Could Amazon's Newest, Cheaper Kindle Ignite Renewed Interest in Classic Literature?
Amazon's Kindle for Only $114.00
Is Amazon about to totally change the world of books and reading? Sure, there are other wireless reading devises around, but Amazon is shaking the foundations of reading, creating more interest and demand by lowering the price of the latest Kindle to only $114.00. And there is nothing like lowering prices to grab the attention of even the thriftiest of shoppers.
Amazon tripled Kindle sales when they lowered the price of their popular e reader from $259.00 to $189.00. Barnes and Noble countered by lowering the cost of their Nook to $149.00. Amazon met the challenge by introducing a new improved Kindle at a price that impresses even a traditional book-loving, public library patron like me!
English majors take note! With the ever increasing ability to download older, out of copyright books, Kindle may create an upsurge of interest in classic literature by offering books published before 1923 for free!
An Older Version of Kindle
Buy Amazon's Kindle - Latest Generation Here
 | Amazon Price: $139.00 |
Kindle Improvements
The latest version of Amazon's Kindle is smaller, lighter, and faster than previous models. At only 8.5 ounces, the newest Kindle weighs less than a standard paperback. But that isn't all. The new Kindle offers:
- A new improved high contrast screen with sharper font for easy on the eye reading.
- Storage capacity for 3,500 titles
- A battery that holds its charge for a month!
- Faster page turns
- A new web browser for WiFi
- The ability to download a book in one minute
- Over 670,000 available titles at Amazon
- 1.8 million free, older, out of copyright books
- 80 New York times Best Sellers for only $9.99
- Promotional offers of newly released books for free
- The ability to download periodicals
Are Electronic Devises Dehumanizing?
As a lover of traditional books, a person who loves the physical act of browsing through books at a store or library, who loves the feel of a book in my hand, and loves the very sight of a pile of books set on my old steamer trunk in the living room - I was previously not a fan of the new electronic reading technology.
Wireless reading devises seem dehumanizing. Just another electronic gadget in a world that is becoming too dependant on electronic or battery driven devises. And what is so great about a wireless reading devise? You don't have to plug in traditional books either!
In a world where everyone is glued to electronic gizmos - TVs, video games, computers, the Internet, Blackberries, cell phones, iPods, WiFi - it all seemed like too much. Sure, this stuff is fun, handy, and efficient, but isn't enough enough? Everybody plugged in and separated from the world, from people. Kids don't roam the streets or hang out at the malt shop, they connect online. We are how ruled by the latest electronic technology.
But! I must grudgingly admit that Amazon is making the whole world of wireless readers more intriguing. Even I am saying 'Wow!'
Classic Litereature For Free!
What a boon for English majors and lovers of classic literature. Imagine being able to download all of Jane Austin's books in a manner of minutes! All the Bronte sisters' book, Thomas Hardy, Victor Hugo, Mark Twain, the list goes on and on.
It makes me wonder. If we can possess classic literature for free (a small fee of 15 cents per megabyte) will this new technology actually increase interest in literary classics? I imagine people browsing titles of books, not sure of what they want to read, and deciding to check out the freebies. Who doesn't love free stuff?
Even people who have not looked at old literature for years may decide to check out the work of some dead writers. You might ask yourself - what's all this noise about Jane Austin? Why are certain people arguing about Charlotte Bronte VS Jane Austin, female writers who have been dead for a long, long time.
How easy is it to find out and enter a whole new world of reading at:
Kindle Makes it Easy to Download Books
It's easy to download books on a Kindle! Even a borderline technophobiac like me can understand these simple instructions:
- Plug the larger end of the cable into your USB port on your computer
- Connect the smaller end int the small port on the bottom of your Kindle
- Use your computer file browser to drag and drop files to Kindle documents folder
- Unplug
Other Cool Stuff About the Latest Generation of Kindle
Okay, so it's $114.00. That's what impresses me the most. But as I read on, I became more intrigued with the new technology. It's like being lured into the dark side. But maybe the dark side ain't so dark. I can feel myself drift out of my beloved library into some giant, fantastic cyber library of a gazillion books and endless possibility.
