i hope i’m overreacting.
this afternoon, sprawled on the couch, trying to ease the braxton-hicks contractions, i started flipping through the channels. and there was larger than life oprah (maybe this is why we need cable) telling the entire world that the amazon kindle was the most amazing gadget EVER.
the minute she uttered those words, i saw books dropping off shelves, wounded and fluttering to the ground with their pages shattered.
why this one woman has so much power to dictate american taste, i do not know. but i do know that i rarely agree with her. and today she has me absolutely seething. i wish she would stick to housewares or giving away cars or helping people find their better selves and leave books alone. i wish she didn’t have a book club. i wish she had never dealt nonfiction writers and their genre such a blow with her reaction to james frey. [not that frey wasn't incredibly naughty... but oprah bypassed an intelligent discussion on nonfiction's (especially memoir's) inherent problems, ignoring that most nonfiction writers have been dealing with and discussing "truth" since the genre's inception.]
trust me, i like trees as much as the next gal, but is that a reason to replace the very real, very tactile experience of book-reading with a screen?
i have this horrorific picture in my mind of little children holding the kindle on their lap and tapping through screens instead of holding in the night kitchen or caps for sale. agh!
reading is so essential. so vital. we don’t need to read and carry 4000 books at a time. just one book. one book that smells like a book. and hefts like a book. and let’s us leave notes in the margins and hot chocolate stains and memories along its pages. just one book at a time.
which reminds me, if you haven’t started how reading changed my life by anna quindlen for this month’s book club–start! it’s short (92 pages) and keeps discussing some of these very issues.
This definitely reminded me of our book club book. I’m one who wants to read while holding a real ‘live’ book and not a laptop too. Boo on Oprah!
call me stupid, i don’t even know what an amazon kindle is. granted, i’m so old school i check my books out at the library and don’t have email on my phone.
amen.
Some people just don’t understand. I love books. Not just for reading (though, I devour more than my fair share). I love the way books look, feel, smell. I buy certain copies of books just for the cover. I prefer old books because they’ve been around the block. They’re beautiful.
In my opinion, let the Oprah wannabes buy the Kindle. Maybe that will allow the rest of us to get the book we’re on the waiting list for at the library that much sooner. Our kids will be smarter and get the scholarships and jobs. And I’m sure we’ll live happier, longer lives and ultimately die reading a favorite book.
Not to be argumentative, but I don’t think this is a bad thing at all. There are certainly enough people out there that prefer to hold a book and turn the pages that books aren’t just going to go away. If something like the kindle gets people who don’t generally read to read when they are taking that commute on the subway, then good for them. Who cares? I don’t think it will change your life one hoot.
Jes, I agree! I don’t know necessarily if books will go away, but yea, Oprah should just stick to what she knows! I’m sorry it upset you, don’t be too stressed for your little girl! I hope your feeling well and that you find out where you’re moving too soon and that you’ll love it!
What is an Amazon kinddle? I was just thinking about you, so I thought I would leave a message to say Hi. I hope you have a very Happy Halloween!!!