I have started to put my Kindle and Kindle DX on the bookshelf next to my bed. And while admittedly I keep my iPad in a book holder (floor stand) for hands-free reading, I was amused to suddenly get a flash of a possible future where a "book shelf" means a shelf which contains e-reader devices in perhaps three different sizes, maybe a couple of brands... and that's it! All the cultural goodness, stories, art, philosophy, knowledge, is
inside these small things, ready to go with you anywhere and to be found with a quick search instead of minutes of peering at bookshelves and piles around the home.
(I love books, but man, the paper versions sure do take up space.)
(Photo by me and Canon 5DII.)
By the way, for the uninitiated, the two objects (between the iPad and the Apple keyboard) which look like photo frames, are really an Amazon Kindle 3 and a Kindle Dx. (When the Kindle turns off, it replaces the text on the screen with a literature-related drawing or etching. In these cases, it's James Joyce and Virginia Wolf. The picture stays on because the e-paper screen only uses energy when it changes.)
2 comments:
"...and to be found with a quick search instead of minutes of peering at bookshelves and piles around the home.
"(I love books, but man, the paper versions sure do take up space.)"
A couple minor observations, Eolake...
1) your life and consciousness are revealed by the notation "instead of minutes of peering..." It's the first time I have ever seen 'minutes' employed in such a construct.
2) I think it is not books you love, but reading. They are vastly different from one another, as concepts.
Irv
Re 1: you don't have that many books?
(I'd have more, if I hadn't decided to stay in a small apartment and thus have to give books away regularly.)
Re 2: I am sure you're right. (I will happily cut up a heavy paperback into two halves to make easier to read in bed.)
I do love beautiful books though. But then I love any beautiful object.
I guess I said "love books" as a preemptive measure of defence against paperbook lovers.
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