Via Digitalis*

Books are for reading. Papers, magazines, the web are for browsing. Books are books, even on an e-reader. Reading a book is not reading a newspaper and is certainly not the same experience as browsing a web site. I have at all times between 10 and 25 open books. I love books. The pages of my books are black and white, mostly matte. With time they turn yellow. Sometimes I pick a book and read a few pages, sometimes, I finish a book in one sitting. I can’t be without books, I just can’t. A bed,  a table, a chair, an armchair,  a lamp and books are all I probably truly need. I always have books in my head: when I talk, sentences, quotes, ideas, words from books pop-up in my mind. There is no greater pleasure for me than to give a book, or to receive one. I asked for a Kindle at Christmas. It arrived in its unsophisticated brown box. I charged it, turned it on and bought a few books. At the beginning, the cohabitation was uneasy between my white Kindle and my books. Kindle or hardcover? I couldn’t decide, for a few days I went back and forth between the two. I wanted to finish the book I was reading but I wanted to “play” with my Kindle. Then I decided to buy the Kindle edition of the book I was reading. I finished reading it on my Kindle, while the hardcover edition looked suddenly like a discarded useless object.

Over the next few days, I solely read on my Kindle. I bought a few books, went from one to another. Read them all.I went away to visit friends for a couple of days. With all my books on my Kindle, nicely nestled on top of the car’s dashboard. I didn’t take my laptop with me. Absolute bliss. I was able to carry all I needed with me. Yet a few days later, I forgot my Kindle on the train. I don’t think I ever forgot a book anywhere. But my brand new Kindle yes. I did everything I could to get it back, posted a notice on the train company’s website. For several days I hoped that someone might find it, bring it back to the station. I checked to see if anybody had bought a book, a proof of usage. Then I got a message from the rail company that, 15 days having passed, it was unlikely that I would ever get it back.

I decided to wait for the iPad before replacing my Kindle. Had all my electronic books transferred to my iPhone. It became a long wait as I missed my Kindle. Then the iPad was unveiled. Just as expected, once again Apple managed to push the envelope, changing the way we interact with our machines. But for me, it is clear that, as an hybrid, the iPad will drive you to constant distraction. You will be checking email, and following RSS feeds, and loose yourself while surfing.  When the Kindle came out, Steve Jobs said that he doubted it would succeed because “people don’t read any more”. Jobs’ belief shows on the iPad. This is very simple: the iPad is the epitome of the attention deficit terminal. It is strong on graphics, pictures, videos and photos. But it pays only  lip service to reading. Yes,  the virtual bookstore is cool. But reading and multitasking are probably  incompatible. The wait for the iPad is over. Good, for I know now that I will replace my Kindle with a Kindle.