There is so much I can do with $400, it's ridiculous - take the cats to the vet, pay 1/3 of my car insurance, buy something other than lentils and rice for groceries.

Beyond the cost - and I admit I haven't seen one of these things in real life yet - it probably isn't the kind of thing I could cozy up to. Besides, what happens if you drop it in the bath?

In a heartbeat! …but…
I run podictionary (an etymology podcast) and I need to read both for inspiration and for research. This device would make both easier. Searching for research is obviously easier but when I'm inspired during a read for pleasure being able to bookmark the spot would be great. The price doesn't daunt me, I spend that much in books pretty regularly & Kindle will make those purchases cheaper. But so far no news on availability for me up here in Canada.

This is the first e-device that looks genuinely reader-friendly to me and I am interested. I think Amazon may be on to something...

E-readers are the wave of the future and I think they will go a long way to getting young people reading more. I applaud them. But I'm old school so you won't catch me with one, I like to curl up in bed with a book. If I curl up with a laptop, I would be writing not reading. (Of course the best curl up is to curl up with my husband. But that's very old school.) (You can visit me at wozabooks.)

The Kindle may be the greatest thing ever, but until they can duplicate the smell of a book, I will stick with the bound versions. Sleeping with a Kindle on your face can't produce the same dreams.

Tony, ahhhh, the smell of a book... it's unmistakable and even if Amazon could manage to embed Kindles with it, it wouldn't be the same as sticking one's nose in a binding.


Amy, it's interesting to ponder how the e-reader age divide will fall... one of the features that some early fans seem to like or at least tout is the ease with which a user can change fonts to accommodate vision challenges. Maybe gadget-guru male boomers will like that?

While I'm with Charles Hodgson and Diana in being intrigued by the Kindle, I laughed out loud at Christine's comment about what happens when you drop it in the bath? If they could make a book that held ITSELF up for me to read in the bath -- THAT would be a techno-marvel for which I'd pay retail.

I agree that books will never be replaced by e-readers for all of the aestetic reasons stated previously and many more. However, as with audio books I think they will have a strong market with certain types of readers, like students (especially anyone under 25), business travelers, and people wanting to do research. But I don't think that publishers need to worry about going out of business anytime soon because people who read for pleasure are going to flock to e-readers. Patrick Ewing Boonebridgebooks.com