I am convinced that if we are not reading books entirely on a screen in the future that we will not be reading books at all. That said, I don’t think that Amazon’s Kindle is the answer. I do so wish that it were.

Amazon is a book seller

From what I’ve gathered the Kindle manages putting the text in your hand with ease. Being able to call up and read a book in moments is Roddenberry-esque in the least. That you do not require an intervening machine to put books on the device is wonderful. The very idea that I could read a book review in the New York Times on the very same device that I can then buy that reviewed book and then begin reading it in a relative blink is, to me, just short of being magic.

That on top of a new book being a literal button-press away but also being agreeably priced is doubly happy-making. A majority of the books in my brief survey were priced at $9.99. In many instances that is $30 cheaper than the paper-bound variety of the same book.

Amazon is not a book maker, few are

There are many arguments against the Kindle and those of its ilk. I’ll tackle this one argument primarily,

Books have a certain feel to them…J. Random Arguer

Yes, there is a certain feel to a book. Books can be cozy. I am quite the bibliophile myself. The first crack of a new hardback is a wonder to me. I particularly enjoy opening my copy of Linotype’s Complete Catalogue and running my fingers over the pages of typefaces. The book is cloth bound with a fancy red ribbon and the feel of the paper reveals its wonderful tooth.

That, however, is the extent of fine bookmaking these days available to the common reader. It is certainly nothing to crow about. The majority of books available could have been printed by Lulu and have just as much soul. No one prints books like Isaac Geldhart anymore.

To get up in arms that an e-book doesn’t feel like a paper book is a load of hooey. Paper books don’t even feel like paper books anymore. The majority of us read pulps as it is printed on paper not often qualified to print the local picayune.

Pulp vs. Plastic

Now that we’ve sorted out that the books we do read are often worth far more than the paper they’re printed on let’s get to the real issue with something like an e-book. It doesn’t want to be held.

That’s the plain difference. The kindle doesn’t want to be held, a book frequently does. The hard edges, garish colour, poor button placement all would make me tend to put the Kindle down not pick it up. It isn’t just a matter of fear of taking the silly thing to a beach. It’s a matter of fear of being seen with it in public.

The Kindle doesn’t want to be looked at. The industrial design, as others have noted, harks back to a PC age of beige chunks that we hid beneath our desks. Quite honestly, it looks like a desktop calculator. A roll of paper on its top would not look out of place.

Cuddly Plastic?

It can and is often said that one can’t make plastic cuddly, again, hooey. There are great many things that we covet for their feel in our hands. If not covet, at the least, appreciate. I must admit to wanting to curl up with my iPod Nano when I first freed it from its box. My Logitech mouse sitting on my desk now has a design that begs, touch me… move me about.

The Kindle has a look that says, add up this month’s finances.

Sum up (hehe)

I want a Kindle. I do. I really do want one. I just don’t want this one. I want the one where they’ve made it look as though it would love to be held. I’m not holding out because of bugs. I’m holding out for an e-book with more than one typeface, one that can do bold text, even. I’m holding out for one that doesn’t punish you for grabbing it by the wrong edge.

Honestly, I’m holding out for an e-book reader that wants me as much as I want it.