Is an Electronic Guidebook Packing Too Light in 2010?

Rick Steves: On Kindles, guidebooks, and whether the two are ready to be mixed

11.10.09 | 10:50 AM ET

There’s an exciting buzz among travelers and travel publishers about electronic books replacing paper ones. For those of us in travel publishing, this is a season of digital scrambling. And users’ heads are spinning with all the new technological options: iPhone apps, books on phones, electronic books on Kindle (the Amazon electronic book reader), small books printed on command (like our popular new Snapshots series), Urbanspoon, and Yelp.

I’ve met lots of travelers in Europe enthusiastically toting Kindles. Some are obnoxiously evangelical about them. Others are not so happy. I just received this interesting email report from someone upset about traveling with an electronic “book.”

Dear Rick,

We made a huge mistake. We thought we could use the Kindle version of your Venice guidebook. Wrong! We just arrived and there is no way to use it as a guidebook while traveling. It is great reading, but not convenient to use while exploring. (That is a Kindle issue.) Is there someplace in Venice that carries your guidebook? Or, is there one of your people in Venice that we can get a copy of your book from? Please help.

- Charlie and Mary

I am pretty slow in all of this. And, while determined not to be a Luddite about the demise of paper, I recently invited one of my employees (who I thought was a bit over-enthusiastic about futuristic forms of travel information) into my office, pointed to the 30 different Rick Steves guidebooks lining my windowsill, and said, “This is what we do ... paper guidebooks.”

I know the publishing world is changing very fast. I just like paper guidebooks. I’ve bumped into lots of people in Europe thrilled with their Kindles. While it is a brilliant innovation and certainly the future, at this point some find the technology still clunky for guidebooks.

I’d love to hear about your own thoughts and experiences in the Comments.