- A text to speech feature that translates content into spoken English! The book can read itself to you!
- Archive - books can be purchased and held, backed up on the Kindle library on Amazon. If you drop your Kindle into a vat of boiling molasses, you may lose that particular reading devise, but your library is safe.
- Do you really want to download and buy a particular book? You can read the first chapter for free. Then, decide if you want to read the whole book.
- How many times have you read passages of books to friends or relatives, beautiful or significant pieces of writing? Well, now you can sent those favorite passages tp your friends on Twitter or Facebook.
New Technology Offers Insight Into the Old Ways
Perhaps the easy, free availability of older, out of copyright titles will create a whole new interest in classic literature, just as the information revolution, thanks to the Internet, allowed people to readily find information on arcane skills and handicrafts.
Thirty years ago, I was hoping to learn how to make soap. But information was scanty at best. As the popularity of the Internet increased, so did the opportunity to find the information that I needed. It's thanks to the Internet and modern technology that I have learned how to make soap at home.
Old time crafts like various kinds of needlework have made a resurgence due to the availability of helpful information online. Home projects, art projects, and unique recipes are now so much easier to research and learn.
Maybe, instead of killing reading, as once suspected, the latest electronic devices like Kindle will increase interest in books of all kinds.
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How About You?
Could the lower price of Amazon's Kindle and the opportunity to download out of copyright books entice you to read more of the classics?
See results without votingComments
Jerilee - I would be a wonderful thing, wouldn't it?
Really interesting question and blog. Thanks, Dolores.
I saw some of the all-time classics today in the Target dollar bin: Oliver Twist, Huckleberry Finn, et al
There is no stopping technology and Amazon and the like are first and foremost interested in mass production and volume sales, so it was a smart move on their part to drop the price as they have done to entice us to purchase the newest gizmo.
I believe the days of reading small print, flipping pages, storing books on bookshelves is going the way of the dino. With the advent of the Kindle more people especially people on the move and older folks who need bigger print and ease of operation will go for the Kindle.
I have always enjoyed the BOOK however I am more prone now to ease and the Kindle offers me that and the huge choice of titles and now classics. I am very impressed. Save the trees STOP using paper, find quicker and easier methods. Sad to say this is where it's all heading to our fingertips.
Alek - thanks. Good to see you!
Loria - sometimes I see 'classics' in the cheapo bins and often they are abridged, or shortened forms of the classics. Interesting, though. Thanks for stopping by.
saddle - I don't know. While I am fascinated with the wireless reading devises, I am also a traditional book lover. New technology can be so confusing. Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
Voted up, thank you Dolores, maybe, after all, I should give progress and Kindle a try.
Enjoyed your article. You did a good job of pointing out the pro's and con's of the Kindle. This is good reading for someone considering buying one.
I sure hope so! Wouldn't that be grand?
Thanks for the great review, Dolores. It's obliterated all of my excuses for not buying a Kindle. There's no other way to build a library of classics for only $139!
Ellen - I am a bit backward in the gadget department but Kindle is looking more and more attractive. Thank you!
Coolmon - there are pros and cons to all new technology. I usually prefer a wait and see attitude. That's usually when you see the price come down! Thank you!
akirchner - it sure would. Imagine everyone reading the old classics. I am trying to get my son to read some Victorian English literature. When you are comfortable reading that, you increase your language skills and focus. Thanks!
Sally - there is nothing like lowering the cost of a product to increase interest! Thanks!
It would be a tough adjustment for me.. I'm just not that crazy about reading from a screen...
Great post!!
reading information from screen is more interesting and simple. we save money and place. Thanks
carolina - well I know how reading from a computer screen is very hard on the eyes. But the digital ink reading format on a Kindle is supposed to be more like reading an actual book. Thanks for leaving a comment!
nbbatt - oh yes, the space saving part of owning a Kindle would be great, especially for people who live in small quarters. Thanks!
