The Weekly Spark

Why Physical Books Refuse to Disappear

For a brief while, it seemed obvious how this story would end. We’d already watched one format after another get replaced by something newer, smaller, and easier to live with. Vinyl gave way to tapes, tapes gave way to CDs, CDs gave way to downloads, and downloads gave way to streaming. Each new step promised less clutter, better portability, and easier access. Most of the time, convenience won. So when ebooks started taking off, along with E Ink devices like the Kindle and Kobo, plenty of people assumed physical books were next. 📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmVqRHNxQ3g4UU9FSmpIUGVrSHNZSmdGZXNXQXxBQ3Jtc0tsTUNaQzNxdUJVUkg1aEtfSV9zSE9DSWdRanhqUS1Fazl4QklmUlB4NzJFZFFHVWJxVFVmb09oaktGUms2RldmT2FJWnVMLVg4MDlzQ21TODR1T1RtSDFQaUVZeGRKRmoxQ3VJZGIyeVI5MDlSWEZOSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fmarkdkelly.substack.com%2F&v=mINbB09MIc0] ☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75 [https://buymeacoffee.com/markdkelly75] I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmVqRHNxQ3g4UU9FSmpIUGVrSHNZSmdGZXNXQXxBQ3Jtc0tsTUNaQzNxdUJVUkg1aEtfSV9zSE9DSWdRanhqUS1Fazl4QklmUlB4NzJFZFFHVWJxVFVmb09oaktGUms2RldmT2FJWnVMLVg4MDlzQ21TODR1T1RtSDFQaUVZeGRKRmoxQ3VJZGIyeVI5MDlSWEZOSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fmarkdkelly.substack.com%2F&v=mINbB09MIc0] Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe [https://markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The reMarkable Paper Pure Proves Less Can Actually Be More

I think reMarkable’s latest product, the Paper Pure, reveals something important about the digital paper market: progress in this space doesn’t always mean adding more. In most corners of tech, the logic is very familiar. More apps, more features, more notifications, more flexibility, more ways for one device to become six devices metaphorically glued together. The assumption is that the more a product can do, the more desirable it becomes. reMarkable seems to be arguing for something different. Sometimes the appeal is in taking things away. 📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmVqRHNxQ3g4UU9FSmpIUGVrSHNZSmdGZXNXQXxBQ3Jtc0tsTUNaQzNxdUJVUkg1aEtfSV9zSE9DSWdRanhqUS1Fazl4QklmUlB4NzJFZFFHVWJxVFVmb09oaktGUms2RldmT2FJWnVMLVg4MDlzQ21TODR1T1RtSDFQaUVZeGRKRmoxQ3VJZGIyeVI5MDlSWEZOSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fmarkdkelly.substack.com%2F&v=mINbB09MIc0] ☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75 [https://buymeacoffee.com/markdkelly75] I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmVqRHNxQ3g4UU9FSmpIUGVrSHNZSmdGZXNXQXxBQ3Jtc0tsTUNaQzNxdUJVUkg1aEtfSV9zSE9DSWdRanhqUS1Fazl4QklmUlB4NzJFZFFHVWJxVFVmb09oaktGUms2RldmT2FJWnVMLVg4MDlzQ21TODR1T1RtSDFQaUVZeGRKRmoxQ3VJZGIyeVI5MDlSWEZOSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fmarkdkelly.substack.com%2F&v=mINbB09MIc0] Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe [https://markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Why Are E-Ink Note-Taking Tablets So Expensive?

