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I absolutely do regard my reading habits as personal information, and to tell you the truth I'm a bit surprised that other people don't. You are what you read.
I once ordered a book on poker from Amazon, and for some reason their recommendation engine seems to have fixated on this--every time I visit, the site tries to sell me more poker books. Now, this is a minor annoyance to me, and not very productive for them, seeing as I'm quite unlikely to buy another poker book.
But I can imagine how this might become more than an annoyance. Suppose, for example, that my name were to appear on a list of people known to be avid gamblers. And suppose I'm nominated for a (richly deserved) federal judgeship in the U.S. Those who would oppose my nomination, perhaps because I'm known to be an advocate of privacy, would love to be able to cast doubt on my character by suggesting that I have a gambling problem. (If you think this is far-fetched, I suggest you learn more about the politics of judicial appointments in the U.S.)
I do read mostly from eBooks, these days, and I'm not terribly concerned about the privacy aspects. But that's because most of the books I read I buy in paper, cut away the bindings, and scan the book for use on my iLiad. This is not, obviously, a thrifty habit, as I need to actually buy a paper book, and also have a good deal invested in the cutting tools, computer equipment, and software that allows me to do this. And it's not convenient, either, though I'm getting pretty good at it--I can iLiad-ize a paper book of average size in about 15 minutes.
The key to the success of eBooks is to make them convenient enough so that the people who aren't willing to fuss with them as much as I do (which is almost everybody) can still enjoy them. And, as the privacy problems are a little remote and the pleasures of e-reading quite apparent, eBooks may indeed by pushing us in the direction of thinking that reading lists are NOT personal information. And that, in turn, may create an environment in which we need to consider, before we read a book, whether there's anyone who might think less of us for having read that book.
I agree that Amazon is unlikely to change its tune unless it's forced to do so. Three cheers, then, for the E.U. privacy laws. I only hope that Amazon decides that it can't afford to ignore the European market indefinitely, and that they really do have to mend their ways when they come over here.
--Readingaloud
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