Kindling

Kindling

If you’ve ever read my column you know that Steve and I are not exactly on the cutting edge of any envelope. In fact we don’t even own an envelope. We’ve only had cable for a couple of years and neither one of us has ever twittered or tweeted or face-booked or i-phoned. I’ve only seen an i-pad from a hazy distance and wouldn’t recognize an app if it walked up and kissed me on the mouth. For a brief and shining moment I did own a GPS system but then ended up giving it to Mariel who needed it more than I did. So when I read about the first e-book readers I was surprised at the feeling that overwhelmed me—lust. I wanted one in the worst way.

I couldn’t figure it out. I’m a paper book lady. I love their feel, smell, color-- everything tactile about them. There was a time when we owned so many books that our entire house was filled with them. When the kids came along we even joined a kids’ book club, getting three books in the mail every month. Finally, with our shelves on the verge of collapsing, we came to our senses and turned to our favorite library instead.

A few months ago when I read about the headmaster who transformed his prep school library into a vast computerland I wanted to beat him senseless with an Oxford Dictionary (unabridged). How could someone reduce an entire literary world to a few machines? When I calmed down I realized that what I really wanted was a world where old and new could co-exist peacefully without having the new completely replace the old. Why does there always have to be an either-or? Can’t there be both? Am I being naive?

Still, I felt like Benedict Arnold and Judas wrapped into one as I longed for that e-reader. There was something so seductive about being able to carry around hundreds of books in a slim piece of plastic that was the ultimate shiny apple in the garden. However when I did a little research and saw the price tag I quickly decided that I no longer wanted it—much.

A few weeks ago I began my usual to-do list before heading off to Israel in July. When I wrote, “buy books” I stopped short. For over 30 years now, whenever I visited, I took enough books to keep me busy for three to four weeks. It was the only time that I would allow myself to head to the bookstore and buy tons of books. I never minded the expense because I always knew that I could leave them for mom to read when I left. But now I realized that I couldn’t leave the books, since mom was coming back with me. So not only would I have to spend my usual bucks and fill an entire suitcase full of heavy volumes, but I would have to drag them back as well. This made no sense.

Though the library in my mom’s town is beautiful it only carries Hebrew books. And because it’s not a tourist town, most of the books in the stores are in Hebrew as well. So somehow I had to figure out a way to bring enough reading material without having to drag it all back. That’s when it hit me—the Kindle. At first I thought it wouldn’t work internationally, but after some research I saw that Israel was part of their network and the reader could be used on their current as well. I could take as many books as I wanted and barely feel the heft of them on my shoulder. I couldn’t believe how excited I was.

So jumping up and down I placed an order, then counted the days till it came. Last week Shatz sent me an e-mail at work telling me it had arrived. When I got home I grabbed the package and ripped it open. And there it was--my own slim, white, plastic library sitting in a cardboard box with a note on the cover that said, “Once upon a time………”

I spent that night reading directions and downloading books. I decided to use it for the first time on the train to work the next morning. Idiot that I am I was actually almost too excited to go to sleep. I felt like a kid.

The next morning I waited impatiently at the platform for the train, then ran to a seat. I settled in, got out my glasses and took out my Kindle. Before opening it, I took a deep breath and opened my new toy. And there, written on the screen, was a touching little note telling me that I couldn’t read a thing because my book was out of juice---I needed to recharge the reader. So there I was, finally on the cusp, and no cigar. That would teach me to lust after technology.

But all’s well that ends well. It turned out that it was all my fault since I had inadvertently left the reader connected to the wireless overnight and that had caused the battery to run down. I have since recharged, and tried it out and it is wonderfully easy. So for at least one heady nano-second I will, for once, be a cool person with a piece of advanced technology. Unless I forget to recharge!