My brother-in-law let it slip ever-so-casually that he has gone over to the Dark Side.
He bought a Kindle. (I’m not linking to it because I have to think about it every time I hit amazon.com, and that happens several times a week.) The Kindle, he bragged, allows him to carry 1500 books with him wherever he goes.
I don’t want to carry 1500 books with me everywhere, three is usually more than enough. I don’t want to lay on the beach with a plastic case that scrolls words, nor do I want to snuggle in front of the fire with one. I already stare at a screen for more hours a day than is good for the human body. Yeah, I know, different technology, better on the eyes, bla bla bla.
In fairness to my brother-in-law, he uses public transportation for a very long commute. If I was more ecologically friendly, I would take the train, but I’m selfish — I like the solitude of my (self-justification alert) small car. He also noted that he reads a lot of non-fiction, heavy books that leave him wanting a frequent change of pace.
The Kindle is the only piece of technology that makes me feel like a Luddite. I love books. I’m writing a book, I’ve written several novels learning how to write a novel. I plan on writing more books. love the tactile experience of books. I have unique bookshelves scattered throughout my home, some with glass doors, a poet’s bookshelf with iron legs — similar to a step ladder, and shelves that I need a step ladder to reach. I have a bookshelf devoted to the books I haven’t yet read.
I like paper and soft covers and turning pages. I like dog-earring corners and marking sections that move and inspire me. My husband loves books, and owns more than I do. We support amazon.com and independent bookstores and chain bookstores. We hang out in bookstores. Going to the bookstore is a date. We joke that we’ll build a shack of books to live in if we become unemployed.
The Kindle is thin, it’s cool, it’s environmentally friendly, I think.
In some weird, undefinable, irrational way, it feels like a triumph of technology over literature: the dark side.
I actually hat books… way to advanced; I love to read my text carved out on clay tablets. I hung onto that way until I got to college. By that time, my back just couldn’t take the punishment anymore and my professors kept complaining whenever I chiseled a note in the margin during class.
The inventing of the book press was a major technological and social step forward. Technology is what made literature available for a wide public and increased literacy dramatically. You may love your books, your fountain pen and your horse and carriage, but it has nothing to do with a victory of technology over literature.
While I love a beautiful cover, the art of literature lies not in the form factor of the book. It’s the words, the ideas and the images conveyed in it. Technology makes that art more readily available, more environmentally friendly, eventually cheaper, and will create a lower threshold for you to publish your own book. Come over to the dark side… we have the future.
sorry for the numerous typos….
Thanks for a great laugh. And your point about the wider audience following the printing press is excellent.
You’ve persuaded me that I can consider keeping a foot in both worlds, since I do like my fountain pens, but I write on keyboard.
I can see the appeal, the convenience, and if I traveled a lot, I’d want a Kindle. But I love printed books for all the same reasons you stated.
Now, if Amazon gave a free Kindle version with every print book purchased … that’s another thing!
Good idea, Linda. I’ll take a free Kindle!
Cathryn,
I’ve heard these words before… my wife feels the same as you about the printed page. I have to agree with rick99, though. Technology must move forward, however that doesn’t define the “art” that is inherent in the words on the page (or screen).
I’m not going to rehash. I think there’s a place for both “styles” of printed word. I happen to be a fan of things like the Kindle, though I don’t own one myself. There will always be a place for printed books, just as there will always be a place for printed money (I don’t know how many times I’ve heard that debit cards are going to supplant cash… hasn’t happened yet!). Your beloved books aren’t going anywhere!
I am a paper gilr. I love paper. Once upon a time I collected paper. I would like to make paper. There is no way that I can go there, even if it means less lugging. Actually, I love lugging books around. They are also great conversation straters, and I have had strangers recommend me all sorts of books from the ones they see me with.
Kindle, schmindle. I’ll never give up my tactile, paper-and-print-perfumed darlings!