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Matthew Freeman is a Brooklyn based playwright with a BFA from Emerson College. His plays include THE DEATH OF KING ARTHUR, REASONS FOR MOVING, THE GREAT ESCAPE, THE AMERICANS, THE WHITE SWALLOW, AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR, THE MOST WONDERFUL LOVE, WHEN IS A CLOCK, GLEE CLUB, THAT OLD SOFT SHOE and BRANDYWINE DISTILLERY FIRE. He served as Assistant Producer and Senior Writer for the live webcast from Times Square on New Year's Eve 2010-2012. As a freelance writer, he has contributed to Gamespy, Premiere, Complex Magazine, Maxim Online, and MTV Magazine. His plays have been published by Playscripts, Inc., New York Theatre Experience, and Samuel French.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The Kindle

Okay. Every damn podcast I listen to is about the Kindle. About, more specifically, Amazon selling eBooks at a lower price point and taking a loss in order to sell Kindles ($9.99) and how iBooks from Apple has made a deal with much of the publishing industry to sell eBooks at a higher price, but not to purchase the books at the standard market discount.

So interesting.

I know not one person who owns a Kindle. Do you have a Kindle?

12 comments:

George Hunka said...

No, I don't (though I've seen them on the subway, and some friends of mine have them). But after this amusingly ironic event, I probably won't get one. The books I can hide; if one day they make owning a book a crime (and it happens all the time), they'll have to pry it from my cold dead hands.

Scott Walters said...

Yes, and I love it.

George Hunka said...

My other problem is that there are a lot of books I'm interested in that still aren't available for the Kindle -- not to mention exclusivity issues (for the B&N Nook, the new Apple iBook), etc.

I'm sticking with amazon.com for the moment. The last thing I need is to lose my library the way people lose their contacts with the cellphones that slip down the sewer grate.

Sabina E. said...

nope! But if someone gives me a Kindle as a gift, I would be very glad. Quite frankly, i don't want to own books (in print) anymore. I hate owning possessions and the thought of a Kindle that can store a LOT of novels (and even scripts) and I can easily store it in my bag, makes me really happy inside.

Scott Walters said...

That is exactly my issue, Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist. I like that it is electronic, and not physical -- my bookshelves are already bursting at the seams. Also, when I travel (even to work), I can have access to many books without breaking my arm dragging them around. I bought Kindle instead of Nook because the TYPE of books I wanted were more available at Amazon than B & N, so that is worth checking out -- but George is right, everything is not available. Also, I read a lot of pdf files -- long reports that I don't want to print out. While the pdf coverter is not perfect (two column pdfs become garbled, for instance), I can upload enough to make it worthwhile for me. And unexpected benefit that has made a HUGE difference for me is the ability to change the font size of whatever I am reading. Over the years, I have found myself reading slower because the print in books is too small, and since I've had my Kindle I have read a great deal more with better concentration.

Unknown said...

I don't have one -- yet. I've used a friend's and think it's great. When/if you ever have kids and see them getting bad backs from hauling around backpacks full of overpriced textbooks that weight 30 - 40 pounds, you'll start demanding that your school district issue Kindles with all the text books. (Btw, that's what the amazon v McMillan contretemps was really about.)

joshcon80 said...

I (presumably) can't get my vintage smut novels or my 1960's and 70's romance comics on the kindle so I'm not interested yet, but I do like the idea of having my whole library at my fingertips. I mean, I love my iPod for that reason.

EXCEPT that I'm just only now able to turn my super rare LPs into mp3s for my ipod and there's no kindle equivalent to that.

joshcon80 said...

AND, imagine how awesome kindles could be for theater productions. You could have your script in hand without wasting paper and you could just upload the changes made in rehearsal. How awesome!

Anonymous said...

actually, that mr. davenport is giving away a kindle to whomever wins his "will it recoup" game! check it out. ends this weekend!

Malachy Walsh said...

I have to say, I'm old-fashioned. I love my books. And sometimes, when I'm feeling a bit down, I'll go over to the shelf and put my hand on one of my old friends and a whole world will come back: Who I was when I read it; where I was; how it affected me; how I talked about with boozy passion to friends and lent it out and all the friends who read it, too and returned it to me.

I'm sure the kindle will somehow create a similar experience, but I'd miss my books if all I had was kindle.

Esther said...

No, I don't have a Kindle and I probably won't ever get one. I rarely find it necessary to carry more than one book at a time. I do enough reading on a screen at work and when I'm online. I just don't think I'd enjoy reading a 300-page book on a screen. And I like the feel of dead trees in my hands.

Gyda said...

I love mine. The screen looks like ink, so it doesn't strain your eyes.

I also read INCREDIBLY fast, and have a irrational fear of being somewhere and not having something to read, and I love that you can just download a new book on the spot.

That, and that it stores...basically an unlimited amount of books (anything that was archived you can, again, get back with a few short clicks).