I know this picture has nothing to do with the story below, but I love Sarah Jane and time is flying by so fast (she's over four years old already!) and these earlier shots of her make me smile. Kinda gives me that warm, fuzzy feeling, you know?
It’s time to admit that I’m a gadget fanatic.
My dream house would have an office and a library in every room. There would be easy chairs, a big desk, plenty of lamps (including lighted bookshelves), and a fireplace. It would be nice to have hardwood floors with splashy throw rugs, but I’m not much into designer digs. I just want the rooms to be useful and comfortable.
Computers would be networked throughout the house; no more carrying work around on flash drives and disks. I could walk into any office and pick up where I left off. As it is now, I sit in front of one of my computers and wonder if this is the one that has the court news on it or the poodle birthday party.
Still, that’s a lot of expense to go through just to keep my head straight. It would be simple enough to write what I was working on last on a piece of paper next to each computer. And that, oddly enough, brings me to electronic book readers.
Ah, another gadget I thought I must have. Imagine! You can load a few hundred books onto each ebook reader and carry them (it) around without weighing yourself down. One such device is made to read in bright sunlight, some are designed to hold horizontally or vertically, whichever is most comfortable for the reader. I can’t get over having hundreds of books at my fingertips without having to lug them around.
Yet I can’t let go of the feel and smell of a real book. I simply love the whole idea of holding a book in my hands, turning the pages, placing the bookmark for later reading. If that makes me a tree killer, so be it. The ebook reader is one gadget I think I can do without.
Besides, I found out that you can download an ebook application from a Web site onto your computer. It’s free, and so are hundreds of books. The only catch is, you have to read the books on the computer and while that may work some of the time, it won’t work when you want to curl up in bed or in a chair and get lost in another time and place.
How many of you have one book next to your easy chair, another in the car and a third by your bedside? Add magazines and newspapers to your reading stash and you’re talking some serious multitasking, but those of us who love it wouldn’t have it any other way. There are lots of ways to recycle our used stuff now, so we needn’t feel terribly guilty about the poor ol’ trees.
There haven’t been too many times I’ve wanted to throw a book across the room when I got to an ending I didn’t care for, but think of the different result if one got seriously ticked off and threw their electronic gizmo at a far wall. Ebook readers are still a bit pricey, and they lack that warm, fuzzy feeling. Plus, I have to say there is one other thing that keeps me from forking over hard-earned money for such a gadget: What would happen if, after downloading dozens of books, your reader decided to up and quit on you? Gadgets do that, and most times without warning.
It’s taken me a while, but I’m learning to combine simple tools with electronic wonders. I love the way both worlds can work in harmony, giving me what I need with as little stress as possible. I’m all for that.
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