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April 16, 2008
Gadget Yearnery
I'm glad to read this from Tyler Cowen about the Kindle - I had wondered:
The best part: For fiction -- that is fiction I'm actually going to read -- I would rather use this screen than a traditional book. It is somehow easier to have a more focused appreciation of the words without being distracted by the book as a whole.The actual worst part: For non-fiction it is not fast enough for real scrolling, flipping through, browsing and reading. The machine is best for linear, sequential consumption of the text.
So, for things you need to flip around in (non-fiction, professional reading) it's not so hot. For fiction though...I could have brought a LOT more books with me to Rome! Except that you can't download in Europe yet?
I think I would agree with Prof. Cowen's review - for non-fiction it doesn't sound so useful. I'm an inveterate flipper-around. I usually start professional reading at the back, then zip back to the preface, then flutter around. Settling down and reading straight through is my last response to a book-in-field.
Oh well - that might save me some money.
Posted by CrankyProfessor at April 16, 2008 8:00 PM