Happy New Year! Right now in Shanghai, it is 11:59 a.m. on January 1, 2010.
Cool. A new year. A new decade.
As promised, I'm going to be announcing a few changes to my blog...and the first is the introduction of PROJECT KINDLE.
What is PROJECT KINDLE?
Good question. This video should answer all your questions. Come on...join me. This is going to be fun!
Hey Kristin - I do BOTH - I just got my Kindle but I've got another book I'm in the middle of. AND I went to Chaterhouse today to scope out the scene.
Posted by: Ann Lynch | January 01, 2010 at 09:06 AM
I knew I had gotten into reading the Kindle e-ink when I was so absorbed one day that I licked my finger to "turn" the page -- not remembering that I had to "click". You can do it too!
Posted by: Carla | January 01, 2010 at 01:01 PM
Ridiculously excited for you, Kristin. Can't wait to see how it goes for you, what you like, what you don't. I could make some predictions, but it'll be more fun to see how it goes for you. BTW, I'm reading "The Poisonwood Bible" on mine right now. Good stuff.
Posted by: Spencer L Casey | January 01, 2010 at 03:29 PM
I'm doing more reading now than I ever have done before because of my Kindle. I can't stop downloading books---it's become my new addiction. Like you, I'm also a writer, and I'm tired of schlepping books with me every time I go off to a public space to work. I still love the smell and touch of the page, but for convenience, and sheer speed of devouring material, you can't beat the effectiveness of an e-reader.
Posted by: Darlene Craviotto | January 01, 2010 at 11:15 PM
Hi All,
Thanks for checking in on Project Kindle. Just saw that folks at The Huffington Post just predicted that in five years, half of all reading will be done on electronic readers. Agree? Disagree?
Downloaded my first book today (after finishing Column McCann's LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN in paperback...wonderful book, though I can never, ever remember the title!). Next Friday I'll tell you what I downloaded.
You know, Darlene brings up an interesting point that I've heard echoed by many others...that she's doing much more reading now because of the Kindle. True for others?
Posted by: Kristin Bair O'Keeffe | January 02, 2010 at 05:04 AM
I was a Kindle-resister, when I really should have been an early adopter (I am co-founder of a small digital publishing company that produces eBooks and audio downloads) - until I got one as a Christmas present ten days ago. Now I'm hooked! The first book I downloaded was 'Shadow' by Karin Alvtegen (FANTASTIC, by the way!) and next up is one of my life-long favourites, 'The Razor's Edge.' Looking forward to seeing how it will fit into my life... and following your journey too, homegirl!
Posted by: Lorelei King | January 03, 2010 at 06:41 PM
Ooh! A fellow Kindle-resister who is being lured to the..."dark side" (or in this case, the "electronic side").
Posted by: Kristin Bair O'Keeffe | January 04, 2010 at 06:59 AM
Hi Kristin,
I saw your video on You Tube and thought that this discussion would be a valuable one to join!
I just received my first Kindle for Christmas and I am already addicted. As Darlene was saying, having an eReader makes so many books you might not otherwise make time to read so accessible, that you cannot resist downloading them for free and enjoying them right away.
At the same time, however, I did read one review that concerned me. I cannot remember where I read this, but the author commented that eReaders will eventually affect the way that authors write books because they will have to hook in their readers within the first few pages as opposed to having the luxury to really develop a story over the course of a few chapters.
While this is probably going to be true for the mass population of book readers, I think that many book lovers will always resort to a combination of the eBook and the old-fashioned version. Unfortunately, in a culture where so much depends on mass consumption in a short period of time to gauge "success," the way authors write books might just have to change with the times.
Even without eReaders, I tend to think that the nature of society today would have encouraged a similar change anyway. We are so used to getting things as soon as we want them that perhaps it is natural that this age of books is destined to be characterized by the intro that hooks you from the onset - whether electronic or not.
As a side note, I completely empathize with your situation in China. I used to live there myself and I think the majority of my luggage weight came from the books I brought with me. I then had to make a conscious effort to read them slowly so I wouldn't run out of reading material! I would have loved to have an eReader back then!
Good luck with your project and I look forward to hearing how your experiences pan out!
Posted by: KCP | January 05, 2010 at 02:19 AM
Hi KCP,
Thanks for joining the Kindle conversation.
You echo one of my major concerns about the Kindle...how will it change the way we writers write stories?
I don't have a definitive answer to that (yet) but I do believe that even in traditional books, writers have to hook their readers in the first few pages. If not, we lose them. As a writer, I know how much time I spend on beginnings...draft after draft after draft.
Also as a reader, if I'm not intrigued pretty quickly, I put the book down and walk away. (I used to force myself to read all books I started, but not any longer. Now I run as fast as I can.)
How many pages do you give a book before walking away? Or do you stick with a book no matter what?
Look forward to hearing your future thoughts about your Kindle experience.
Kristin
P.S. Thanks for the empathy! I know exactly what you mean about reading slowly to save reading material. But not anymore! :)
Posted by: Kristin Bair O'Keeffe | January 05, 2010 at 08:38 AM
For me, hard copy of a book is much valuable compare to e-book version.
Posted by: Parenting Magazine | January 18, 2010 at 11:24 AM