With the ever-present push for new gadgets and evolution toward increasingly electronic-driven lifestyles, one of the latest trends to emerge on the scene is the Amazon Kindle. The Kindle (which until some time I was confusing with "kindling" and wondering why that was supposed to be a catchy branding move), as I understand it, is a device that allows you to download books and read them in digital format. One thing that's really a plus about this product is that it's environmentally friendly. No trees are sacrificed as you leaf through the pages on the Kindle's screen. At the same time, there's something so comforting and pleasing about the tangible feel of a paperback or hardcover book. Every person has a different relationship with his or her books, but I love the feel, the weight, of a book in my hands. I relish underlining passages that speak to me or seem memorable, or scrawling notes in the margin about ideas or themes as they come to me while reading. Can you fold down the corners of a page on a Kindle? Doubtful, although they'll probably come up with an application for that at some point.
There are many reasons to buy a Kindle. In the long run, it may even be cheaper than continuing to buy books in print-version. Will the paperback become obsolete someday? For nature's sake, that could be a good thing. For society? I'm not sure yet.
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