I’ve always been somewhat of a reading traditionalist. I like reading books. I like pages. I like the smell of old books. When I open a classic like Plutarch’s Lives inthe 1910 printing from the Harvard Classics series, the scent is unmistakable. It’s like I’m breathing rarefied air.
So this new step is a real departure for me. I’ve started experimenting with book content in two new electronic forms. I bought my first e-book the other day (not counting the Bible that I purchased for my last Palm Pilot) from a company called 37signals. It’s their manifesto on how to create new companies based around simple web application. It’s a bit disappointing as a read.
Today I realized that I’ve been subscribed to audible.com for a few months now. It was one of those trial memberships that I forgot to cancel, and I now have enough credit to download 7 full audiobooks and listen to them on my computer, CDs, or my iPod.
Configuring my computer to download the books was a little bit of a challenge. I actually had to call audible.com’s tech support, but I solved my own problem while I was on hold with them (and explained to them how I’d solved it, in case someone else has that particular problem).
So, the first book I downloaded is called The Search by John Battelle. It’s subtitled How Google and its rivals rewrote the rules of business and changed out culture. I’ll let you know how it is. Should be 10 hours worth of interesting listening, at the very least.