Does Amazon's Kindle eBook Reader Need More Interactivity?

Does Amazon's Kindle eBook Reader Need More Interactivity?

Seth Goodin blogged about this. I wonder what you think ...

You see, in Seth Goodin's blog post Random Thoughts About The Kindle he says:

"The Kindle does a fine job of being a book reader, and a horrible job of actually improving the act of reading a book. This is a surprising design choice, I think, and a mistake. Here are three simple examples of how non-fiction books on the Kindle could be better, not just cheaper and thinner:

--Let me see the best parts of the book as highlighted by thousands of other readers.
--Let me see notes in the margin as voted up, Digg-style, by thousands of other readers.
--Let me interact with hyperlinks and smart connections not just within the book but across books

I can think of ten others, and so can you. Instead of making this a dead end (like a book) they could have made it a connector (like the web).

Word processing didn't work because it was typing but a little cheaper. It worked because it was better than typing. Email didn't work because it was mail but a little faster. It worked because it was fundamentally better than snail mail..."

I have every respect for Mr Goodin. I love his creativity, his freshness, and his exquisite way of expressing himself. And so I took some time to think about what he'd said about the Kindle. His article is really interesting. And the improvements he suggests above are, for me, quite revolutionary. We live in the sort of times that make those capabilities sound like a natural next step. So, although I would never have thought up those ideas myself, once I read them, I found myself thinking .."Okay, I suppose ..."

But with a very heavy heart.

For me, unless it's a text book I am studying for a course, every one of those suggestions would completely ruin the experience for me. When I read stories, I don't want any other voices trespassing in my bubble of fantasy. The concept sounds too horrible for words.

So, dear friends, my question to you is, What do YOU think? Do you think the Kindle ebook reader would be much more exciting and appealing if it had the kind of interactivity that Mr Goodin would like to see? Ooooooor ... Does the prospect of that level of shared experiences coming right into your private world of fantasy and imagination, fill you with horror?