Amazon Kindle: Dusty Shelves Joins the Information Age

Dusty Shelves got a Kindle for Christmas!!! Yes, I know it's a little late to be posting about Christmas presents, but hey, it took a while to get used to it. As my screen name may imply, I do like the feel and experience of cracking a REAL book with pages and all. Being aware of and agonizing over pulp-related tree deaths, I am an avid used book shopper and am firmly convinced that when civilization comes to an end, all that will truly remain to entertain and sustain us will be the old-fashioned printed word. (I also write letters. Yeah I mean like REAL letters with a pen and everything. Despite my budding technophilia, I do like to stage my own gentle version of resistance to over-internetization.)

Not that I wasn't excited to receive the Kindle. Benies include 4G capability and electronic books without those pesky printing costs. This can add up to serious savings for the savvy bibliophile. Have you any idea how many books are in the public domain and thus available to download for FREE?? Neither do I, but it's more than a lot! Also, the unlighted display and large fonts available really do reduce eyestrain, and I would much rather buy books than new glasses. Oh, and if you really want to geek out, keep turning the Kindle on and off to see the screensaver displays. The one in the picture above is a favorite author of mine.

What I haven't figured out how to do on it yet is how to find particular passages in much-loved books that do not include tables of contents. Many of the books I have downloaded so far don't seem to have that feature, and the ``search'' function does not actually appear all that searchable or functional.

Some experimental features are available as well, including access to the internet. Not exactly what you'd call user-friendly yet, but it's nice to be able to pull out this slim little thing for a quick look at email. You know what would help, Amazon? A touch screen.

Great for travel too. It's lightweight, doesn't tear when stuffed in a carry-on, and can hold charge for many days. Just no reading for the user before your plane reaches 10,000 feet. Nevermind, though, that's what SkyMall is for. Anyone need a 7' statue of Anubis for $2,000? I didn't think so, but if I had a mansion with a three-story library, I might consider it. After, of course, a few choice first printings, and a special little nook for the Kindle.

So what do you guys think? Is the printed word on it's way out, and if so, where is it leading us as an information-dependent society? Already, newspapers are converting more and more of their printing expenses into making material available online. Leave comments, and don't forget to click the ``follow'' button if you like this blog! --->