A new Facebook low: Amazon is compared to Hitler

One of my favorite authors, Jon Katz, released his first e-book last night called The Story of Rose: A Man and his Dog.
I will not be buying this book today, even though I'm always first in line to read everything that Jon writes. His stories of his struggles with depression and self-doubt, his books on dogs and farm life, have resonated with me in many ways. His take on love, grief, spirituality and redemption have uplifted me in very dark times.
So it is with a heavy and impatient heart that I give this book a pass, at least in the short term.
Some idiot must have been watching me in my side garden with my eyes glued to the Kindle this summer; he or she must have noticed that I'd left it on my patio table. It is gone, baby gone, and I am upset.
A Kindle is not an iPad. It has very little monetary value. It's only value is to the person who builds a cherished collection of favorite stories on it.
I'm betting my thief was probably not a reader, and, upon inspection, decided my Kindle was a piece of junk and tossed it somewhere, maybe even in the bushes down the street.
I am lost without my Kindle. I read my newspapers every day on it; I had a library of summer reading waiting for my attention. And now, I have nothing to read. In a few minutes, I will cancel my newspaper subscriptions and that will be that.
I'm not re-upping the paper product. I love my paperless existence, with no overflowing recycle boxes in the back shed. Even though I adore news photography, I don't miss it. I prefer instead to systermatically work my way through words written by dedicated journalists and columnists, and I am grateful for the lack of advertisements.
Just the news, ma'am. That was all I was after.
It was strange yesterday. I posted on Facebook about the loss of my Kindle and I actually received more than 40 hateful comments about Kindle and how it is somehow cheapening the printed word. I was regarded by some of these people as a turncoat. Worse, somehow, Hitler entered into the debate with one commentator mocking Amazon for calling its digital product "Kindle" when Hitler burned books.
I was really unsettled by these postings on my Facebook by people I've never met, people who don't know me for the reader and writer that I am. I love books. I always have; I love the feel of a fine onion skin page, I admire a quality act of binding on books that don't crack over long sessions, or don't fall apart if you accidentally leave them in the rain.
Just because I have embraced the potential of technology doesn't mean I will never buy a book again. I am a writer and a reader who was raised on thoughts captured on the pulp of ancient trees.
But Kindles and Kobos are opening up the world of reading, making it more accessible and attractive to young readers raised on the Internet, offering a product that allows people who have difficulty reading the fine print to enjoy the pleasure of the written page once again.
What troubles me about the Facebook comments is that these people seem more concerned with the medium than the message.
Who cares how the message is transmitted -- whether it is on newsprint or on fine paper?
As long as the tales are told and shared. That's all that matters.
Scott has a Kobo, the Canadian equivalent, which offers readers 100 of the world's classic books to read for free. How terrific is that?
Let's face it. The book business is in trouble. The price of a first edition is out of reach for a lot of folks who have to borrow a copy from the library instead.
Now, thanks to e-readers, owning a library of books is once more a possibility for those of us with little disposable income.
I wasn't lording it over the Facebook that I prefer Kindle. I was writing that I was robbed of a medium I cherished, a little piece of hardware that I will now have to scrimp and save to buy again.
The comments on my Facebook made me sad -- especially when Amazon, an innovator, was compared to Hitler.
It's still a free country last time I checked. So I'm free to get my reading material in a manner that makes sense to me, and my pocketbook
Word to the haters -- go stick your nose in a book and keep it out of my business.

What Bell isn't telling you about Fibe TV

Update: This week, we switched back to Rogers after spending far too long using Bell's crappy television service. For those with Bell, read and weep. For those considering Bell, think twice even if you hate Rogers. RS I've always been an early technology adapter. I had a Betamax. That tells you everything (if you're over 50 at least). My first computer was a "Portable". It weighed 40 pounds and I had to lug it around town on a gurney. I've been through probably 15 computers in my lifetime. Apple is the best. It's also too expensive so I have a piece of shit HP, the one I'm writing this blog on. I've had cable, internet and now Netflix. American Netflix . That's how far ahead of the curve I am. I get all the newspapers for free. How? I disabled my cookies so they can't track me when I'm on the newspaper sites. Even the New York Times hasn't cottoned on to that trick. Hahaha. That will be a fifty buck consulting fee. Bein...

Ashley Simpson: Please sign this petition to help her family

Those who read this space regularly know that my family is frantic with worry about my cousin, Ashley Simpson , who has been missing 40 days now. Both her boyfriend and her landlord reported that she had left with no money, no car, no resources from her Salmon Arm, B.C. home after a domestic dispute over money. Since then, there has been no trace of her. The RCMP now considers this a homicide investigation, but the family has not heard any updates from them in more than three weeks. Just after she disappeared, her father, relatives and friends set out from St. Catharines on a long trek to B.C. to find her. They all left their work, and their lives, intent on finding Ashley who had always kept in touch. It was completely out of character for her to lose touch. Her parents have been consumed by worry. They have been unable to work, and are having a hard time functioning. As a result, they are now relying on donations from family and friends to keep the wolf from the door...

The strange case of Greg Etue

I got out of the daily news reporting game, I'll admit, because I didn't have the stomach to cover the many sad stories that came across my desk. I remember clearly once when I had to call an RCMP sergeant after his young son blew his head off with the officer's service revolver. "Please," he pleaded. "I really can't talk right now." "It was your gun, is that correct?" He slammed down the receiver. I was ashamed of myself. People have a right to some privacy in difficult times like that. I also used to hate having to go to the door of a dead child's home and jostle the competition for a picture. Really, it felt more like ghoulism than journalism. That said, I still believe that these stories must be told in an honest and forthright fashion with all the facts and none of the flourish and emotion that is all the rage in reporting these days. Over the past two years, we, in this community, have been treated to a lot o...

Rose's Cantina

Search This Blog