Dave’s Take

As someone who has embraced the latest in technology for years, I find myself in a quandary over electronic books. I have played with Kindles and iPads and have found them to be perfectly fine for certain kinds of reading, i.e. on planes, trains and in coffee shops. But when it comes down to really reading, you know – when you can’t stop turning the pages as you lie in bed or sit on the patio in the early morning light, nothing can compare to the feel, smell and familiarity of a good old fashioned paperback book. While I do find myself using my iPhone’s Stanza app to read classics while I wait for my oil to be changed or some other boring necessity, I still can’t make the jump to e-books completely.

Perhaps the plastic and metallic feel of the electronic display unit betrays my underlying love of the feel of pulp. Maybe it’s because I can’t show off the title of the latest tome I’m enjoying with strangers as I pass by their tables at Starbucks. But for whatever the reason, I just can’t abandon my love of holding a book as I read. Like mowing a lawn, I find it totally satisfying to longingly look at the progress my bookmark has made in a reading. With e-books, all I get is a progress bar like my laptop battery display, which gives little reason for a feeling of accomplishment. I also enjoy the anticipation of the ending while savoring the last few pages a great read. With an e-book, all I get is a random number floating on glass.

I have one other complaint, however minor, about e-books – they seem slower to read. It isn’t something I can quantify, but the limited exposure I’ve had with them has lead me to feel they are not as easy to read as printed versions. While my speed complaint has led to several snarky comments from my e-book lovin’ friends, I now get the last laugh with the recent release of the first study of both the Kindle and iPads versus printed books. In the newly published usability survey from product development consultancy Nielsen Norman Group, both the Kindle and the iPad were found to read slower than printed books. The study revealed that reading speeds declined by 6.2% on the iPad and by 10.7% on the Kindle as compared to print. Ha! I knew I wasn’t crazy (at least when it comes to e-books).

Will this surprising discovery hurt e-book sales? Not very likely as evidenced just this week by James Patterson finally passing the one million mark in e-book sales. It seems that when it comes to books, much like with everything else, technology rules. Regardless of what sells to whom, the only way you’re getting my paperback is to pry it from my cold, dead, clammy fingers.