[chuck94022]

OK, so maybe I'm the only conservative ebook consumer in the world. But I'd think that Sony CONNECT might want to show a little balance.

I was so excited to check out CONNECT when I bought my reader. But I was sorely disappointed at the amount of RSS content, and really dismayed when I saw a rich selection of progressive feeds, but as far as I could tell, no conservative feeds.

I guess it didn't help that the first time I connected was a day in which the main splash page was featuring a selection of Bush bashing books!

Well, to each his own. I'm not rabid about it, and the reader doesn't do RSS very well anyway, so to me it was a curiosity, and minor irritant. If I want RSS content I'm likely to go to my PC (or iPod for video/audio blogs) anyway. The reader is the place I want to spend long quality time.

However, with these observations already in place, I decided my reader would be a good place for religious references. I have been curious about the middle east, and decided to buy some books about Islam. I also decided to buy a Koran. Cool that I could do that from CONNECT. Then I thought, why not get a Buddhist text, and a Hindu text, and a Bible? I'd be set for my own research.

So fine. I found the Bhagavad-gita - check off the Hindu. I found The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. Good start for Buddhism. I already had the Koran. Now, finally, the Bible. Um.... um.... Browsed under category "Bible and other Holy Texts"... um... um....

Seems CONNECT covers everything BUT the actual Bible.

What gives?

Maybe these are totally unrelated data points. Heck, I'm sure they are. But c'mon, if you name a category "Bible and Other Holy Texts", don't you think there ought to actually be a Bible to be found? I think the category should be renamed "Other Holy Texts".

So Sony (at least the reader's connect division editorial staff) doesn't like Bush. Fine, lots of people don't like him. They don't like conservatism. Fine, lots of people don't like them. They don't like the Bible?

Regardless of their personal preferences, one would think they would build a store for the whole market, not just the market that thinks like them.

I did find a free Bible elsewhere, but it is without any table of content, no structure, just verse after verse. I'd pay for one that is structured for navigating on the reader. I hope CONNECT is listening.

-chuck