Kindle Scribes, reMarkables, BOOX tablets, Supernotes, and other premium digital paper devices can cost several hundred pounds. In some cases, once you add the accessories, you are well past the £700 mark. And for plenty of people, that pricing looks faintly ridiculous. 📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmVqRHNxQ3g4UU9FSmpIUGVrSHNZSmdGZXNXQXxBQ3Jtc0tsTUNaQzNxdUJVUkg1aEtfSV9zSE9DSWdRanhqUS1Fazl4QklmUlB4NzJFZFFHVWJxVFVmb09oaktGUms2RldmT2FJWnVMLVg4MDlzQ21TODR1T1RtSDFQaUVZeGRKRmoxQ3VJZGIyeVI5MDlSWEZOSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fmarkdkelly.substack.com%2F&v=mINbB09MIc0] ☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75 [https://buymeacoffee.com/markdkelly75] I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmVqRHNxQ3g4UU9FSmpIUGVrSHNZSmdGZXNXQXxBQ3Jtc0tsTUNaQzNxdUJVUkg1aEtfSV9zSE9DSWdRanhqUS1Fazl4QklmUlB4NzJFZFFHVWJxVFVmb09oaktGUms2RldmT2FJWnVMLVg4MDlzQ21TODR1T1RtSDFQaUVZeGRKRmoxQ3VJZGIyeVI5MDlSWEZOSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fmarkdkelly.substack.com%2F&v=mINbB09MIc0] Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe [https://markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Kindle Is Still Worth It… But Not For Everyone

Over the few couple of videos and articles, the Kindle ecosystem has come up quite a bit. First, with older Kindles losing support, and then again in my last video/article about how buying a digital book usually means buying a licence to read it rather than owning it in the same way you own a physical book. The comments on those videos over at my YouTube channel - The Spark! [http://youtube.com/@markfromthespark] - have been interesting. Some people said, ‘This is exactly why you should leave Kindle and switch to Kobo.’ Others said Kindle is too locked down, or that digital books are the problem full stop. And, to be fair, there’s plenty of truth in those comments. There’s also, I think, a bit of overreaction. 📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmVqRHNxQ3g4UU9FSmpIUGVrSHNZSmdGZXNXQXxBQ3Jtc0tsTUNaQzNxdUJVUkg1aEtfSV9zSE9DSWdRanhqUS1Fazl4QklmUlB4NzJFZFFHVWJxVFVmb09oaktGUms2RldmT2FJWnVMLVg4MDlzQ21TODR1T1RtSDFQaUVZeGRKRmoxQ3VJZGIyeVI5MDlSWEZOSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fmarkdkelly.substack.com%2F&v=mINbB09MIc0] ☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75 [https://buymeacoffee.com/markdkelly75] I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmVqRHNxQ3g4UU9FSmpIUGVrSHNZSmdGZXNXQXxBQ3Jtc0tsTUNaQzNxdUJVUkg1aEtfSV9zSE9DSWdRanhqUS1Fazl4QklmUlB4NzJFZFFHVWJxVFVmb09oaktGUms2RldmT2FJWnVMLVg4MDlzQ21TODR1T1RtSDFQaUVZeGRKRmoxQ3VJZGIyeVI5MDlSWEZOSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fmarkdkelly.substack.com%2F&v=mINbB09MIc0] Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe [https://markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

You Probably Didn’t Buy That Ebook

I think millions of people have tapped ‘Buy’ in an ebook store and just assumed they were buying a book. The fact is most of the time, they weren’t. What they were actually buying was permission. Permission to read a file, on approved software, through an account, inside a company’s system. 📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmVqRHNxQ3g4UU9FSmpIUGVrSHNZSmdGZXNXQXxBQ3Jtc0tsTUNaQzNxdUJVUkg1aEtfSV9zSE9DSWdRanhqUS1Fazl4QklmUlB4NzJFZFFHVWJxVFVmb09oaktGUms2RldmT2FJWnVMLVg4MDlzQ21TODR1T1RtSDFQaUVZeGRKRmoxQ3VJZGIyeVI5MDlSWEZOSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fmarkdkelly.substack.com%2F&v=mINbB09MIc0] ☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75 [https://buymeacoffee.com/markdkelly75] I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmVqRHNxQ3g4UU9FSmpIUGVrSHNZSmdGZXNXQXxBQ3Jtc0tsTUNaQzNxdUJVUkg1aEtfSV9zSE9DSWdRanhqUS1Fazl4QklmUlB4NzJFZFFHVWJxVFVmb09oaktGUms2RldmT2FJWnVMLVg4MDlzQ21TODR1T1RtSDFQaUVZeGRKRmoxQ3VJZGIyeVI5MDlSWEZOSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fmarkdkelly.substack.com%2F&v=mINbB09MIc0] Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe [https://markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]