Musings of a potential NOOK user

To avoid grade detention and other penalties, 
return all library materials by June 10

It was that sign, proclaiming words to this effect, that reminded me why I was returning the school library books this week.  From my backpack, I took the four paperbacks, all crisply laminated, and dropped them through the book return.  However Gothically menacing the technicolor sign might appear, there was still a sense of reluctance hovering round in my mind. I hadn't finished The Mirror of the Sea & A Personal Record (Conrad); and it was jolly inconvenient because now, the beginning of summer vacation, would have been the perfect time to finish it.

Well, no worries...I'll check the local public libraries.



So I go home.  I run a library search.

So much for that.  It only takes a few seconds for me to find out that neither of the libraries have The Mirror of the Sea.

Well, I'll check the bookstore.  It's worth buying, anyhow.

Barnes & Noble search.   

That edition looks nice.  Oh, never mind, it's NOOK.  And there's another one.  Ah, here's a paperback...wait, it's *how much*  for such a short book?!


The book's in the public domain and only 136 pages...$10+ sounds a bit steep.  So I decide to do the only practical thing, and that is to wait until I get back to the school library (whenever that will be) to finish The Mirror of the Sea.

That's too bad.

Time for new reading material.  But all of my own books I've either read or am not ready to read yet (let's face it, Frankenstein doesn't sound like a summertime read).  So I head over to Wikisource (new friend of mine) and find a delightful, nonfiction book: Through the Magic Door, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  I read a couple of chapters, all the while thinking:

Love the way Doyle writes.  He really loved books, didn't he?  I'm so glad this book is online.  *Scrolls down*  Trouble is, it's too easy to lose your place on the page.  And computer screens bother my eyes..they're gonna get pretty dry after a while.  And I'd rather be sitting in my room.  *Scrolls, scrolls, scrolls*  This scrolling-down is getting old.  And it'll be bedtime soon.  Once I turn off the laptop, there goes the book. That's too bad...


This whole sequence of events, as well as memories of similar experiences, led me to my conclusion this morning--which is that owning a B&N NOOK may not be such a bad thing.  And, lest anyone suspects me of plotting treachery against printed books, allow me to explain myself more clearly.

I'm an old-fashioned girl, when it comes to electronics.  My mp3 player (which I have no intention of replacing) is a few years old, is one of the penultimate versions of the Sony Walkman, and holds a grand total of 4 GB.  My beloved laptop, "Hastings", is also some years old and rather slow.  I still own plenty of CD's, and I use iTunes sparingly.  Such is the basic extent of my collection of gadgets.

I'm also a longtime lover of books and libraries.  I love old editions of books, I love the scent of paperbacks, and I love the old libraries with high bookshelves, where the book you want is either at the very bottom or very near the top.  I will go into bookstores, with little expectation of finding the book I'm looking for; but still, I'll inwardly "ooh and aah" over the magnificent display of literature on the walls.  I'll inwardly shriek when I hear of someone highlighting or underlining in their books; I'll inwardly weep when I accidentally bend pages; I'll inwardly *facepalm* if someone dares to touch my books with licked fingers (icky icky icky!!!).  In short, printed books are muy importante to me.

But there is a third factor--one which puts e-readers in a positive light--and that is obscure classic literature.  Particularly in recent years, my reading list has included more and more lesser-known books, or books that are special in some way (i.e. the Gummere translation of Beowulf).  Alas, obscure lit (as aforementioned) is terribly difficult to find in printed form.  Even if you do find it, it's far from what I'd call affordable.  However, find it in e-book form and it's either free (at Project Gutenberg, for example) or only a few dollars. Suddenly, a seemingly sinister gadget now appears to me (the obscure-classic-lit geek) a highly practical, ultimately frugal way to read more books.  Especially since 95% of what I read is in the public domain, anyway.

So I just might, might be getting an e-reader. *jaw-drop* 

Would I stop buying paperbacks?  By no means.  For more mainstream lit, I'd still buy lovely new paperbacks and bring them along on vacation (because frankly, pages and 'book perfume' are still way cooler than touch screens).  The only difference is, I'd be carrying my NOOK--aka The Mirror of the Sea and other unknown books--along with them.  Call it weird, if you like...I suppose it might seem so.  ;)  But to me, it'd be "the best of both worlds"; and I'd gladly add an e-reader to the bookshelf, if it allowed me to read more classic lit.