Books Jun 9, 2014 at 8:53 am

A Word on Thomas Piketty and Kindle

Charles Mudede
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Comments

1
A long book that's popular but not read, but left out where guests can see it?

What is "The Bible," Alex.
Urgutha Forka on June 9, 2014 at 9:14 AM Report this
2
"my memory needs the reinforcement of physical books."

Very insightful. I used to believe that ebooks would take over completely but no longer think so. Personally I prefer non-fiction for paper-- I like to make notes, underline etc -- though for fiction ebooks are more convenient.
on June 9, 2014 at 9:26 AM Report this
3
Unless I'm on an airplane with no wifi, My iPad is worthless for reading books as it offers too many distractions.
seandr on June 9, 2014 at 9:31 AM Report this
4
I saw that the ebook was only a buck cheaper and Amazon wanted me to pay $22 for an e-version of a book about inequality. And I figured, fuck off.
kurisu on June 9, 2014 at 9:38 AM Report this
5
The director of my local library told me that he had heard that students in California hated having to have e-book text books, and grades really suffered. it's not just you, most people need physical references of a paper book to remember things they read about in said book. I seriously doubt e-books will replace paper books for that very reason. It will just be another format, like audio books, which people also used to say would replace paper books.
eastcoastreader on June 9, 2014 at 9:39 AM Report this
6
For many people, a turgid tome like this -- after five years of Occupy and Democrat rule and being told about inequality over and over again -- the reaction might be, less words, more action.

But Piketty hits us with...more words. Like Elizabeth Warren. Elected to the Senate to rule, she then goes on a lecture tour to tell the voters...about the inequality.

No one does anything any more. They only analyze and write about it. Or tweet. If this country has some kind of revolution, the leaders will take power and then proclaim "we gotta do something" over the loudspeakers.

Supreme Ruler Of The Universe on June 9, 2014 at 9:46 AM Report this
7
It's the old 'walking backwards slowly' trick:

1) It's wrong!
2) Something in it somewhere is wrong, so discard the whole thing!
3) It's irrelevant!
4) Nothing can be done!
5) Look, people aren't reading it!
6) The wrong people are reading it!
And so on.
BarrytheD on June 9, 2014 at 9:47 AM Report this
8
Ideally books will become like vinyl record reissues -- you get the disc AND you get the download code. Because it is hugely convenient to have the e-book, not for reading but for referencing later -- searching and quoting. And, unlike the paper book, you always have it with you when you need it; it's not back in that pile on the bedroom floor. Numerous times I've bought the Kindle book of a paper book I already own. But not to read on the Kindle itself; I've given up on readers. My phone is much better (I have a gigantic phone).
Fnarf on June 9, 2014 at 9:49 AM Report this
9
@6, so you've read it then? Is "turgid" how it really struck you?
Fnarf on June 9, 2014 at 9:55 AM Report this
10
I've been reading the book and am finding it fascinating. All the historical details about how western society has changed since the 1700s are really interesting. There are parts that are dry of course, but overall it's very readable and illustrates its technical points with relatable metaphors and literature references. Anyone who enjoys popular science or political books should find it a good read.
fletc3her on June 9, 2014 at 9:59 AM Report this
11
And yes I bought the real book. Ebooks have no life after me. I imagine passing books on so another person can read them. With an ebook I'm buying a ticket for a one time experience. With a real book I'm buying an addition to my library.
fletc3her on June 9, 2014 at 10:02 AM Report this
12
#9

There are 622 holds on 144 copies at KCLS and the Kindle version (the only version I'd read) costs $21.99 -- way beyond my limit of $3.99

But from the free sample at Amazon he writes:

It would be a serious mistake to neglect the importance of the scarcity principle for understanding the global distribution of wealth in the twenty-first century. To convince oneself of this, it is enough to replace the price of farmland in Ricardo's model by the price of urban real estate in major world capitals, or alternatively by the price of oil. In both cases, if the trend over the period 1970-2010 is extrapolated to the period 2010-2050 or 2010-2100, the result is economic, social, and political disequilibria of considerable magnitude....


Arrrrrhhhh....enough already! Whatever happened to Land, Bread and Peace? Whatever the faults of Marxists...they were great Ad Men who wrote catchy slogans. This guy is like death on paper.

