Books

Reading is something else, an engagement of the imagination with life experience. It’s fad-resistant, precisely because human beings are hard-wired for story, and intrinsically curious. Reading is not about product...Yes, the act of reading takes some effort, unlike the passive act of using the products Jobs has created, which involves little more than directing eyeballs to a flat patch or putting a plug into the ear. -excerpted from "Book Lust" in Wednesday's NYT.

An interesting counterpoint to my last post, and in response to Steve Jobs' comment lamenting the death of reading as an American activity. The author presents much more positive statistics about the frequency and impact of the American reader.

Particularly intriguing for me as I debate the merits of purchasing a Kindle. Less time spent in the back corners of independent bookstores? Fewer bookshelves groaning under the weight of my collection? Lighter bag without 1-2 books inside at all times? the ability to take a vacation and not run out of reading material half-way through? all good things...

contrasted to the pure joy of cracking open a new book, smelling the pages, touching the paper, and sitting with a cup of tea on a weekend morning?

I'm not sold yet....