Dear Mom -
I got my Kindle, finally. Ive downloaded about thirty free titles so far, most of them classic lit, but some offbeat books that looked interesting, too. And why not, when they're free? The Kindle is lightweight, easy to use, and while not everything I want is available, they do have a stated goal of 'everything'.
This got me musing - always dangerous - about the new technologies and what they do for us, not to mention what they say about us. The Kindle is about convenience - being able to cart hundreds, maybe thousands of books around on a slender device you can pop into your purse, saving space in your home, your luggage... remember how when I travelled more, my carry on bag was always full of books? Now I can travel light - and if I run out of things to read, a click will get me the next book in a minute or less!
Very nice. But, as one of my pet philosophies of life has it, everything is a trade off. You and I could never have gotten Middle Street off the ground today. It was hard enough, competing with the big chains, then the online vendors, now we'd be competing with eReaders as well. And I'd be a traitor! So society as a whole is starting to lose something precious in the name of convenience. It's called progress, and I'm not one for caves and outdoor plumbing, but I do know it comes at a price.
Ok, I've been sufficiently gloomy. Off to put together another Power Point, and then clean the study.
Love,
b
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