Comments on: In protest of e-readers, CoverSpy tweets what New Yorkers read on the train

By: asphalt

asphalt — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:13:25 +0000

back when i was reading print only, i had one of those zipper book covers. for two reasons. a. it was nobody’s business what i was reading, and (much more importantly) b. that neato zipper thingy also had a handle, so i could hang it on the hook in the restroom stall. no more juggling that book that was too big to fit in my bag while in the airport restroom…

so i’d already been ‘no fun’ for years before i got my kindle.

By: Curt Sampson

Curt Sampson — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:35:31 +0000

It does rather reduce the utility of the book as a prop for flirtation, doesn’t it?

On of the things I find disappointing about living in Japan is that book covers are ubiquitous; it’s very rare to see anybody reading on a train and be able to see the cover of their book.

But perhaps we’ll just have to come up with yet more technology to overcome this problem, and even improve things. Perhaps readers could be equipped with Bluetooth, and broadcast the entire list of books on the reader, even along with the owner’s reviews.

By: Lilly

Lilly — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:36:35 +0000

Thanks. I shared your article in the Sony Reader Forum located here: http://sonyreader.proboards.com/index.cgi in the Ebook General Board.

By: Christo

Christo — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 08:30:56 +0000

Well the ebook covers should have a transparent pocket and you could print out a postcard sized rendition of the cover of your current book for display…

By: Kate

Kate — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:09:11 +0000

Well, there was that one time when I discovered the very handsome young man at the bus stop and I were both reading “Anna Karenina”. . .

But that only happened ONCE during a lifetime of reading in public. My Sony, on the whole, is much more of a conversation starter (although sometimes I wish it weren’t, either)

By: Sherri

Sherri — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:49:12 +0000

I’ve certainly had more people interrupt my reading to ask about my Kindle than I’ve ever had ask or comment on the book I’m reading. That’s fine, I love my Kindle and am happy to show it to them, and I’m sure it will wear off when ereaders become more prevalent. But really, I’m an introvert. I don’t want to have conversations with strangers. I guess all the extroverts are running out of people to talk to since all the non-readers had earbuds in their ears.

By: hapalochlaena

hapalochlaena — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:46:33 +0000

The idea that anyone is obliged, when out in public, to provide strangers with entertainment really irks me.

Whatever I’m reading is nobody’s business, and as far as I’m concerned the rest of the world can stuff off and leave me in peace when my mind is immersed in a book, whether p- or e-.

By: Rita Toews

Rita Toews — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:18:45 +0000

A “come-back” to that would be – think of all the really good conversations that get started when someone IS reading an e-book. I’m sure down the road we’ll all have a story of how people met because one of them asked “Hey, is that one of those new book reading things? An e-book reader?”

Goodness! If sparks fly between the couple there’s even the added time of showing how it works.

Rita