We need physical books to preserve our past, present and future history, literature, science, and opinion. In old Cordoba the fanatics were burning the libraries when Islamic sage Ib’n Rushd, grandson of the first imam of the great mosque of Cordoba, turned to look, as he fled, and muttered “There’s no tyranny like the tyranny of priests.”  But now all the priests, politicians and other tyrants will have to do is hit “delete”.

Quite apart from that, good old used bookstores are under tremendous economic pressure (I use Amazon but only if I can’t find a copy of what I’m looking for in the bookstores) and authors and publishers are going to be ripped off. Very very bad idea.

Hey everyone. I just recently discovered http://www.scribd.com/

You can find the pdf to almost anything you would want, including the rarest,
most out-of-print books. If you can’t find a copy of a book elsewhere, you can
take the pdf to Kinkos and make your own copy.

My Kindle is awesome. Books are good also.  But my Kindle is good, no great when traveling.  Easy on the eyes.  Not much to dislike at all.  Have many books on it and get them for #9.00/copy within minutes.
  Books and the Kindle and all e -readers both have a strong market.

Russian Paul, September 16 at 1:58 pm #
NC-Tom, September 16 at 3:44 pm #

Very good points and my point as well. That’s why I’m
done with them!
==============================================
heavyrunner, September 16 at 11:17 pm #

Yes, that’s my solution as well. Buy a PDF and it’s
yours; unalterable. My books are in that format as well
as good old paper, ink, and binding. Cheers!

I already travel with a tiny notebook computer.  I can read books on that in PDF format.  Why carry another device to do what my netbook can already do?

Russian Paul,

You said “but the fact that they were able to physically remove those two books from everyone’s personal device in an instant is enough for me.” 

What is even more insidious to me is if they change the book on your reader by deleting the current one then loading a new version that contains different information or facts than the original.  That could be harder to catch and has lots of potential for all kinds of shenanigans if you ask me.

How about a future where real paper books are nonexistant and electronic books
can be pulled from your own device without your assent? They say the Orwell
fiasco was over a copyright disagreement, which I’m sure is true, but the fact that
they were able to physically remove those two books from everyone’s
personal device in an instant is enough for me. Instead of the firemen of
Fahrenheit 451, all it took was a delete button. That’s “what I don’t like.”

In these times, hard paper copies are more important than ever. So we can be sure
of passing our books down to the next generations in case certain controversial
books are not republished.

Like PeterL, I love my Kindle as well.  I carry so many books on it-can read several at a time.  The screen is actually easier in my eyes than a real book.  As a very avid reader I add my opinion: What’s not to like?

Addendum;
This was all before the 1984 (Orwell) Kindle kerfuffle;
which just reinforced my resolve on the control issues.

PeterL, September 15 at 9:56 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

What’s not to like???
========================================

Certainly it depends from which side of the book one
is looking; the readers side or the author’s side.
I’m on the authors side and pulled my book from
Kindle, with, I might add, great difficulty. I’ll not
use them again (Amazon); so I guess one could say my
problem is more with Amazon than with the Kindle. As
the author (self published) I did all of the work
with one exception; the printing, but I’m the one who
had it done. I bore all of the costs as well as the
risks. So, what’s not to like, you ask:
a) They immediately discounted my book 20% (without
asking me), which caused me problems with other
customers. b) One of my books has full color,
original, illustrations done by an indigenous artist;
Kindle is b&w only. The illustrations looked
horrible. Upon checking further I found out Kindle is
b&w only (my fault). c) When I tried to pull my book
I found there was no provision for doing so, which
raises control issues for me regarding “my” work.
After much searching on Amazon’s Q&A forum it was
revealed there is no way to remove one’s book. Not
satisfied, I finally found a way around the problem
and my book is no longer available on Amazon. It’s
quite complicated and definitely a tricky road to
removal. Even though my second book has no
illustrations I will not use Amazon/Kindle again. I
simply don’t like the way they do business. There are
other e-readers out there or coming soon and some
will be in color; I will wait and continue selling my
books the old fashion way; over the counter and face
to face. Enjoy your Kindle, e-readers are coming, but
I still prefer the feel of a real book in my hands. 

What’s the problem with just normal, physical books? Why do you need to carry 1,500 titles around? I’m a massive book worm and am quite content taking the subway with one title to entertain myself while going to my destination and then coming back. America is already pretty illiterate, the #1 NY Times bestseller for weeks was Michelle Malkin’s hit job on Obama. I doubt Malkin’s readers can come up with 10 titles, let alone 1,500, that they would carry around in their pockets.