Quote:
Originally Posted by stxopher
Quite a bit of change from the original poll. But I can honestly understand it. One of the big selling points of the Kindle is "See book, Buy book" and appeals to the sort of group that likes the uber-simplicity of it.
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I think you have something there.
I'm sitting on my back deck in Chicago, 5 blocks from the Lake, sipping a martini & reading the latest Weekly Standard, wherein there is an article by Joseph Epstein about "George Eliot." I buy any magazine article or book by Joe, because he's a damned good writer. He has a high opinion of Mary Ann. So do I.
Middlemarch is one of the best reads I've ever had.
Joe mentions Strachey's
Eminent Victorians, which I read about 30 years ago. Strachey's objective in writing this book was to debunk the Victorians. But when I read it, I came away with a great admiration for them. Maybe I missed something, so I go to Amazon and $1.54 and three minutes later, I have a copy on my Kindle 2. I will read some of it again, particularly the part about Florence Nightingale, a great woman indeed.
Joe's article deals with Eliot and the Jews, so he discusses
Daniel Deronda. I've not read this book, for some inexplicable reason. Three minutes later, at no cost, I have a copy of the book on my Kindle 2. I reflect that it is a good thing that I am about to go out of town on a business trip, where I can get some reading done.
At this point, I am on the second page of a 4 page article. Who knows what books I will have on my Kindle when Joe gets through with me. I have season tickets to the Cubs. If they make it to the World Series, I think I will invite Joe to come with me to one of the games. He lives just a few miles away, up in Evanston. This, though, has little to do with the Kindle.
So yes, I think that the dirt simple workings of getting a book on the Kindle has much to do with its popularity. I could have accomplished these acquisitions on my Sony 505, but it would have taken some mucking about on the internet, and likely, some Calibre-ating. I could have had the books on Eucalyptus on my iPhone, but it doesn't sync with my Kindle.
This afternoon, my wife and I attended a performance at the Chicago Symphony (Dvorak, Sym. 7, Scherzo, & Violin Concerto. Very nice, particularly the 7th.) On the way down & back, on the bus, I was reading a Kindlebook on the iPhone (Charles Stross,
Glasshouse.) Tomorrow morning, waiting in line to get into Hot Doug's
http://www.hotdougs.com/specials.htm (the Chad Meyers looks good) I will probably knock off a chapter or two.
Life is good. So is Kindle.
[edit: Rats! the Chad Meyers is gone. Looks like I'll have to get the Smoked Debreziner with Bacon-Garlic Mayonnaise and Smoked Gouda Cheese. Unless I give in to the Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Sel Gris, or the Chardonnay and Jalapeno Rattlesnake Sausage with Sweet Curry Mustard and Cocoa Cardona Cheese. Man, it's like deciding what to read next...]