I got distracted recently with e-readers. I was getting ready to do some traveling, dreading it as the day got closer, and one of the things that helped me is a good supply of books. Since I've had the fortune to get caught on airplanes that decided a good way to pass an hour or two is sitting on the tarmac, enjoying the view of concrete, I never travel without at least 2, and probably 3 books in my bag. Lately I've also been making sure the PSP and iPod are also charged, just in case.
While stockpiling some dead trees the other day at Borders, I noticed a display for the Sony EReader, which is an e-ink based electronic reader. It was interesting, small, and easy to read, but the reviews mainly complain about the horrible selection of books. Glancing through the list I see it's relatively small list of titles, heavily weighted in the McGraw-Hill area for technology.
The Kindle Store has lots of choices, and quite a few in the SQL Server area, but not any of the really important ones that I'd like to have, such as the Inside SQL Server series and a number of Apress books. I'd be really curious to see if I can get the publishers to send me review copies in the Kindle format. That might be really a plus for me. I would definitely like to see more of a price difference as well. One of the SQL books I looked at is $48 in paperback or $34 in the Kindle version.
I tend to read mostly non-technical books, and in those areas, the Kindle editions are readily available and priced very competitively. Most are about $10 and I've seen some 1-2 year old novels for $6-7, on par with the paperback versions. However one of the things I do is sometimes pick up bargain books from the store and I might not read them for months. I just tend to grab them because they're available and I figure I'll get to them. I wonder if the access of the Kindle would lead me to buy more books that would pile up and I might not read?
Or would I read more because the books would be always with me?
So for those technical folks out there, many of you carrying multi-purpose devices around, what do you think of e-readers? Do you like the idea of technical books available? Would more technical books push you to get some type of e-reader like the Kindle?
Those of us in IT are constantly looking at new information and I'd like to think that many of us are investing in our professional development through books as well as online resources. I'm not sure the Kindle is quite there, but I'm definitely interested in the idea of carrying around many resources in one place.
Steve Jones
The Voice of the DBA Podcasts
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