According to what I can find on the web, odes are supposed to have an elevated style. That’s pretty tiring, so I’ve only done three lines:
O Kindle, slight site of dearest volumes,
Adept who dost translate desire into satiety,
Thou striveth to catch even fleeting curiosity.
I was inspired to write an ode on realizing yesterday that I had read an excited review in the NY Times that morning, and had read much of the book several hours later. And books are just about always less for the kindle, and sometimes much less. A number of classic texts are free.
There are a couple of downsides:
1. You don’t get page numbers, a bummer for references.
2. Non-US residents are having trouble downloading books, though it’s ok in England, apparently, where kindle is being launched soon. This may be a temporary glitch.
3. While quite a bit of philosophy is available, not much feminist philosophy is. I haven’t tried to figure out the reason for this, so I can’t say it’s an instance of disadvantages getting compounded.
Earlier we also considered other possible problems, including not supporting independent bookstores, here.
A friend also expressed annoyance that she couldn’t file the books she’s got in any fashion other than alphabetically (she wanted to be able to make a folder of ones she’d finished).
Also there’s the fact that Amazon.com can delete the books if they deem there’s a reason to do so.
JJ, I’ve been tempted to write an ode to my kindle too. I just love it. It’s great being able to instantly grab books wherever you are…and also magazine articles. A really cool thing is the way you can send articles and manuscripts to your kindle, so they don’t have to be read on a computer screen. Many many cool things. Granted, it looks like a cross between an ipod and a Sears refrigerator, but I can live with that.
lga, the no-folders thing is puzzling. She can archive read books and get them off the kindle, though. I’ve got about 4 genres on my kindle and it is a bit of a mess but, I am sorry to say, probably not worse than my bookshelves. Or maybe I should say, not worse than the bookshelves plus everywhere else the books cluster.
It is creepy that Amazon retains control over the contents.
JK, since I’m not fond of exercising, I’ve found being able to put some papers on the kindle and take it off to the gym with me just wonderful.