Throwing the Book at the Doomsayers

Have you heard that the life of the printed book is rapidly coming to an end? What started with monks transcribing copy after copy of manuscripts, moved along with Guttenberg, and then mimeoed, Xeroxed, and photocopied itself into every home, is -- according to some -- on the way out. Well... Not out of my house!

I should explain. It all started earlier today with a series of emails from a networking group I'm in. People (graphic designers and writers and even some illustrators and book designers -- all people who kind of rely on books) were talking about the newest version of some gadget from Amazon.com. It's one of those thingys which allows you to download full books for really cheap rates, and then you read the book on the screen. They've got one, now, with a larger screen so it's easier to read while still being portable. But... uh-uh... I'm still not sold.

I admit it. I'm a book person. I spend enough time in front of pixels on a computer screen in the course of a day. When I relax with a good book, I want it to actually BE a book. I don't want to scroll through the pages. I want to turn them, flip them, maybe even -- don't tell the librarians -- dog-ear them. And I like my bookmarks to actually be physical placeholders. In the book I'm currently reading the bookmark is a postcard which I've been meaning to send to a friend of mine. She's going to love the card, and I'm sure she'll love that it was my bookmark, too. I just can't quite see myself loving an electronic tab.

So, in these days of the threatened beginning of the end of the printed word, I'm going to continue to walk into Barnes & Noble, wander around the stacks, and pick out my books. They'll be made of paper and glue. They'll smell good. They'll live next to my bed, or on a shelf, or maybe even go on vacation with me. And, if it comes down to dire need, they'll even help me squash a bug, balance a table, and stir up old memories. 

Show me one of those electronic book-like gadgets that can be dropped off the bed when I fall asleep, tossed in the sand at the beach, or tucked away in the freezer when the story gets too hard to read* and maybe... just maybe... I'll consider admitting that they're good for something.  Until then, I plan to keep my books... well... I guess that's the point: I plan to keep my books.

*Extra credit to the first five people who can identify what TV show that is a reference to. Not that the extra credit is good for anything, but... well... I like getting comments on my posts. :-)