Kindle: Incredible Reading Tool, Evil Book-Killer, or Overpriced Technology?
- by Renee Roberts
The electronic paper screen is easy to read.
There are currently over 100,000 books available for the Kindle, including most on the New York Times bestseller list. But you don't have to buy a book to check it out; the Kindle will download around 15 pp. from the beginning of the book for free and if you like it, you can then download the full text. If not, nothing lost.
Similarly, there are free newspaper subscriptions for the first month, automatically downloaded to the device. Subscriptions are also available from a selected number of international newspapers as well.
If you have files in MS Word (as well as images in standard file formats) you can upload them to Amazon from your computer and for a small fee, they will convert them to Kindle format for your device.
Kindle material is full-text searchable and you can go directly to specific articles or chapters using hyperlinks. Whenever you leave a book or magazine, Kindle keeps track of where you are in the text so that the next time you open up the file you are right where you left off. You can also mark the text and create blocks of material that are both noted and annotated and can eventually be uploaded to your computer.
For those interested in online blogs, subscriptions to some of these can also be created and automatically downloaded to the Kindle. If you are interested in publishing, you can easily create a file in Word or Adobe, send it to Amazon to Kindle-ize it, and then publish it to Amazon's Kindle store. This seems like a huge opportunity for legitimate publishing as well as pure trash.
From a reader's perspective, I find the screen very easy on the eyes, non-glare even in direct sunlight. If 200 titles directly on the Kindle do not suffice, inexpensive add-on memory is available.
I can readily see the Kindle in the hands of a student: instead of having to lug hundreds of pounds of books around, it is going to be a heck of a lot easier putting this small device in a backpack. It's also a real plus for people whose eyes are not what they used to be because no special editions of books are needed -- you can buy books at whatever size font and then use the device to enlarge the fonts to make them most comfortable.
Unlike a wireless computer, you do not have to locate a hot spot, as Amazon's Whispernet seems more than capable of sending and receiving wherever. And did I mention that there is no extra charge for accessing this network: access "comes with" the purchase of the device, as does unlimited storage for your purchases on Amazon's servers.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 156: Cornelis de Jode, Americae pars Borealis, double-page engraved map of North America, Antwerp, 1593.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 206: John and Alexander Walker, Map of the United States, London and Liverpool, 1827.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 223: Abraham Ortelius, Typus Orbis Terrarum, hand-colored double-page engraved world map, Antwerp, 1575.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 233: Aaron Arrowsmith, Chart of the World, oversize engraved map on 8 sheets, London, 1790 (circa 1800).
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 239: Fielding Lucas, A General Atlas, 81 engraved maps and diagrams, Baltimore, 1823.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 240: Anthony Finley, A New American Atlas, 15 maps engraved by james hamilton young on 14 double-page sheets, Philadelphia, 1826.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 263: John Bachmann, Panorama of the Seat of War, portfolio of 4 double-page chromolithographed panoramic maps, New York, 1861.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 265: Sebastian Münster, Cosmographei, Basel: Sebastian Henricpetri, 1558.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 271: Abraham Ortelius, Epitome Theatri Orteliani, Antwerp: Johann Baptist Vrients, 1601.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 283: Joris van Spilbergen, Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae, Leiden: Nicolaus van Geelkercken for Jodocus Hondius, 1619.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 285: Levinus Hulsius, Achtzehender Theil der Newen Welt, 14 engraved folding maps, Frankfurt: Johann Frederick Weiss, 1623.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 341: John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, London, 1827.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/00d5fd41-2542-4a80-b119-4886d4b9925f.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.")
