A sign of age

My Kindle 2 was waiting for me when I arrived home late last night. I haven't done much more than set it up and browse a few pages of its instructions, but I can already see that it's an improvement over the original. It changes pages faster than the first one did--though still slower than I'd like--and it feels a bit sturdier than its predecessor. I find it annoying that Amazon made the case an accessory you have to buy, but whatever; I can deal with that. I expect to use this one more than the first.

As I was playing with it, however, I was also choosing the next book I was going to read. I am, as anyone who's looked at pictures of my office will know, always awash in books, and I love having them all around me. I was picking up and examining a few hardcovers, the Kindle on the desk in front of me, when it really struck me just how much more I like books, real books, the physical objects, than reading them on the Kindle--or any other device. The Kindle is a great travel aid and a nice way to save weight, so I recommend it to frequent travelers, but I can't help but feel that a book inside the Kindle just isn't as magically powerful as a book sitting on a shelf.

I expect this is a sign of my age, a generational issue that will one day fade into obscurity, but if I'm alive to see that day I expect to mark it in sadness--and to keep supporting whatever publishers, large or small, who produce actual books.