but only after overcoming a deep sense of being unfaithful to my life-long love of books and my large collection of paper volumes. Would I be cheating on my old friends? Would I stop buying “real” books? Would civilization as we know it crumble?
On the other hand, I really wanted a new toy. I’ve never wanted a laptop computer (I work at a computer at my day job and write long-hand on the living room sofa in the evenings). I don’t need a new car (my seven-year-old Corolla still gets 34 miles to the expensive gallon in commuter traffic, thank you very much). I had a $100 gift card for Amazon.com.
I had even heard a rumor that it was possible to load one’s own manuscripts onto a Kindle, far more convenient for read-through than that big binder or stack of paper. So I did my research, planned my order, clicked on “submit” and waited for the UPS man.
My first thought upon firing up my new Kindle was a quote from Arthur C. Clarke: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
My second thought was less philosophical: Let’s go shopping. Stay tuned and I’ll tell you what I bought at the Kindle store–and what I bought in good old-fashioned paper form.
Apr 11, 2011 @ 17:50:33
Love the quote! It’s so true. I hope you enjoy the Kindle. For some reason, I don’t find it easy to read. I decided I like a tactile feel for where I am in the book. This is particularly important to me when reading non-fiction or reference works (or my own work when I want to go back and add or check something). But to each her own.
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Apr 11, 2011 @ 19:09:27
I have to agree, the percentage scale at the bottom of the screen isn’t the same as pages on either side of your bookmark!
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