Supreme Ruler Of The Universe on June 9, 2014 at 10:13 AM Report this
13
@8 - this is the case, sorta, with Anatol Lieven's Pakistan, a book I highly recommend.
palamedes on June 9, 2014 at 10:18 AM Report this
14
Completely agree about e-books. I like paper, and the feeling of the book in my hands. I like giving the books to people when I'm done with them, or selling them to buy more at a used book store. Reading online seems more like consuming information than engaging with something that a human wrote, and there are too many opportunities for consuming information (and most ring hollow). The only book I'm reading now in electronic form is an 1,100 pager that I can't comfortably read in bed in paper form. (Plus, it is increasingly clear that Amazon isn't the great thing in the world).
Sterno on June 9, 2014 at 10:40 AM Report this
15
Like a number of important works of creative writing or nonfiction--say, Marx's "Capital," Broch's "Death of Virgil," Virginia Woolf's "To the Lighthouse," Calasso's "The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony"--the point is not the ease at which you are able to digest it. In contrast, Piketty is extremely lucid if repetitive and the repetition only helps to further drive home his rather simple points. To tolerate this may be asking too much of @12.
hermann_hermann on June 9, 2014 at 10:54 AM Report this
16
Graphs, charts, and most kinds of data-rich images suck on the Kindle. But no, that couldn't be the reason people would buy a hard copy instead.
sloegin on June 9, 2014 at 11:01 AM Report this
17
@12: so, no. And you don't know what "turgid" means. And you can't read straightforward English. That excerpt is neither turgid nor difficult. The reviews I've been reading all say, in contrast, that the biggest surprise in the book is how readable it is.
Fnarf on June 9, 2014 at 11:09 AM Report this
18
I think the Kindle version just blames the poor for being shiftless. Or at least it will after the next update.
dirge on June 9, 2014 at 11:23 AM Report this
19
shorter @6: On a topic about e-books, here's my review of a book I haven't read, using words I don't know the definition of, because I am literally the dumbest person on the planet and want to make sure everyone knows it.
JonnoN on June 9, 2014 at 12:02 PM Report this
20
shorter @19
I am rude and humorless.
on June 9, 2014 at 12:28 PM Report this
21
I got the Kindle version, began to read it, and found that it was a mistake. I prefer having the capacity to make notes, save pages, and easily flip through the damn thing without losing my space.

Luckily, I pirate my books first and, if they're actually good, buy them later. So now I have the hard copy and am very happy I didn't have to pay for my mistake with the Kindle
Bloated Jesus is Bloated on June 9, 2014 at 2:05 PM Report this
22
#14

I like my Kindle because it's 6 ounces, the battery lasts a week, and I can read it in direct sunlight.

I can adjust the fonts for when I'm wearing glasses, contacts or nothing.

Best of all, I like to read multiple books all at once. I could not take 12 books with my on my bicycle, but I can take 100 books with me on Kindle.

I can highlight without damaging the book, and have it stored for retrieval on the web.

I can search the book. I can check footnotes using the PC version and hyperlink back to the source material.

Text is completely different when it's in an e-book.
Supreme Ruler Of The Universe on June 9, 2014 at 2:22 PM Report this
23

#17

You pick a chapter at random.

Now, summarize it for us in 3 sentences.

Supreme Ruler Of The Universe on June 9, 2014 at 2:23 PM Report this
24
@23

I think that summarizes your intelligence pretty well.
Bloated Jesus is Bloated on June 9, 2014 at 2:43 PM Report this
25
@24

Right the old SLOG double-team.

I answer an attacker's words, and then you come at me from the other side without referring to the thread of the whole argument.

Sick.
Supreme Ruler Of The Universe on June 9, 2014 at 2:51 PM Report this
26
Bailo does, at least, pick out an important passage

REDUCE THE SCARCITY OF URBAN HOUSING UNITS!
alfresco on June 9, 2014 at 3:09 PM Report this
27
Given all of the charts and tables in the book as well as it's density of footnoting, it would have been difficult to read on an e-reader or even a tablet. Also I'm probably going to end up loaning this out to a few people.
kinaidos on June 9, 2014 at 4:34 PM Report this
28
That’s one hell of a big carbon footprint you’re making there Chuck.

Why do you have the earth so much?
You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me on June 9, 2014 at 6:04 PM Report this

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