Books, Nooks, and Selling Out by Chris White

Well it happened.  Another one of my friends has gone over to the ‘dark side’ and by that I mean they bought a Kindle so they can read e-books to which I can only say a hearty “bah humbug!!”.  I knew these contraptions were here to stay when I was in the legendary Powell’s books of Portland a year ago and a street person (we used to call them winos when I was younger) was sitting in their coffee bar reading away on one.  I guess in one sense, a Kindle or Nook would be the first choice of a street person because they certainly don’t have a place to store books, but I do wonder with the retail price of one how long it would take to raise the money to buy one.  “Hey mister, can you spare some change for a Nook reader?”  It doesn’t sound plausible, but in today’s world anything is possible.  Even though people in my age bracket (50+) are literally tripping over each other to get an e-reader, if you are in your 70’s or 80’s you’re actually swarming (growth in this age bracket was over 179% last year).  Why are people giving up on the book, especially those of us who are old and unhip?  Some people tell me they like to have a whole collection of choices at their fingertips when they have time to read.  In my world that is called a bookcase, but granted some of the best reading moments in the day are waiting in a line or car and it makes no sense to have a stack of books with you.  Others have pointed out that their favorite time to read is on a plane and on vacation and this device makes certain that you don’t have to pack a ton of books in your suitcase to make sure you don’t run out of good material.  Okay, I’ll buy that one.  But I think I saw the real reason the other day when I was walking laps at our local mall: you can enlarge the print size to the point you don’t need to wear your glasses to read anymore.  I will concede it is a pain when no matter how far out you hold your book your eyes can no longer make out the print on the page and glasses are an absolute necessity not an option.  But that said, I just can’t turn my back on the whole book experience.  I love the feel and smell of a new book.  I love beautifully designed covers.  I love the tactile experience of feeling and turning pages.  On some of my more expensive volumes there is leather and stitched binding and gold leaf lettering that smells and looks beautiful and rich.  Then there is the weight in my hands and the sense of accomplishment of finishing a huge book and putting it back on the shelf.  What about the brick and mortar stores and the sheer pleasure of perusing books in a spare hour with a cup of Starbucks in hand?  I was in Barnes and Noble booksellers last night and there was an attendant inside selling and giving top-notch service to customers who wanted to buy their proprietary Nook reader.  I wanted to say to him, “Dude, don’t you know you are sawing off the branch you are sitting on?”  The next step is layoffs, and then the headline “Barnes and Noble Closes It’s Doors Forever”.  I guess I should be happy that there is still a reading culture in America at all, even if it is at the expense of the book culture.  I am all-in for technology that betters our lives, but in this case I remain quite skeptical.  What is being lost in the process of change is for me one of the greatest joys of reading.  Is anybody with me on this?!