There’s a Wired article giving John C Abell’s “5 Reasons Why E-Books Aren’t There Yet“, and I’d probably agree with each of them if I had a iPad and not a Kindle.

1) An unfinished e-book isn’t a constant reminder to finish reading it.

A Kindle let’s you read. That’s it’s main purpose, and reading is what you do when you pick it up. No apps to play with, n twitter, facebook or Youtube to distract you. You pick it up, and begin reading. Sure, the cover isn’t there to nag you, but then why read if it’s a chore? I enjoy books, I don’t need to be guilt tripped into finishing them.

And the The Kindle knows where I got up to if I stop and start another book.

2) You can’t keep your books all in one place.

But I can keep them all in one place. Currently I have paper books scattered at all the places I ever lived in London (9 and couting), and when I go out, there’s is now way I could take them all with me. I’ve stopped buying hard back books, because while they are a luxury and delight to read, they don’t fit into a pocket. So I take a lighter book. An E-book, well, it’s sits on my phone or Kindle or PC with all my other e-books. And each device knows where I got up to if I read it on another.

3) Notes in the margins help you think.

Notes in the margin isn’t something I’ev really done much since school. And those notes in books are efeectively lost until someone picks up that book again. Andf if it was a crappy book, with a single noted moment of genius, well, I’ve probably given the book away and lost that note. Give me digital searchable editable useable note anyday. Or the Kindle allows you to take notes, highlight passages, and if you want, see othrs notes and highlighted passages. A huge increase in potential serendipitious moments.

4) E-books are positioned as disposable, but aren’t priced that way.

Agreed. CD’s were over priced given to their cost to make and in comparison to LP’s, and e-books being digital cost what? How long does it take a server to copy and paste and send you an ebook? What does that cost? And storage, that getts cheaper all the time. But somewhere up the line, there is the author, and I’m sure he or she hopes to earn something from that book, and hopes that the publisher will do something towards making people aware of the book.

So the cult of the new and the inability of the old to adapt quickly to changing markets means that the companies try and grind as much money from people before they ahve to think of adapting. But here are ways of making the content cheap, and letting people know it’s out there. Cory Doctorow springs to mind. Things will change. And there are a wealth of free e-books out there.

5) E-books can’t be used for interior design.

True. I love some of my books, but generally keep the ones ones I want people to spot and ask about and allow me to recommend. But I do that anyways with books I love, so I don’t need to have a copy lying around. And nor do I feeel the need to flaunt them as a badle of honour. And I’m sure people will soon become accustomed to browing a Kindle in as much the same way the do a bookshelf. Or just asking.