

Meo: Perkins, last week we said this week would be predictions. Maybe you didn’t, but I lied. I’m righteously indignant. I heard the book is dead, or dying, or someone took a hit out on it. I find this offensive. Defend your generation of hateful tech geeks.

Meo: Perkins, last week we said this week would be predictions. Maybe you didn’t, but I lied. I’m righteously indignant. I heard the book is dead, or dying, or someone took a hit out on it. I find this offensive. Defend your generation of hateful tech geeks.

Perkins: Funny you should mention books this week, considering I started reading one during the long weekend. I like to read and I read all day at work, but when it comes to leisure time, there are so many other things I would rather be doing. My New Year’s resolution is, in fact, to start reading more — for fun. Books are not dead and everyone and their mother seems to be writing them these days.

Meo: Truth be told, my dad got a Kindle for Christmas, which makes gift-giving so, so easy. I received three for-reals books and ordered two others. I have a wall in my house dedicated to the books I’ve read. There’s something enormously satisfying about finishing a book and placing it ever-so-reverentially on the shelf with its companions. And watching them all gather dust. My mom’s a great lady, but I doubt she’ll be self-publishing, which is a good thing. More people should take a lesson from her. Just because you can — thanks Internet — doesn’t mean you should.

Perkins: I can’t imagine books will disappear into thin air in 2010. The Kindle needs to drop its price and it will catch on like that little music player did. I’d give in. It’s convenient. Books take up a lot of space.

Meo: Imagine life without books. How would Ron Burgundy impress the ladies? “I have many leatherbound Kindles?” That’s silly. Besides, books are a culture. It’s not just some words that make sentences that make paragraphs that make chapters. There are reasons words are put where they’re put, written how they’re written. I don’t see how an e-reader can provide the same experience. Oh and message to nerds: When I want a “multimedia experience,” I’ll go looking for one. My books should be paper and ink. Nothing more. 
Perkins: I’ve got a few keepsake books. For example, “The Great Gatsby” is a one-of-a-kind. However, the days of prolific authors are disappearing. Remember James Frey? He messed it all up. Name an amazing 21st century Fitzgerald-esque author.


Meo: I choose Chuck Palahniuk. He wrote “Fight Club,” and a bunch of other books (many of which I’ve read. Hooray for me.) He appeals to my modern sensibilities. His topics are bizarre, his characters are mostly insane, but he spins one heckuva yarn. “Fight Club” is a particular favorite of mine. It’s a psychological and emotional exploration of the male psyche as much as it is a story about people punching each other and perpetrating acts of civil disobedience, i.e., punching more people ... And destroying public (and private!) property. So put that in your e-pipe and smoke it. I also like Terry Pratchett. He makes me giggle.


Perkins: You may have just sold a book or two. Anyway, being a professional author isn’t what it used to be. Back in the day, people such as Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, Herman Melville and Ernest Hemmingway had very little to     do besides be creative, write and probably drink. They weren’t distracted by TV, the Internet or video games. I’m all for reading — it is fundamental. However, I bet most people will argue they don’t have time to pick up a book or they would rather spend their money on an iPhone or a Kindle.


Emily Perkins is online editor at the Norwich Bulletin. Yes, she has a new gig. John Meo is design editor for the Norwich Bulletin. He’s a real page turner.
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