Recently @Billablog (who is definitely worth following, by the way) posted a bunch of reasons why books are better than Kindle. Unfortunately, many of his points are outdated, weak, oversimplifactions, or just plain wrong.
Don't get me wrong; I love printed books. But I do own an iPad and I do use it as, amongst other things, an eReader. So here is my response to Bill's points:
1. If you lose one, you’ve only lost one.
True, but if I lose my bookshelf I can't go back to the store and get all my books replaced for free like I can with my collection of eBooks.
2. You can loan a book to a friend.
US Kindle owners can lend their books to their friends. Hopefully the feature will be offered in other countries, and on other platforms when publishers realise that the sky isn't going to fall on their heads if they do so.
Also, when you lend an eBook, you're guaranteed to get it back.
3. Or you can borrow one.
US Kindle owners can also borrow ebooks from their local libraries.
4. You don’t have to turn it off when your flight is taking off or landing.
So I can't read my ebook for 5-10 minutes out of my flight time? Meh.
5. Others can see what you’re reading. You might make a new friend based on a common interest.
How many friends, exactly, have you made on this basis alone? How often, approximately, has this ever happened in the entire history of the universe?
6. You can impress your date with the type of books on your shelves. Or, you can see what your date is interested in by their shelves. Both excellent conversation starters.
Agreed, but if you've got your date back to your place, they're already at least a little impressed. It's also possible (ie. certain) that your collection of Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time will send any right-thinking potential romantic interest screaming into the night.
7. You can take old books that you no longer want to a book exchange to trade for new books, or at least new-to-you books.
True.
8. Or you can donate them to libraries or charity shops so they can continue to do good after you’re finished with them.
Granted.
9. Or you can leave them somewhere for others to pick up.
There is absolutely nothing stopping you from leaving your iPad 2 in a cafe for others to enjoy.
10. A book can be signed by the author.
When I was four years old I signed several books. Strangely, my parents didn't seem all that pleased.
11. Books can appreciate in value. Ever seen a bidding war for a version-1 pdf?
No, but the market in first editions is quite exclusive. 99.999999999999% of book buyers will never recoup anything more than a small fraction of the purchase price on any of their books.
12. The battery never runs out.
The battery life on e-ink readers is good enough that you would have to go to some trouble to run your battery flat.
13. Books weather and age. A book can tell a story quite apart from what is written in it.
True, if a little hyperbolic.
14. You can write a dedication in a book you give as a gift.
Agreed.
15. They have page numbers.
So do Kindle books. "Real" ones that don't change depending on font-size or whatever. As with lending, we can hope that it will be introduced to other platforms in time.
16. You can throw a bad book across the room, out the window or up a creek with minimal damage.
How often do you do this? Have you considered an anger management course?
17. You can tell when a book has been read and how much it has been returned to.
You've used this one already, Sherlock - see #13.
18. Books can be beautiful.
Agreed.
19. Books are biodegradable.
Nobody ever had to chop down a tree to make an ebook, and I've never heard of a dolphin choking on a PDF.
20. You can use cool bookmarks.
Isn't "cool bookmark" an oxymoron?
21. You can highlight passages or make notes by whatever means suit you.
I can highlight and make notes in an ebook without making a mess of the book.
22. Books are compatible with anything.
Kindle books can be read on a variety of devices, DRM-free epubs and PDFs can be also be read on different platforms.
23. No DRM.
Three words: Parallel. Import. Restrictions.
Also, there are publishers that don't use DRM.
24. Books smell awesome.
Yes.
25. Books make a house feel like a home.
Yes.
26. Books have different fonts.
Depending on the platform, you can get this with ebooks too.
27. A well-loved book will naturally fall open at your favourite part.
This has never happened for me. How often has it happened for you? Usually my well-loved books just fall apart.
28. A cookbook can be open in the kitchen with minimal risk of damage from spatter.
Two words: Cling. Film.
29. If you buy a book from one store, you can still [buy] books from other stores.
The same is true of all ereaders I am familiar with. Most of the books I have on my iPad were purchased from online stores other than iTunes. (Many of them are DRM-free too).
30. Books come with their own customised dust jacket at no extra charge.
Well, the charge is kind of built in to the price.
31. Paper is not a proprietary format.
Neither is ePub or PDF.
32. You don’t have to worry that a newer, better version will come out next year.
Seriously, this is not something that keeps your average ereader owner awake at night. People that worry about such things will always worry about such things. True, buying an ereader will give them a new thing to obsess over, but maybe that's kind of a plus.
33. Books aren’t printed in Chinese sweatshops. (yet)
This is a rather spurious allegation, and even if true, it's not a brush you can tar all eReaders with.
34. Books don’t crash or need their OS updated.
I haven't had my iPad crash on me while reading a book.
35. Once you own a book, you own it. The store can’t take it off your shelf when the licencing arrangements change.
This happened ONCE and it was so embarrassing for Amazon that it's unlikely to ever happen again. I don't think it's even possible on non-Kindle eReaders.
36. Books don’t automatically update when you don’t want them to.
Automatic updates are not a feature of all platforms. In fact I don't think they are forced on any platform. In any case, meh.
37. Bookshelves are works of art.
I think the phrase you are looking for there is "can be", not "are". In any case, I agree that they can be decorative.
38. Books are tactile.
I can slap you upside the head with my iPad just as easily as with a book and it will hurt you just as much. Possibly more.
39. Books don’t need protection. They’re either flexible enough to take a bit of bending or hard enough to resist it.
With a suitable cover, eReaders are sufficiently robust for most people's needs.
40. Instant on.
The startup times for Kindle and iPad are so short that this is a really (another) minor quibble.
