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No Kindles allowed at Hay literary festival
Traders want a ban on Kindles!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2152657/Hay-literary-festival-booksellers-fight-ban-soulless-Kindles-world-famous-arts-event.html
Comments
'If you see someone reading a book, you always look at what they are reading and you try to work out what kind of person they are, but you cant do that with Kindles.'
Great - means you can read whatever you want without people judging you.
'You cant lend a Kindle to a friend like you can with books. Kindles cant be recycled like books.'
Oh dear - so that means your friend has to pay money to download their own book, putting more money into the book industry. What a terrible thing to happen.
'Kindles have no place at this festival which is supposed to be a celebration of the written word - and books.'
So Kindles have nothing to do with the written word or books? What are people doing with their Kindles then, staring at a blank screen?
I know it's sad for bookshops and booksellers but you can't stop progress. You have to find new ways to embrace it, just as the music industry has had to.
This is one of my biggest beefs with the kindle. I love getting a book from a friend who has read and enjoyed it, and if I like the author I do go and get another by that author. I think lending books makes book sales, not the other way round.
And as for watching people an their books - yes, I enjoy wondering how someone is enjoying what they are reading, but everyone judges people all day every day, it's what humans do.
You can lend Kindle books if the author has ticked the right box when publishing. The book can be transferred to another Kindle for two weeks. Unfortunately it can only be done once.
I know it's sad for bookshops and booksellers but you can't stop progress.[/quote]
No you can't stop 'progress' but Kindle isn't progress it's a brand.
I have alot of love for the ebook reader. Hundreds of books in the space of less than one.
NOT Kindle. There is a big difference.
I am sure the marketing sorts will address the lack of "advertising" space on a e-reader cover soon.
I think Hay has made an excellent point, it had to come. Those that e-read and those that don't. Thus pushing the printed format into a little elite of it's own.
True, although it's become a sort of catch-all term for e-readers - when I say Kindle I really mean any e-reader.
[quote=richt]for me it is the content that is important, not the medium that contains it[/quote]
Agree. When LPs went out of fashion I did miss getting a lovely gatefold sleeve with my music, but on the other hand it's great to be able to put a tiny MP3 player in my pocket when I go out.
Two other words, dinosaur and Luddite.
That's me !
Don't own a Kindle and probably never will. However the guy in Hay is in his own little world if he thinks he can defeat technology. Kindles are obviously here to stay.
Just bought 'Choice Point' on kindle - published by Hay House :)
Ditto (from a reader of both mediums)
:)
For me, browsing in a bookshop is one of life's pleasures and the booksellers in Hay are entitled to want to protect their interests - an eReader represents at best a lost sale because people can find something they like the look of in a shop, then pop along to the nearest pub or caf
That would be true if it was Hay-on-Wye bookselling festival, but it's not, it's a literary festival. Imagine going to a music festival and not being allowed to take an iPod because there are shops there that want to sell CDs. See how silly it sounds?
The description on their website reads:
"For 25 years Hay Festival has brought together writers from around the world to debate and share stories at its festival in the staggering beauty of the Welsh Borders. Hay celebrates great writing from poets and scientists, lyricists and comedians, novelists and environmentalists, and the power of great ideas to transform our way of thinking. We believe the exchange of views and meeting of minds that our festivals create inspire revelations personal, political and educational. Hay is, in Bill Clinton's phrase, 'The Woodstock of the mind'."
To me that means the festival is about promoting literature and ideas, not about pushing a certain format.
Er... Yes, listening to an iPod at a music festival does sound silly. It illustrates my point well. Some people will consider themselves music fans and be quite happy with listening to their favourite bands on a downloaded album. Other people will want to see the band play live, they'll want to buy the T-shirt and catch the drumsticks thrown into the crowd at the end of the gig. It's a question of how tangible you want the thing you're experiencing to be.
The Hay Festival is a literary festival, but it's held in a town dedicated to bookselling. Every other shop there is a bookshop. It's old-fashioned, but that's what makes it unique. It's a place not just for those who love to read, but for those who love books. Personally, I'm happy to respect that.
Because when those exterior senses are removed the words and the story are not diluted, they are heightened. So maybe when traditionalists bemoan e-readers they may be missing the point. Maybe that's why I've found I read a hell of a lot more since I've bought my Kindle.
Anyway, I wasn't trying to win an argument about which is the best, or the most authentic, reading experience, just trying to establish context for the story above, as nobody on this thread had mentioned actually going to Hay, and I think it's easier to understand where the traders are coming from if you've been there. I've never been to the festival, and to be honest I'm not sure I'd want to - the place would be incredibly crowded, and the best thing about the town is being able to wander around the shops, exploring at your own pace.
The important thing is that, at the moment, we have a choice about the format in which we buy our books (and from which supplier). Anything that protects that choice is a good thing as far as I'm concerned. Even die-hard Kindle enthusiasts can't want a future where your only options are to buy from Amazon at whatever inflated price their monopoly allows, or download pirate copies. Both options are bad for readers - and catastrophic for writers.
I think you missed my point. I didn't mean while the music was being played live! That would be like going to a literary festival, sitting down to hear Iain Banks read from his latest novel and reading a Kindle (or a paper book, come to that) at the same time!
I figured you didn't mean while the band was playing - all I meant was, in my experience, at a festival there's nearly always something going on, so why take something you've already heard with you?
And - going back to Hay - if somebody was at the festival, had a break between author talks, and wanted something to read, then why shouldn't they nip into a bookshop and pick up a paperback for a couple of quid? Why shouldn't they contribute something to the community that's hosting the event?