Robin Tomens had an entertaining dig at the Kindle on his 'Include Me Out' blog the other day. I have always been extremely fond of Robin and his work. It is always good to know that, as grumpy and truculent as I might get, there will always be someone who is grumpier still. Plus he is such a marvellous source of intriguing old book covers, magazine adverts and the like. A rambling amateur media archaeologist if you will. The best kind.
Of course I don't always agree with what he says. I certainly don't on the matter of the Kindle.
I have loved the Kindle app on my iPad for some time. There is something so splendid about having a library available wherever I am and without the need to carry something else around with me. It was a godsend when I was in Scotland over the festive period for example.
Just recently though I have also picked up a Kindle device. In this respect I plead guilty to the crime of wanting to have just one more electronic toy. It is lovely though, even if I still occasionally wonder why the page doesn't turn when I touch the screen. Like a real book it removes the temptation to multi-task. No temptation to check twitter or respond to a work email. Just the ticket.
Yes, I do miss having a lovely book cover to show off how erudite and cool I am in my reading material. Then again I am not sure how many people would be impressed that I might be reading a Richard Yates number. And much as I am thoroughly enjoying another L.C. Tyler title I am not entirely certain I am ready to show that fact off to the populace of, say, The Boston Tea Party. I rather suspect they would all have much more important things to wonder about after all.
So although I wholeheartedly agree with what Robin says about the importance of book design, when it comes down to it, it's the words that really matter, yes? And I find that as I get older the weight (in all it's guises) of physical product is so much less important/appealing. Who would I be trying to impress with my collection, after all? C already knows how cool I am, and vice versa.
I often don't want to have to find more space for things. It’s like Martin Blank says about his 'nada' egg white omelette: "I don't want to get into a battle of semantics, I just want the protein, dammit."
Kindle gives me the protein of words. I’m more than happy with that.
Is there an RSS reader on the Kindle? I want my protein on a continuous IV drip.
Posted by: Idontlikewords | January 20, 2012 at 21:39
Who are you calling grumpy, you bastard?!
Posted by: el hombre invisible | January 21, 2012 at 07:42