Greetings, my fellow port swillers!
As Ol’ Robbo made his way down to the office yesterday, it suddenly occurred to him that he was the only person on the Metro, as far as he could see, reading a genuine dead-tree book.** Everybody else had their noses stuck in their personal electronic devices.
It made me feel like an outright dinosaur.
I would assume that some given percentage of said devices were running e-books, but a glance around those in my immediate neighborhood took in only games, chat, and videos.
I mention all this not to sound like a thnob, but instead because the paperless phenomenon has never struck me so hard before. (Then again, I haven’t ridden the Metro consistently for years, so there’s likely been a gradual process while I wasn’t paying attention.)
I know I’ve said it here, perhaps many times, but I could never get comfortable with an e-book. I already get more screen time than I should. (My eyes are usually streaming by the end of the day.) And I just can’t stand the idea of being dependent on a bunch of electrons that can be lost, corrupted, deleted, edited, or taken away from me at a whim. (**Gives WordPress the side-eye**) Give me good, solid ink and tree pulp every time.
I’m just waiting for the day when some little kid on the train points at my book and says, “Mommy, what’s that?“
** P.G. Wodehouse, Money in the Bank. One of Plum’s best, in my humble opinion.
4 comments
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June 30, 2022 at 12:35 pm
Old Dominion Tory
A friend of mine swears by her Kindle as a handy means to read while on the daily commute into and out of DC.
June 30, 2022 at 1:22 pm
Robbo
I suppose one advantage is that nobody can tell what you’re reading just at a casual glance. I screen my commute booklist to avoid being set upon by the SJWs.
June 30, 2022 at 1:56 pm
Old Dominion Tory
I read somewhere that the advantage you point out has been a boon to the romance/erotica market. In the past, those who wanted to read such books would need to buy covers of some sort or would just read them at home in order to avoid possible public embarrassment. Now, that’s not a problem.
July 1, 2022 at 9:10 pm
sleepybeth
I swore for the longest time I’d never do ebooks. Now? I grumble when I have to read a paper book. I love my Kindle and hope to never have to do without it.