In preparation for this trip, I've been researching various electronic gadgets to make my life easier as I travel. Given that my current laptop has a broken optical drive, a dying power cord, and about 2-3 pounds more weight than I'd like to schlep across Europe, I've been considering a new, lighter and smaller laptop and leaving this one (which still runs beautifully) with my mother to use to call me on Skype. However, as you may know, I've also been doing a lot of reading and intend to continue building up my literary repertoire, and the weight of paper books add up quickly, so I've also given some thought to getting a Kindle or another of its ilk.
Mostly unrelated side note: Does anyone else find the name "Kindle" vaguely ominous? I mean, "kindle", as in "set fire to"? What exactly is Amazon suggesting we do to the books that the Kindle replaces, eh??
Now, as an (very) amateur bookbinder and general bibliophile, I dislike eBook readers on principle. Although this could be dismissed as a conservative and very human preference for the familiar if inconvenient over the new and improved, there's more to it than that. I get the same feeling reading on a Kindle (which I have tried before) that I feel when riding in a car without a seatbelt: it's the same basic idea, and you get to your end point at the same speed, but there's still a creeping and slightly panicky sensation of something very important missing.
Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I just got my new Rick Steves book a few days ago, and I've been furiously researching and underlining ever since. Fine, yes, eBook readers will allow highlighting and bookmarking as well, although the interface is a little irritating and considerably more awkward than just putting pen to paper. Digital readers also don't let you crack the spine and tear the book into sections like I intend to. Okay, fine, it wouldn't matter because that's a function of saving weight and space, and a Kindle will weigh the same whether you have six books or 274 in there. So what is it? There's still something missing.
The nearest I can get is that reading on a Kindle is not like reading a book. There's something very tactile and emotional about reading and using a book that eBook readers lack: the sound and feel of turning pages, the opening of a book to a bookmark, the pages falling open to a well-loved chapter, the (admittedly problematic for a traveler) heft and form. And I'm going to be a teacher, for heaven's sake; how would I loan an eBook to a student? How, if I were reading on a Kindle, would anyone know what I was reading and then be able to start a conversation? When I'm finished with the book, how do I trade it in for another on a hostel bookshelf or with another traveler? In short, what eBook readers gain in convenience and portability, they lose in serendipity.
Then, of course, there's the minor fact that buying a Kindle is basically like buying a (slightly) cheaper, limited-use, greyscale-only computer that looks and feels like an iPod that's lost a joust with a steamroller. And since I'm going to be buying a laptop and will need a lot of money for traveling in one of the most expensive countries in the world, that's not really too practical. It's also just a matter of time--and probably not much time at that--before there are full-color touch-screen versions that will have full internet capabilities, satnav, and the ability to tie your shoes for you as well. Furthermore, when I already have perfectly good paper copies of Huckleberry Finn and Murder on the Orient Express and Romeo and Juliet, it seems silly to spend $300 to buy a reader gadget so I can spend more money on digital copies of the exact same text.
So, despite the definite advantages in size, weight, and convenience, it's not worth the sacrifice in terms of money, serendipity, and joy. Although honestly, it's mostly about the money.
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