When we first moved abroad in 2001, I prepared for my new expat life with a book-buying frenzy. I raided used book stores and garage sales, and I discovered the U.S. Postal Service’s M Bags, a cost-efficient way of sending hundreds of books to our new home in Istanbul. (I don’t know if M Bags still exist, but I was thankful at the time.)
After four years, we moved to China, and our shipment included some books from that original shopping spree, as well as many new additions purchased during our summers in the States. For awhile, I had an amazon.com credit card that rewarded me with free shipping and store credit, further fueling my book acquisition habit (and leading to many late-night online impulse purchases).
The e-reader is the perfect gadget for someone like me who travels so much and moves to a new country every few years. How many times have we hit the road with a suitcase half full of novels (and then paid for overweight baggage)? How many times did I pack several extra books because I wasn’t sure what I’d be in the mood to read? How many times did I leave a book in the airport/plane/hotel and then have to buy another copy? Yet … would I be content to read books on a screen? I didn’t think so. And that’s why our shipment to Laos last year was, again, heavy with books (including, I’m embarrassed to admit, a few jetsetters from the Istanbul M Bag collection).
This summer, I gave e-readers some more thought. I sought advice on facebook. I searched the blogosphere for reviews. I agonized over the decision. Then amazon dropped the price of the Kindle, and it seemed like a sign from God.
When my new toy came in the mail, I immediately added my first novel – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – and read it straight through. I never ever missed holding a real book. In fact, I never noticed I WASN’T holding a real book. I was hooked! I soon discovered that amazon’s one-click purchase option for Kindle books was easily as addictive as browsing in a real bookstore. It worked like this: (a) make a list of book recommendations from friends, (b) look up one of the books on amazon.com, (c) read the plot synopsis and reviews, (d) click “purchase,” (e) look up the next book on the list, (f) repeat steps c-f ad infinitum.
On our trip back to Laos, I read voraciously. I even bought a few more books while sitting in the Chicago airport. And then disaster struck. About half-way through our grueling flight from Chicago to Tokyo and half-way through the fantasy/bodice-ripper Outlander, I clicked “next page” on my Kindle and the screen did this:
I restarted the device about 20 times and then nearly burst into tears at the idea of six more hours on the plane with no video-on-demand and nothing to read except United Airlines’ Hemispheres magazine. Once we arrived in Tokyo, I found free wifi and synced my MacBook with my Kindle account so I could continue reading Outlander on my computer screen. Not nearly as pleasant, but better than nothing for the flight to Bangkok.
Back in Vientiane, I crankily wrote an email to amazon.com. In a show of unparalleled customer service, amazon actually asked for MY phone number, and THEY called ME seconds later. No waiting on hold for 30 minutes! The representative asked a few questions, agreed with my diagnosis of a defective screen, and then promised to send a new Kindle ASAP. Hooray!
So the story has a happy ending. Despite my first Kindle’s sad demise, I don’t regret taking the e-reader plunge, and I look forward to a long and blissful relationship with my new one. Tony looks forward to lighter luggage.
does your kindle believe in reincarnation? what will it return to this earth as? does it need to be cremated or buried or is it donating its body to science?
And Outlander is not ALL bodice-ripping–they start to slow down a bit in Volume 4
also, George thinks your story sounds like that Twilight Zone where Henry Bemis finds himself alone with nothing but books in a post-apocalyptic world, but then he breaks his glasses.