Bookstore chains like Barnes and Noble and Borders are already feeling the heat from products like Kindle. Textbooks might take longer to convert because instructors can't count on students in a class affording a Kindle, but they will eventually follow suit. I love libraries and am a fan of books and reading. I am slowly being won over by Kindle and similar products, however. I don't own one but I would like to. I don't think books will go away soon, but I do believe the day that the day when books become a second choice for readers will sneak up on us.
The times, they really are a' changing.
Mike
I am a big fan of the advantages of e-readers, and the upgrade and price drop is a great move to popularize the Kindle, but I don't think it will entirely replace traditional books in the way the iPod has replaced most other devices.
If you want to hear music, you need a machine of some kind; the same is not true of literature. If you can get used books for a few dollars (I got one for 10 cents on Amazon), paying over $100 for a machine on top of which you need to purchase many of the books themselves means that only people who read a lot of books will care to buy this thing.
It turns out that's a lot of people, and I think that's great, and the free books will only entice more readers, but if you're a purchaser of used books at $5 apiece it'll take over 25 of them for the Kindle to pay for itself, and that's only if you're downloading free e-books exclusively. If you read a book a month, that's two years before you break even. Not bad, but I think it indicates the customers care more about the advantages of portable literature than cost savings. That means they'll sell to literature fans, not casual readers. Despite rising e-book sales, I don't think it will become a significant market force until it's priced at $50 to $100. And besides, it's a black and white text machine. Don't our calculators do that?
Personally I have very little sentiment for actual books. I like having the physical copy, and I love walking into someone's home and seeing an enormous shelf of quality literature, but I've had to move too many times for this deadweight to pull on my heartstrings. The words themselves are what matter, and I think the Kindle does a better job presenting them than actual books. I always wanted to read lying on my side, and books are awful at that.
So among my mixed feelings are mostly praise, but I don't think we'll see the digital revolution in this sector of the market unless Amazon and others cut the prices in half. For those people who read two books a year (which is most people, I'm pretty sure), paper is the only way to go.
But I do want one for my birthday.
Mike - the times sure are changing and I must admit to having some trouble keeping up. I don't think I will ever trade in my traditional books for a digital reading devise but may use one eventually. Remember they said that TV would kill the radio. But I listen to the radio more than I watch TV. Thanks for stopping by!
eslevy - oh you really added a cool advantage of a digital book - reading while laying on your side! How many people read 2 books a year? I think that either you read (at least a book a month) or don't. Anyway, thank you for the insightful comment. Happy Birthday!
Anything that cultivates reading, especially great literature, is tops in my 'books';)
Thank you, Woody! I appreciate your comment.
Dolores, I'm with you; I am very slow to embrace Kindle, but I can see myself trying it, if only to be able to see better at night while reading in bed. Thanks for a great hub:)
tracy - someone commented that with a Kindle, you can lay on your side to read. Kindle is sounding more and more interesting and appealing! Thanks!
I'm teetering on the edge...Kindle, no Kindle. But, I want it! Soo, this hub was very helpful for me, I appreciate you putting all this together. I'm realllly wanting this gadget!
marisue - every time I talk myself out of a Kindle, they come up with something (like a cheaper price) to make it all so much more appealing. Thanks!
Good article. It saddens me to think that one day books will be like vinyl and be a thing of the past. I love my books. I love to hold a book in my hands and turn the pages with my fingers as I view the voluptuous photographs while pulling the book close to my body and slowly caressing the words that spill forth from it's pages. I will surely miss them. I hear that you can purchase books very cheaply on Kindle. What will this do to writers who in the past have made big bucks from their written words? I really don't like change and this will be one change I will have a hard time embracing. Thanks for a good article. Teresa
Teresa - thank you for your input. I love books too and this whole ereader thing has me in a whirl. I can't help but wonder if all the free older books will encourage people to read the classics. That would be wonderful!
Hi dolores,
Since Amazon dont sell proucts to Indian coustomers so kindle is not a hit here. Infact i am yet to see it. I hope it comes to india soon.
Jerilee Wei 20 months ago
I hope you are right!