Aldiko: the first e-book reader app to win me over

I’m imagining a reluctant reader, tackling his school summer reading list. At a page break, he hits the menu button and clicks on “Show Progress.” He’s only 6.88% percent through the novel and at this juncture only 7.69% of the way through this chapter. He might groan painfully at this point, but I sit back in wonder at tools unimaginable in a traditional book. I didn’t think I would be intrigued by an e-book reader app on a smart phone, but Aldiko on the Android Operating System (OS) is very well done.

With options to alter font and font size, brightness, as well as a ‘day/night’ setting, which switches the black print on a white background to white print on a black background for better night-time reading, I easily could tap my finger on the screen to turn the page. I could bookmark my stopping point, as well as any pages along the way that I wanted to return to later. If I wanted to search the entire book for a word or phrase, Aldiko could tell me every page, highlighting the specific sentence, where that wording occurred.

Okay, yes, we all know technology is wonderful. It’s revolutionizing the world and making publishing houses rethink their business models. It’s changing the way we read, write, and process the world around us. But I’m old fashioned. I love writing with ink, not just on keyboards. I love curling up with a paperback novel, as if snuggling comfortably with a lover. All of that said, free downloads of literary classics, of books from Smashwords, of books commonly found on high school reading lists, and of public domain titles hooked me. I’m in a place where I would still rather buy a hard-back then purchase an e-book for a Kindle, Sony Reader, or any other similar device, but it’s funny how free can win me over.

Aldiko also plays to the bibliophiles of us with their wood-paneled background, with leather and clothbound tomes on the shelves. How old-fashioned, we might say. How stylish and smart.

I’m still not breaking down to say e-books are completely winning me over – I’m not convinced they ever will – however, Aldiko does a great job and has gained me as a user.

What's your reaction to the e-book revolution?

I'm too sexy for your paperback?

We’ve all seen it happening. The sleek, beautiful technology makes everything older than six months hideously dated and as similar to an old maid as the eight-track tape – once so desirable, but not quite special enough to hold onto for life. The iPods are flirtatious. The netbooks are alluring, and if you listen closely to the new flat panel, touch-screen monitors, you’ll hear the sirens’ song. But is this the future of books too?

I couldn’t help but laugh at the headline: Tablet OS ‘has a good bit of sexy to it’ (http://www.tuaw.com/2010/01/07/tablet-os-has-a-good-bit-of-new-sexy-to-it/). I understand the appeal. Yes, sex sells, but does it sell books? When I think of the appeal of reading books, I think of curling up in a cozy chair with a blanket pulled over me, with steaming cup of tea on the coffee table, and a cat purring lazily on my lap. I don’t have a cat and rarely drink tea, but that’s the image that pops into my mind all the same. Right Said Fred isn’t there.

This exact discord is what is holding back the Tablets, Kindles, Sony Readers, and all the others. Book-lovers don’t think sex appeal when they choose their next novel. I’m sorry Fabio, but it’s true. Only when the advertisers figure out that sexy really doesn’t sell in this case, when they can show that these e-readers can equal what has been known and loved for centuries, then, they will find their market.

Admittedly, there are some who are intrigued by the allure of the e-book, but so many others are disgusted by the idea of electronic texts. However, Sony seems to be starting to figure it out. Their reader store (http://ebookstore.sony.com/) looks like a polished library’s site rather than something to make a techie drool. They’ve even come out with leather covers to encase their Readers. I’m intrigued. I’ll admit it. Those leather covers hit a nerve, but I’m not willing to give up my hardbacks or paperbacks just yet.

Does the sexy e-book call to you? Or are you calmly content with your old-fashioned novel?

Sony Plots Death of Amazon Kindle

Doesn’t it sound like some corporate sponsored thriller? The Sony Corporation lurks in the shadows, watching Amazon’s every move, waiting, watching, breathing as softly as possible to avoid detection. Amazon has an eerie feeling it’s being watched, but every time it turns around, there’s nothing in the shadows but dust.

I can’t take credit for this blog’s title. This article is where it came to my attention:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/12/17/sony_on_readers/

Now, I, myself, will forever be a collector of tangible books. I love the strength of black letters on an off-white page, the dry smoothness of each piece of paper, the way pages stick together, the musty smell of a used-book store, the unique atmosphere of each independent bookseller’s shop, and the desire since childhood to see my own name printed on that hard-covered work. But I would be kidding myself to say that this should be the only form we as readers and writers should cling to.

Books are no longer bound by hand or bound in leather; perhaps we need to summon the courage to accept that our tomes can also be bound in bytes. I have an aversion to the Kindle in the same way that I have an aversion to that first colored leaf of autumn - the first note to break my delusions of an eternity of delight, be it hard-back books or summertime. However, I’m willing to admit that e-books could be a possibility of the future. If the next generation of readers wants digital, we can go digital. If that’s what it takes to keep an interested audience for books, by all means, let’s keep our readers happy.

I vote, though, to keep all readers happy. I’m willing to go digital if we still have those special editions still on paper – recycled paper.

Amazon’s in on the game; Sony’s fighting for their share; Google’s getting involved; how about you?