was an interesting perspective on the staying power of the printed book.
Do I “judge people by the covers of their books?
When I see a person reading a book on the MRT, I instinctively try to check out the title. I believe I do form a first impression of the person by the book he or she is reading. If it is a book I personally like, I would immediately feel an affinity towards that person.
When I am reading on the MRT, I try to hide the book cover I am reading to prevent others from finding out what I am reading and forming any impression of me. It is safer to be blank and unknowable (at least that’s how I feel).
I think less and less people are reading. There are so many distractions and things to see and hear that quiet reading has become less popular and palatable. Why read when you can watch or listen? Someone I know once said that reading is like work and it requires effort. He prefers audio books.
I am reading less and less too. That book must be really good before I am willing to invest the time. But it is hard to judge whether something is worth the while or not. Not even those on the Booker Prize list.
Perhaps it is really not about Book Versus Kindle, but Book/Kindle Versus Everything Else.
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