My Books, My Nook (55)

I love to read a good novel. This summer, I relaxed on the beach with “The Last Van Gogh,” a book given to me by my friend, Bev. She also gave me a box filled with paperback mysteries of midwife adventures at the turn of the century. I will start those next. Thank you, Bev! I consider an actual printed book to be a good beach read since it is kind of hard to focus on the words of my Nook in the sun. Not that I am in the sun, exactly. I can usually be found under an umbrella. Still, there is sand to contend with and a dying charge that ends just as you get to the very best part. Thus the paper book makes sense. "The Last Van Gogh" entertained my beach days this summer and I savored the story, keeping it in my tote and reading it only on the shores of Ocean Grove.

I haven’t read a paper novel since last summer. How quickly this old retired mind adapts new habits, and they say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks! So here I started off my summer with a printed novel and to turn to a new page, I found my fingers swiping from right to left out of a well-ingrained tablet habit. And... wouldn't you know... I eventually looked up at the top of the book for the time. There is no digital clock on a printed book. God. But I did enjoy this paperback about my favorite artist. I even read every last word of the author notes and squinted at my phone to find the actual paintings the story was based on. If we can squeeze out enough sunny days to make our beach passes worth buying this year, I am ready to let the next real page turning adventure begin. Bring on those midwives!

Yesterday, I popped into Barnes and Nobles in search of a new cookbook. I do enjoy reading on my Nook, except for on the beach... or in the kitchen. People need to cook from a real cookbook. It takes time to search through the fridge for ingredients, to chop things as requested, or to let things slowly saute. And in the process of cooking, an iPad or an iPhone will go blank. Then the iPad or iPhone will get covered in food when you are ready for step #2 and have to turn it back on. The touch ID won't work with tomato sauce on your finger, never mind how dirty the entire screen gets by swiping and searching for the recipe again. An old-fashioned cookbook, on one of the many wooden cookbook stands I own, does the trick without being prissy and impatient. A printed cookbook would never shut its own cover because you made it wait! I love my Nook but there are reasons we should all still own a bookshelf, that handy and proud piece of furniture in everyone's home.

Barnes and Nobles used to have a section in their stores delegated to selling the Nook. The Nook was my choice when e-readers came into the market. I thought a Nook felt better in my hand and looked much nicer than a Kindle. Yesterday, the first thing I noticed when Zach and I entered the bookstore, was the missing display of Nooks. They still sell covers for e-readers we already own, but the Nooks are not a selling point for the company anymore. That worries me. I have an entire library on my B&N account of biographies, historical novels, romance novels, important health reads such as "How Not to Die", and yes, even some cookbooks. I can't imagine how money much I actually spent. I am such a voracious reader, that back in the day, my old collection of paper novels was turning into a fire hazard in my basement, my garage, and on my bookshelves. I was happy to start a new collection that took up very little space on my nightstand. But if my Nook goes the way of the 8 track tape and the Sony Walkman, what will happen to all of my books?

A printed novel may burn in a fire but it won't disappoint a reader with a dying charge. A printed novel may become historical in content if enough years pass by, but the printed word will not become a thing of the past. I should hope not. How will I ever cook dinner? A journal cover at Barnes and Nobles read, “When I was your age, Pluto was a planet.” Hah! When I was your age, Jeffrey Silver used to carry my heavy textbooks the five blocks to PS 209. No school bus, no backpack, no pants allowed for girls even on a cold winter's walk to school, and no need to remember a charging device for a tablet. As I get older I am becoming obsessed with obsolescence. A day at the beach will fix that.