I need a PADD!

Amazon's Kindle is like the future! I want one so bad! It looks smooth, the screen is clear and glare-free, and it's like science fiction come to life. I can only imagine how much better devices like these are going to get in the coming years.

My only worry with them is the effect they could eventually have on paper books as an industry and an art. I love the feel of holding a book as I read it, and the Kindle doesn't feel quite like that. A heavy, well-made book is something to appreciate in many ways, and even cheap little paperbacks have a comforting feel. Additionally, publishing is my intended career, and I don't want to work to produce something that's only going to come out electronically. There's less joy to it, less evidence.

And I wonder if it will have an effect in the long term on other things near and dear to me, like libraries and BookCrossing. You can't stumble upon a free e-book on your way to work...

However, I don't think something like the Kindle can boot hard-copy books out for a long time, if ever. My science fiction sensibilities are way more excited and powerful than my Luddite doubts. So, once I have money and a need to keep tons of books in a very small space, I'll head right out and buy myself something like a Kindle. Until then, I'll be happy with reading, loving, and giving away my paper.