"Change is the process by which the future invades our lives." Alvin Toffler
This is a photo of something I treasure in my home. It is a signed print of a calligraphic work by Sheila Waters that my mom gave to me many years ago and it fairly well sums up my spending habits over a lifetime thus far. If you visit my home you will find many things, but mostly you will find books. All kinds of books. Floor to ceiling books, stacks of books on chairs and tables, tucked in drawers, lining the shelves of my closet where most people would store clothes. Most I have read and some are waiting to be cracked open here and there when I need a little something that lies within them.
I have a lot of books, not near as many as some other people, but still, a lot of books. Because I love them. Because to me they contain the world through the eyes of others, especially those that came before me. They help me mark my way and inspire me to get out of my own way and even to write down my own view of the world.
My books are not organized in any special way except for poetry, religion, art, and a few shelves which hold the books I treasure most. The ones I've read many times, or plan to read again. Otherwise, when they leave my bedside or backpack they are shelved wherever they might land.
I have a small, but meaningful (to me) collection of first editions, antiquarian editions I have found on my travels, and even signed editions. I have books which still hold mementos and notes from previous owners. I have books that I have held onto since childhood, like my copy of Winnie-the-Pooh and the poems of Robert Louis Stevenson. On the shelf you see above there is a sampling of some of those special ones, and tucked in between Tolkien and Kingsley is a brand new book...well, actually a brand new dozen or so books, which will one day be hundreds.
Folks, it's true. The self-proclaimed book-lover and nay-sayer against e-readers now owns a Nook.
It happened rather impulsively. I had just returned a few items of clothing that I purchased with Christmas money and didn't really like. I was thinking I might buy a used desk for my art-making, or maybe hold onto the cash for a rainy spring day when I needed a get-away. And then my friend Libby, who also loves books, was writing about her new Nook on Facebook. Her husband already had his reading material stored on an iPad and I was intrigued by that when I witnessed him flipping through pages of many books without lugging around a backpack full of heavy tomes (Yes, I do that, too. I carry about four books around at all times, and sometimes more). So I started researching e-readers, you know, the Nook and the Kindle and a few others. Within the day I was hooked on the Nook and decided to go to Barnes & Noble to give one a test drive.
Oh I had plenty of cons on my list of reasons of why I didn't want one, but once I held it and envisioned the possibilities the list became much shorter. Here are my pros and cons:
- I can carry my entire library of classics in literature and poetry, almost all of them available for free, in a little "book" that weighs about eight ounces.
- Our local library offers the borrowing of thousands of bestsellers in the e-pub format. These are books I may want to read, but have no real interest in purchasing or owning. This frees my book money up for more antiquarian books and poetry books, which cannot be replaced with electronic copies. At least not in my world.
- If I do purchase an e-book, it is a fraction of the cost of a hard copy, and I can borrow them or loan them to others who also use an e-reader. (Except for the Kindle. Amazon has not allowed this feature thus far).
- I can upload my own writing onto the Nook and carry all of my work around with me. I can do this on my laptop, of course, but it is REALLY nice to read from this little device. The E-ink technology really does come across like ink on paper. Very easy on the eyes. It also feels like holding a book when the Nook is in the case I bought for it. And the other night I read one of my own stories to my niece and nephew from it. It even has cover art ;)
- With the availability of so many classics for free I can have access to so many great pieces of literature that I would never have the budget for otherwise. As a reader and writer, this is like having a library in my pocket, at my disposal anytime at all.
So what's not to love?
- At $139, if I did not have the cash from the clothes I returned it would have seemed like a much bigger expense. But then, if I look at the long term gains and all of the free literature I have already downloaded into the Nook, it doesn't seem so bad.
- It is not the same as holding an old book, or even a new book. It is very nice to read from, it is super easy to use, but there is something special about holding a book and feeling and smelling the paper that this will never replace. So there are books that I would only buy in a hard copy. For instance, Mary Oliver has a new book of poetry out. I will buy it in hardcover with a 40% off coupon at Border's. But the complete works of Emily Dickinson? I have five or six hard copies in my library, and I now have it on my Nook...at my fingertips, anytime at all.
- I could lose it. I could drop it in the bathtub. It could break in any number of ways. And Barnes & Noble has a full-replacement warranty for thirty dollars, if I choose to buy it. No questions asked. My entire library is also stored on my hard drive and on the Barnes & Noble server, just in case.
- It perpetuates my fear of my beloved hard copy books being replaced by electronic, virtual copies. Well, I really don't think so. I believe there will always be a need for bound literature. And I also believe that there are thousands of books published every year that are a waste of trees. And it's happening whether I agree with it or not, like the cell phone I resisted and the computer I was so afraid of, and many other things. I still write and mail letters and I still use a typewriter at times, too, but technology has taken the art of connecting to another level. I've learned to take the best off all of them and make them work together. It's not so different with an electronic book. I may as well learn to embrace it and find a way to make the best of it, side by side with the traditional things I love.
My biggest objection to the Kindle when it came out was the threat of losing the physical pleasures of a book. Now that I have used this little device I will say that it just can't replace it. It's an accessory to the book. It's an economical way to have every classic I've ever wanted to read, even if I only read a few chapters here and there. It's a way to read even more, and it's getting the written word into people's hands and souls even if it is a different and less soulful way of delivery. It's not so different than listening to your music library on your iPod, is it? I have a few issues with that, too, but mostly I am thankful for such an easy way to always have music, wherever I go.
I now have twenty-three classics in my Nook, six of my own stories, and three brand new mainstream fiction books that I wanted to read but would probably never read again. This thing can hold over 2500 books. And the ones you borrow from the library just disappear after the two week loaning period, unless you renew them. No more late fees. You can even borrow audiobooks and play them through the built-in speakers. I also discovered a few books that I may have never known about without the great "daily" reviews from Barnes & Noble as well as the easy search feature which allows you to download thirty-five page samples of any book available. Yes, you can read a good chunk before purchasing or borrowing from the library.
Will it replace my habit of collecting and treasuring real in-the-flesh books? Not likely. Will it improve my literary life? I think it might. It's kind of like anything I love...I'll take it any way I can get it. And when I have a little money, I'll still buy books. If any is left, I'll buy food and clothes.
