Barnes and Noble has a new e-reader. The Nook. It's beautiful. Full-color screen, wireless connection, holds over 1,500 ebooks, and it's smart. It knows when you walk into a Barnes and Noble store with it and automatically downloads book excerpts for you to read. Since e-readers have debuted on the market, I've debated whether or not I think they're a good thing and whether or not I want one. While I think it makes sense for some people, like those of us who work in publishing and tend to read a lot of manuscripts, I can't help but wonder, is this just a fad, some new obsession with what technology can offer that will only provide an additional way to read, or is this the future of reading. Does this mean the tactile experience of curling up with a good book will soon be no more? I don't think so.
At work, we read a lot of manuscripts, all printed on the same paper, in the same font, held together with the same binder clips. The experience is always the same for everyone: the stories all seem to run together. No one can fully retain a manuscript the way they can a finished book. It seems that having something concrete, printed, bound, with a great cover actually helps a person retain the story. I think it's because a printed book with a cover helps to differentiate a book from all the others. Without that image, there's no way to visually tell one book from another, and I think we need that association. Reading a manuscript is a lot like reading an ebook, and I wonder if this means consumers are buying ebooks, reading them, and then forgetting them. For this reason, I believe printed books will never go away. The tactile sensation of holding a book is not only comforting, but memorable.
Then I got to thinking. Is this just something that affects older generations? Those of us who grew up writing instead of typing. Even though I can type much faster than I can write, I've always preferred writing longhand to typing when it comes to something creative. For some reason my thoughts flow more easily through a pen than on a keyboard. But maybe that's only because that is how I was taught. We didn't have a computer until I was at least 9 and my first typing class was in 4th grade. But what about the new generation that learns to use a computer before they even step foot in school? My three-year old cousin could navigate his father's computer just as well as I could. Will our children's brains work differently than ours because they learn to type and read on-screen before they even learn to write? Will they retain ebooks or manuscripts better than we do? I guess we'll have to wait and see. If that's the case, I just hope printed books stay around. There's something about being in a library or bookstore and being surrounded by beautiful books with beautiful covers that could never be replicated with manuscripts or ebooks.
On a completely different topic, Kurt and I went to dinner last Friday night for a date. It was possibly the worst dinner we've ever had. The food wasn't bad. It was decent, actually. The rest of the experience, however, was lacking. We went to DiMattia's in Allentown. In my three years of living in this town, I've never been there. La Piazza just always seemed a better choice for some reason. Now I know WHY La Piazza seemed like a better choice. It IS the better choice. After sitting down at our table for about 5 minutes, with one menu for the two of us, our waitress came over and said "It's going to be awhile." No explanation, no apologies, nothing. We hadn't even ordered! It was the first thing she said to us. We asked if they were closing, she said, "No, he's just really backed up in there." The restaurant was practically empty. I ordered an iced tea and a cheeseburger, Kurt ordered a coke, caesar salad, and a chicken parm sub. Ten minutes later, we both got cokes. I decided to drink my coke and not say anything for fear I would never get my drink. Another ten minutes went by. Our waitress came back. They were out of hamburger. Three minutes later I got a menu to make another choice: a cheesesteak. What seemed like forever went by before Kurt got his caesar salad. Then, an hour and ten minutes after we sat down, we finally got our food. By that time, I was no longer hungry. Now, please understand that Kurt and I are VERY sympathetic when it comes to servers and restaurants. We've both worked in restaurants for years, so we're understanding and very patient. But this was ridiculous. Throughout this whole ordeal, we debated whether or not to leave without ever getting our food. We just laughed at ourselves for picking this place, and decided to stay, vowing that this would be our last time at DiMattia's. After eating half of our meals, we asked for the check and got out of there as fast as possible. With the time it took to get our food and the horrible service it really makes me wonder how this place stays in business, especially with a place like La Piazza 50 yards away.
On my nightstand:
I just started Pulitzer-prize winner, Olive Kitteridge. I'm not too far into it, but I love it already. As far as I can tell, it's just a story about a woman and the people in her life. The writing is fantastic. It draws you in. By the end of the first page, you're already fully invested in their lives. I can't wait to continue.
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