Friday, July 01, 2011

To 'e' or not to 'e'

I am conflicted about my kindle. I use it a lot these days but I don't truly feel good about it, except in a very superficial 'I am with it' kind of way. I love underlining and scribbling on the corners of my books. I know I can make notes on the kindle too, but it is not quite the same as seeing my handwriting on the page. Plus, I love the way books clutter up my home. It gives it personality and bookshelves make great decor pieces. And long term, I hate to think my favourite landmark bookstore will one day disappear to be replaced by faceless online ones.
And then here is a different kind of conflict. Amitav Ghosh's new book is out. But it wasn't as yet in my bookstore last week. I saw it on flipkart and now I'm in a moral bind. Should I take away my business from my favourite bookstore and give it to that new-fangled online one? Truly, to 'e' or not to. That is the question.

2 comments:

Radhe said...

This is my last bastion, not down yet. Have converted to amazon and flipkart though. Mostly because I have time to browse at leisure only at night. I also have this habit of ordering a bunch of books at the same time, so I get to be the kid in a candy store every couple of months! Its a marvellous feeling, opening a package of books, feeling them, deciding which one you are going to read first, and reading it knowing the others are ready and waiting, no lull in between...I recently read Cuckold, Atlas cloud and Remains of the day back to back, a month later and the memory of the experience is still fresh, a festival special bonus of feeling good.

small talk said...

hi. i ended up reading it on my kindle. somehow feel it's inevitable.
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