Mad Hungry Mind

NYT: Unease About E-Books

In an article about the NY Book Expo, the NYT reports booksellers and publishers are worried about the future of the printed book in light of the popularity of e-Book readers such as the Kindle.

Now, I love my Kindle. Since getting it, I'm reading more than I ever did before. But have I stopped buying print-and-paper books? No! Since Kindle entered my life, I have bought the following:

• Three books about childbirth practices, from used booksellers
• Two anthologies of American Splendor
• A copy of Taking Care of Our Own, by Susan Garrett
• Several books about information marketing

And I have plans to purchase other books. What the worriers forget is that reading begets reading. The more we read, the more we read in all formats.

I'm a New Convert: Harvey Pekar/American Splendor

Perhaps you'll think I just crawled out of a cave, but I never heard of American Splendor until my friend convinced me to watch the film based on Harvey Pekar's life.  I loved it!

Now I'm reading some of the anthologies still in print.  I'm amazed at how deeply his stories of everyday life resonate.  His voice unifies the different styles of artwork in which American Splendor was illustrated.

I have a feeling I'll be more involved with comics/graphic novels from now on.

1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die....or, maybe not

Great review in the NYT about this book, which would tell us all what to read during the precious remaining years of our lives.

Nice to have a goal, but better if you set your own bar.

Eye Candy for Bookworms

Sylvia at Classical Bookworm has a saliva-inducing photo of Alberto Manguel's library on her blog. Take a look.

What is it about a room full of books that transports me to such ecstatic heights? I have enough books in my own home to be buried alive beneath them, yet still my eyes are drawn inevitably toward the next full shelf.

Here's my contribution to Bookworm's Eye Candy:

The Friends of the San Francisco Public Library Bookstore.

1001 Journals

One of my favorite books about creative journaling is 1000 Journals. For this project, an artist named Someguy mailed 1000 blank journals to friends and strangers and asked them to write/draw/create an entry, then mail the journal on to another friend or stranger. It was an elaborate chain-letter, I suppose, but without the bad-luck consequences. The book shows facsimile pages from some of the journals, some written, some elaborately drawn or collaged. It is an instant creative kick-in-the-pants for sluggards like me.

Now Tea With McNair has informed me that there will soon be 1001 blank journals circulating around the world. You can go to the 1001 journals site to sign up to participate in the new project.

Inspiration: The Strand Bookstore

What is it about a roomful of books that opens the mind to possibilities?
The Strand Bookstore, NYC--18 miles of books!

Why Kindle is a Good Thing:

Yesterday, during a six-hour return flight home, I read the following on my Kindle

• The last three chapters of a book about blogging.
• The first essay of Joan Didion's book, Political Fictions
• A quick-read detective novel by Robert B. Parker: Now and Then
• A couple of chapters in a marketing book
• Half a month of entries in Samuel Pepys's diary

Now, I ask you, could I have read such a range of material during a plane ride before the advent of the Kindle? Not without toting five books in my carry on. Ah, progress....

What's on YOUR Kindle?

This is silly, but it's a dream come true:

And that's only one screenful of titles...

Mad Hungry Love Affair: Amazon Kindle

My Kindle arrived yesterday, and because I had the day off I spent the latter half of it reading blissfully on my new toy. I haven't fully explored all of its features yet, but those I have I ADORE. This might be a mere infatuation, but I think it's love.

More steamy details to follow.

Kindle Hysteria?

I don't know how many of you have ordered a Kindle, but I finally gave in on 4/6/08 after weeks of reading about it and struggling with my own feelings about reading books in an electronic format.

You see, I love books. I love the heft and density of a good book. I love the way the edge of the pages get softer in a well-thumbed edition. I love the look of a pile of books, and I love photos of bookshelves, especially when located in a writer's study. I even love the disorder books bring into my life: the aforementioned piles, haphazard alphabetization, and even the clouds of dust they seem to attract (although I love this last a lot less than the others). Because I love the physicality of books, I have resisted the purchase of an eBook reader for a long time.

Ironically, the study of Shakespeare is what tipped me towards my purchase. The most compact edition of the Complete Works I have found weighs, oh, about 2.5 pounds and measures another four inches across the spine, making it fundamentally un-portable. I have been investigating ways of carrying the Bard around with me, so I can browse in the garden of his prose during odd moments at the hospital or in the middle of the night on call. I considered text files on a Palm and investigated CD ROMs of the Complete Works, but neither of these appealed to me.

Then I read about the Kindle and looked through the Kindle Store. There I found individual Shakespeare plays for $.99 apiece, and I was sold. I know the Kindle is expensive, but to carry the Complete Works around with me day and night, in a device weighing only 10.3 ounces? Priceless.

Now I know the gods are smiling upon my plan. Last night I received notice that my Kindle will ship between 4/22 and 4/29--within 2.5 weeks of my order. If you've been reading the Kindle forums, you'll know that some poor folks waited 6-8 weeks to get their Kindles, but I had the blind fool's luck to order just as Amazon was beginning to catch up on the backlog. I can't wait.