I’m not a big fan of the e-book movement. It’s not that I
dislike e-books, it’s that I don’t exactly understand them. I like to consider
myself a reader. I’m pretty much always working on reading a book. But, I’ve
never once thought to myself, “My life would be better right now if I had 400
books next to me.” I read one book at a time. Having a library at my disposal
seems like a waste. I also don’t understand the “portability” argument of the
e-books. If I’m going to the beach, having a book to read would be great.
(again, I don’t need 400…how long am I on the beach?) But, what if I want to go
for a swim? Tossing a $7 paperback onto the blanket and running in the water
isn’t a problem. But, tossing a $500 iPad? However much a Kindle Fire is?
Really? I’m not sure I could do that.
But, the biggest reason I don’t understand e-books is the lack
of a book collection. There’s nothing quite like the look of a shelf full of
books. Looking at a screen with different pictures on it isn’t close to the
same thing. You need to have the actual books. The colors of the bindings. The
pictures on the cover. They display nicely, because that’s their entire purpose
in life. No matter what you may say, book publishers know that you really do
judge your book by its cover. So, they make them eye catching. If it works in
the bookstore, it works in your display. A collection of books calls to you.
Books are also great collectables because they come in any
number of price points. If you want to shell out some serious cash and go for
an autographed first edition of The Science of Hitting, go ahead. If you want
to grab Francona the second it’s released, you can do that too. Rather wait for
the paperback version? You can save some money there. Or, if you’re really
patient, you can wait for the clearance areas of Amazon or your local bookstore
to put the book you want out. I’ve sometimes upgraded a paperback book to the
hardcover version when I found it on a great sale.
And, books are just things to put on a shelf. Although, they
could be. You can read them. See what your favorite players have to say. See
what your favorite writers have to say about your favorite players. Use the
books as reference when you want to know who the last Red Sox player to win a World
Series game was. Or, transport yourself to yesteryear. But, you knew all that.
Books are nothing new. They’re great to read, and great to collect.
As long as they’re around.
I started using e-books about a year and a half ago. I worked for the county and they paid for me to use public transportation to and from work. It made sense for me because my drive time to work was 45 minutes and my public transportation time was 55 minutes. So I lost 10 minutes per trip but it saved about $30 a week in gas and it gave me almost 2 extra hours to read per day.
ReplyDeleteThe Phoenix library has free book downloads and I never had to worry about getting books back in time. Now anytime I am anywhere and have to wait for some reason the book I am reading is in my pocket (on my phone)