Since I have way too much time on my hands, I'm gonna go ahead and address each individual point. Let's see how the article does.
1. Reading in the bathtub.
I use my eReader in the bathtub. Not an issue. And drizzling? Um, no. I won't take out my paperbacks in rain, either. That's just stupid.
2. Re-selling.
Kinda true, but not so much an issue with ebooks, but more with DRMed ebooks. Maybe once there is no DRM, you could do that. Alternatively, this is actually one reason cited for why ebooks should be cheaper (as part of the argument that they have less residual value). So the difference would be made up if publishers ever do the right thing and make ebooks cheaper.
3. Gift-giving.
You know what else makes a terrific gift? A Kindle. There's a reason why sales of Kindles and other eReaders spike during the holiday season.
4. Sharing.
Plenty of ebooks now come with a lending feature. And if the ebook has no DRM, you can lend them anyway.
5. Collections.
True. Not likely applicable to a lot of people, but true nonetheless.
6. Book signings.
Again, true. But as with most things tech, there is a possibility that some new tech could take care of this in the future.
7. Reading on airplanes.
Er... you can read on eReaders, as well. At the most, you'll have to switch it off during take-off and landing. And the bit about leaving your paperback behind? That's just stupid.
8. Shopping.
Very true, and really the fact I kinda miss since I reduced my print book purchases. Browsing a bookstore just feels a lot better than browsing online.
9. Showing off.
The first part is related to #5. And the second? I, personally, have never had anyone spark a conversation with me due to the book I was reading. Don't know how common that is. In fact, I don't want it. I hate it when people interrupt my reading.
10. Hiding things.
Clearly a sign that the author was desperate for points to round off his 25. That's just stupid.
11. Pop ups and fuzzy parts.
On the other hand, parents can't record passages of a print book in their own voice and have a babysitter replay it for the kids, like on the Nook Tablet. So let's call this a draw.
12. Appreciation.
A weak argument. Maybe 1 out of 10,000 books appreciate in value over time.
13. Choice.
Out-of-print books not being digitized - that's life. As the author himself points out, the same happened with video. And that didn't stop technology.
14. Art.
Again, this is too similar to #5.
15. Sentiment.
Riiiiight.
16. Posterity
The curator part is valid. The family member part is not.
17. Permanence.
eBooks can quite easily be converted into various formats. So this shouldn't really be an issue. Also, ebook pages don't tear or smudge.
18. Security.
That's just stupid. Clearly, we're reaching true desperation here. The author really wants to get to 25.
19. Burning.
That's just stupid. Reeeeeeaaaallly need 25.
20. Motivation.
Just a few more buddy. Don't worry, you're stretching far enough to get there.
21. Reference.
Easily replicable on ebooks. Even better, you can annotate, save your annotations, and still not have ruined a perfectly good copy of the book with your ugly handwriting.
22. Power.
How much power did the author consume on his PC when writing out this list? And his cell phone? Or does he communicate via postcards? On the bright side, he only has 3 more bad points to go for the goal.
23. Smell.
Yup, I did know it was coming.
24. Magic.
Desperation has got us this far, why not another one, eh?
25. Having your books and reading them too.
I'm not even sure how this was a point against ebooks. As an added bonus, he uses this point to self-reference back to his list. I'm gonna go ahead and give him another "That's just stupid" for that one. But hey, we did it! 25 points! Woohoo.
So by my count, we have 4-and-a-half valid points, one draw, and 6 "That's just stupid"s. Well done.
