So I've been on vacation for the past couple of weeks. It's been draining to try to keep up with a good writing schedule while slamming down martini's in Chicago bars and shaking hands with Mickey Mouse in Orlando. Yet, during my travels, I made a fabulous observation -- about ten percent of the airport clientele were carrying their e-book device around with them, be it Kindle or iPad. So I started asking all about them. "Can you take them on the beach where it's bright and sunny?" "Can you see full-color illustrations if, say, I want to read my five year old a picture book?" "What if you accidentally drop it in the toilet?" (Hey, it could happen!) The responses were interesting and varied. A lot of people were telling me that they had just gotten their e-book device and were getting used to it. I understand editors and journalists can't live without it. But for the layperson, there's definitely a mental switch-over that needs to be made from holding a book with its chunky cover and crinkly pages and, let's face it, that awesome book smell to holding this cold, anesthetic, digital form. I get that one day children will laugh at the prospect of reading a paper book, but for right now, I want my kids to enjoy that sensory pleasure.
Still, intrigued by the whole digital publishing craze, I when I got home from being a jet-setter, I found this great article one of my friends in my critique group had sent me from The New Yorker, which shows the impact of e-books on the industry and compares iPad to Kindle. www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/04/26/100426fa_fact_auletta Interesting stuff and certainly reminds me that when I'm 80, I'll be saying those oft-uttered words, "When I was young,..."
If you've got one of these e-book dealies, tell me what you think of it. I'd rather get my info from friends than from strangers in the airport anyway! Glad to be home!
H