You aren't alone - I fine huge gutters on the left/right to be very distracting. If I have my window set to be very wide, I WANT TO USE THAT WIDTH.
However, I realize that I'm in the minority - I don't find narrow columns easier to read, I don't consider analog watches "more attractive" than digital, while I love physical books I don't feel I lose any experience in going to a nice eInk reader, and I find most icons to be worse than a short text label. For these sins I am prepared to simply suffer a tiny bit until society catches up to me :)
However, I realize that I'm in the minority - I don't find narrow columns easier to read, I don't consider analog watches "more attractive" than digital, while I love physical books I don't feel I lose any experience in going to a nice eInk reader, and I find most icons to be worse than a short text label. For these sins I am prepared to simply suffer a tiny bit until society catches up to me :)