I imagine the day will come when hardbound and paperback books will be found only at antique stores and yard sales. Probably not in our lifetime, but then again, perhaps. I am reading that there is set to be an "explosion" of Electronic Reading Devices, or "e-Readers" out this Christmas. More than three million of the things are predicted to be sold.
You know about Amazon's Kindle, which was the first mass market device. Best Buy sells one called the "iRex," which runs on Verizon's network. Sony is debuting its "Daily Edition" reader later this year, and Barnes & Noble just came out with their "Nook" reader, calling it "The World's Most Advanced eBook Reader."
I'm torn about this trend. In one way, these things make an enormous amount of sense, what with technology finally being able to keep up with it, and from the "green" conservation aspect ... if we're not publishing millions of pages, then how many more trees are being saved? But on the other hand, there's just nothing like holding a solid book in your hand, being able to highlight it if you like, or make notes in the margins. And it's kind of hard to let a friend borrow an e-book.
What are your thoughts? Click "Comment" and let our little community know.
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MORE BOOKS BY APPROPRIATE AUTHORS
"Register Your Invention" by Pat Tent.
"What to Do When You're Unemployed" by Anita Chob.
"The Burglar" by Robin Banks.
"You Can Play Like Benny Goodman" by Clara Nett.
"The Art of Fisticuffs" by Donny Brooke.
"Come On In" by Doris O. Penn.
"The Last Trip" by Paul Bearer.
"I Love Mathematics" by Adam Upp.
"It's Not a Guitar!" by Amanda Lynn.
"How to Fence In Your Herd" by Barb Dwyer.
[JokeMaster and several websites; editing by Mark Raymond]
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WISDOM for YOUR WEEK: "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith...." (Hebrews 12:2)
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6 comments:
I love to read, absolutely LOVE it, and while I do enjoy the feel of a "real" book in my hands, and there's nothing quite like the smell of bound pages, I have Amazon's Kindle, and it's wonderful! It was a birthday gift this past summer, and it's quite handy and convenient. I can bookmark unlimitedly, I can highlight and make unlimited notes, and not just in/on books. And the best part is, it saves trees! It not only comes with a built-in dictionary, but it also comes with wikipedia (free online access to both). The dictionary is really handy when I want to look up words that I don't understand, which doesn't happen often. ;) I don't see the printed page going extinct any time soon, but I sure am a fan of e-readers.
The Kindle is on my wish list for Christmas. How much are they going for these days?
I like the features of the Nook over the Kindle. Kindle $299 at Amazon, pre-order price of the Nook at B and N, $249. But word has it that Apple is up next with a super dooper reader at Christmas and it might just be worth the wait.
Oops, the Nook is going for $259, sorry for my fat fingers. And the latest Kindle is also going for $259 at Amazon. Sorry for the mistake Mark.
I would literally do a back flip for a reader. At my age, that would be quite difficult. However, I have decided to wait until the market settles a little on all the startups. With this many company's offering them there is bound to be a price war of sorts before long.
As far as saving trees are concerned, what for? Wood pulp for paper is made of so called trash trees like a southern or soft maple. They grow like weeds, proliferate like rabbits and are basically worthless for anything but pulp. When I was a boy on the farm, I spent many hot disgusting day chopping their saplings out of fence rows. If left alone they would, in just a few years, overgrow the fence row and start to encroach onto the field. They grow about 14 feet per year. Long ago they were sold to unsuspecting home owners as a quick way to grow your own shade. True, they grow very quickly and they do provide shade...for a time. But when they are adult they won't support the weight of rain collected on their leaves. Limbs split off and fall through your roof. A lot of so called storm damage is caused by old soft maple trees falling into roadways, onto houses and cars, etc. They also have a very shallow root system and sometimes just fall over when the ground becomes saturated. To me, "saving" those trees is on a par with saving flies.
Forgive my lateness... always a day late and a donut short. :(
I tried to be a good girl and not check into the price of the Kindle since it was a birthday gift, but seeing as I had to go to Amazon to learn about it, there the price was, staring me in the face. LOL! So much for my good intentions. Of course Patricia is right, the latest Kindle is going for $259 (that's the one Hubby got me), and I am enjoying it a lot. What's on the Nook that you like Patricia? I haven't read a whole lot about it, just glanced through the ad that I recieved.
LeSpot, I had no idea those trees were like that. Isn't a lot of paper used these days "post-consumer" products? I mean, what with the whole world, it seems, going green. But I didn't know that about those particular trees.
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