One thing I had completely forgotten about is how communal popular books can be. A few people have spotted “A Game of Thrones” in my pocket or saw me reading it on the subway and then started friendly conversations with me about it, something that never would have happened if I were reading it on my phone, where every book is effectively invisible to everyone but me.

Khoi Vinh perfectly describes one of the more subtle issues with everything shifting to digital: Nobody knows whether you're reading a book, playing or just texting on your phone, it's all reduced to touching a piece of glass.

Amazon has the potential to be like that predatory big box retailer on a global scale. And it's well on the way to doing so in the ebook sector.

This article not only manages to explain why Amazon is slightly evil, but also doubles as a quick Econ 101 for completely clueless people like me.

There was a king with a large jaw, and a queen with a plain face, on the throne of England; there were a king with a large jaw, and a queen with a fair face on the throne of France.

This is the second line of a very well-known book. But which? Well, go ahead and guess.

That's what this quiz is about. I got 90% right, beat me. A perfect way to spend a few idle minutes...

Money quote:

There are no plans to continue publishing new titles or building out our publishing platform that was in private beta.

I don't usually blog about any current tech news, but this one's different. I'm pissed. Seriously, these guys had a shot at changing the way e-books work, they were among to first to make one that doesn't suck and then they sell out to fucking Facebook? The company with the utterly unusable website, an incredibly shitty iPhone app and a level of sheer creepiness that makes me shiver every time I use it? Are you fucking kidding me? I just can't believe this shit.

(Sorry for ranting, but damn, that needed to be said. Imma listen to some quiet music now.)

Kudos for writing the review I was to lazy to write. Apart from that, I also like his opening statement on eBooks in general:

Because of these lacks in function and emotions, I tend to perceive eBooks as a convenience: you can buy them from your couch, they have no weight, and they don't age. You give away all the sexyness, presence and reliability of a nice paper book for accessibility and zero impact on your bookshelf.

That's kind of sad, but also true.

A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; [...]

You haven't read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? Go do it now.

Max bringt meine Bedenken auf den Punkt. Dann muss ich wohl tatsächlich auf das iPad mit Retina Display warten, oder dieses komische Papier benutzen, von dem immer alle reden. Wobei ich natürlich auf einem Kindle keine Animationen oder Farben erwarte, aber zumindest eine gute Leseerfahrung, und dazu gehört für mich ein wirklich scharfes, kontrastreiches Bild. Wenn von E-Ink gesprochen wird, muss so etwas auch erreicht werden. Edit: Okay, nach diesem Meta-Review nehme ich die Schärfe-Bedenken zurück, mag Grau in Grau und billige Hardware allerdings immer noch nicht. Hier scheiden sich wohl ein wenig die Geister...