Sunday, August 21, 2011

"First electricity, now telephones. Sometimes I feel as if we were living in an H. G. Wells novel."

Well, I bought a Kindle.




















Ugh, the literature purist inside me is cringing even now . . . 

My justification is this: as a college student who moves around more than I ever have before in my life, this is, well, practical.
I can now read the good translation of Anna Karenina while standing in the cafeteria line, rather than having to tote the 3-inch thick print version.  
{plus, it even has all the footnotes as links in the text}
Also, I can now bring far more books with me to school than before. Theoretically, I could bring over 3,000 books with me . . .
Furthermore, though it is, of course, still not the same as reading a physical book, the E-ink format is pretty cool. It looks almost exactly like a paper book page, and there is no glare when reading in the sunlight. 

{definitely get the Kindle, not the Nook, if you're going to get one. It somehow feels like less of a betrayal . . .}

So.

It got me thinking . . . 
Can we not have ANYTHING that remains non-electronic/automated/internet compatible?
I mean, for crying out loud, we can't even open and close our own car doors anymore. 
Sometimes I feel like the science fiction movies and tv shows aren't that far fetched . . .

But anyway, back to my purchase.
Yes, I bought one. Yes, I like it. Yes, I still brought an entire box full of books to school with me. Yes, I bought a physical book the day after I bought the Kindle.
I will always buy books and stack them on my shelves, beds, tables, floors, any flat surface.


But, I bought it.
So sue me.