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No Kindles allowed at Hay literary festival

edited May 2012 in - Writing Tales
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

  • While I can understand their unhappiness about people buying e-books rather than physical books, that choice is up to the reader, and not for the traders to dictate what the individual chooses...
  • I agree with you, Carol. I guess they are looking at it from the same point of view that McDonald's would if you sat in one of their restaurants eating KFC.
  • I find some of his comments a bit ridiculous:

    '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 can’t do that with Kindles.'
    Great - means you can read whatever you want without people judging you.

    'You can’t lend a Kindle to a friend like you can with books. Kindles can’t 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.
  • [quote=Lou Treleaven]You can’t lend a Kindle to a friend like you can with books[/quote]

    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.
  • I think you can judge someone reading a Kindle - they're people who love to read, are not afraid to try something new, and care for the environment.

    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.
  • [quote=Lou Treleaven]
    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.
  • I can agree with some comments about Kindles. My wife bought me one at Christmas time, and a friend informed me that I would soon be "hooked". I can honestly say that has not been the case, as I hardly touch it, and the main time I use it at all has been to read in bed at night. No matter what anyone says, I still prefer a proper book with pages, a cover, and its own distinctive feel and smell. Also, many of the books I tend to read are just not available on Kindle, and so in that regard it is next to no use for me. Kindles are useful in their right context, maybe, and I can understand the convenience for studying, or when travelling to save weight, but it is definitely not going to take over as standard for me. If I were going to this particular literary festival, which I am not, they would have no need to worry about seeing my Kindle, as it would quite definitely be left at home.
  • Each to their own. Some like books, some like Kindles. Some, heaven forbid, like both. Personally I have found the Kindle has extended my reading enormously. True the Kindle does not have the same feel or (does it really matter) smell as a 'book', but for me it is the content that is important, not the medium that contains it.
  • [quote=SilverLinings]No you can't stop 'progress' but Kindle isn't progress it's a brand. [/quote]

    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.
  • Tough we live a free market society so that's the end of it. To follow their train of thought we should ban paperbacks too. Wait all printed books too. I mean that Gutenberg fella is really taking the proverbial with his new fangled technology for producing books. One word for this. Snob.

    Two other words, dinosaur and Luddite.
  • Only spoken word stories allowed, with the odd cave painting for the youngsters.
  • Haha! Only just seen this. Another one with his head in the sand.
  • [quote=SilentTony]dinosaur and Luddite.[/quote]

    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.
  • Might as well make peace with it - evolution wins every time.

    Just bought 'Choice Point' on kindle - published by Hay House :)
  • I have to have proper books, me and a kindle or any ebook reader would be an accident waiting to happen, I read a lot in the bath and on holiday. If I am desperate I will read on my phone, got some anthologies on kindle and kobo on my phone, and my laptop which work just as well for me.
  • [quote=richt]for me it is the content that is important, not the medium that contains it[/quote]

    Ditto (from a reader of both mediums)

    :)
  • I love Hay-on-Wye; there's something magical about the place and I can't understand why anybody going there would take a Kindle (or any other eReader) with them.

    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
  • LizLiz
    edited July 2012
    [quote=claudia](from a reader of both mediums)[/quote] Isn't it media? Or is it?
  • [quote=danfango]Taking a Kindle to Hay would be like going to a vintage vinyl record fair and standing there listening to music on your iPod. Yes, you could argue you're still a music fan, but you'd be missing the point quite spectacularly. [/quote]

    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.
  • [quote=Lou Treleaven]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?[/quote]

    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.
  • Something that's never mentioned is the tangible aspect being a barrier. I love books in paper form but this nonsense about Kindles being unauthentic or against tradition amuses me. People don't ever think that a book on an e-reader may be a purer form. People obsess too much about format, tradition, the smell, the feel and all other romantic notions. While I also enjoy those aspects of paper books I don't actually miss them when reading on my Kindle.

    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.
  • I'm not against Kindles and the rest, but I don't find reading from them anywhere near as rewarding as on paper. I've used a Kindle and have a few novels and short stories on my phone, but they don't have the same attraction. I can't quite put my finger on what the difference is; I like a well-designed book cover and good quality paper but I don't think they're vital elements. I think the impermanent nature of words on a screen detracts (when I'm writing, a story never feels finished until I've printed it out). And there doesn't seem to be a Kindle equivalent of quickly flicking through the pages to see how far away the end of the chapter is. I never realised how strongly this features in my reading habit until I couldn't do it! All in all, the electronic version just seems soulless. To me.

    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.
  • [quote=danfango]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.[/quote]

    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!
  • [quote=Lou Treleaven]I think you missed my point. I didn't mean while the music was being played live![/quote]
    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?
  • Of course they should, I agree - but they shouldn't be told that Kindles are banned, that's all.
  • I seem to remember a similar argument when they introduced those newfangled CD thingys!!
  • And when cassettes came in!
  • Besides all the arguments and some very valid points one thing us being overlooked. The word banned. It is usually a worry when anybody tries to ban anything. People want bans to deprive others of freedoms and choice. That's usually a bad thing and mostly a protectionist kick against change and evolution.
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