I really like my Kindle. Beyond all of the more tangible/advertised benefits it has, the most important thing it’s done for me is that I’ve been reading more since I started using it.
I also really like Readability, I think it’s an optimistic and hopeful view of the future of content on the internet, rather than the arms race of ad blockers and the AdWords-fueled plague of content scrapers.
The fact that these two things I like can join forces is also great. I can send an article to my Kindle via Readability. If I see some long, thoughtful piece, I click two buttons and it will be there for me when I settle in for the evening. Unfortunately I don’t/can’t use this as much as I’d like for two reasons.
Lost Commentary
I find most of my new/fresh content via link-sharing sites. Starting long ago in the golden age of Slashdot, I’ve gotten into the habit of checking the comments on an article before I read it. I don’t usually read the comments, I just skim them, and get a sense of how worthwhile it is to read the article. If I see a healthy discussion, or lots of praise, it’s clearly something worth spending a few minutes on. Even if I see some well-written refutations, it can be valuable in a “know your enemy” sense. If I see something like “Here’s the original article” or “How many times will this be reposted?” then perhaps I’ll just move on.
After I’ve read the article I might go back and read those comments, or perhaps even leave one. With the Kindle/Readability combo, I can’t do that. Blog posts will come through with their own comments, but for whatever reasons, there always seems to be better discussion offsite.
Linkability
The “premium” content sources like major magazines or newspapers rarely link off of their stories. I think this is conditioning from the print era, but it actually plays well to this offline system. If an author talks about another website he’ll probably include the relevant details in the article, or quote it, or include a screenshot.
Blogs, however, are chock-full of links, often without context, sometimes just for humor, but sometimes as an essential part of the article. Very few blog posts are actually viable in a vacuum. I have a special folder in Google Reader called “droid” which are blogs that generally don’t do this, and are good for reading when I have idle time (via my phone, hence the name) and don’t want to deal with links.
Something Else
I’d like to have some way to read an article or post offline, that can pull in these other sources. Perhaps a “send to kindle” that actually generates an ebook with the article as the first chapters and comments from my favorites collated into other chapters. Or perhaps a Kindle app that can do this and stay updated. What I don’t want is a mobile OS-style app that pops open browser windows, as that’s an entirely different use case. A “send back to computer” would be useful for stories that require switching back to browse mode.
TLDR: Sometimes I just want to read, not browse.
Watchmen is an adaptation of a comic series that should have been longer into a movie that should have been shorter. Action was slick and acting was much better than expected, but the story preserved the uneven pacing of the source rather than remedying it. A noble and ambitious attempt with mediocre results.
Hancock is the most under-rated movie of 2008 so far. It’s not great, but it’s pretty good and very fun and likeable. It’s got some actual humor, superhero effects, a few cheesy scenes and lines, and a simple but effective backstory. It also isn’t trying to start a franchise, which is a nice change.
