You all know mine's full of sword and sorcery novels.

A commenter on Marginal Revolution wonders about Kindles and signaling:

Reading with a Kindle, the signal is relatively constant and, at the moment, is something like "I'm an early technology adopter and I like to read". As the Kindle gets more commonplace the efficacy of this signal will, I think, diminish. Compare this with the signalling effects of reading a traditional book, where you signal to people not only that you like to read, but crucially what you are reading.

I wonder if Kindle advocates are underestimating how important it is for people to show those around them not just that they like to read, but also what they like to read?

I read on my Kindle in public and often people will ask me about it, how it works, and such. But they never ask what I am reading. One of the things I like about the Kindle is that unshelfworthy books and books I'd be ashamed to read in public (looking at you, Twilight series) are accessible without consequences.