Kindle is the Devil

A few friends, relatives and aquaintances have been singing the praises of Kindle. I will not be singing along. I don't care how many books can fit on it, or how light weight and portable it is or the fact that you can read in the dark. Here is why. Books have soul.

Have you ever purchased a used book and found a note, a receipt or something stuck in the middle that was maybe used as a bookmark and forgotten? It's like a little clue to the mystery of the previous owner. Have you read the inscription in a used book and wondered about the person that gave it and the person that received it?

There are books that I took on vacations, books that I read while nursing my baby, books that I wet with my tears and books that made me giggle out loud. I can look at them on my shelf and remember that. A file on a machine would not evoke those memories.

I love the weight of a book in my hands, the smell of the paper and ink, watching my progress as the bookmark moves through the pages. I even love the irritation of a dust jacket that won't stay in place. I enjoy the process of selecting two or three light weight books to take on a trip.

A book store is like a crack den for me. It's hard to go in without buying something, and once I'm there, I don't want to leave. Being there lifts my mood. I'll pick up book that I never would have considered reading just because the cover or title is eye catching. I can read two or three pages to see if it grabs me without committing to a purchase. If book stores go out of business because everyone is reading electronically, it will be a great loss to me.

I know, Kindle might be greener than paper books, but I do my part to recycle. I keep a few books and the rest are resold or given to the thrift store or donated to the library. I've read that paper production is not a cause of deforestation because of aggressive replanting.

So lets make a deal... I'll try not to sneer at your Kindle if you don't try to sell me on it.

Here's a leather bound, 1905 edition of The Works of Edgar Allen Poe, Vol. II, that I bought at a book sale near Rockport Massachusettes for $2. This book has so much soul, it nearly has a heartbeat. Or maybe it's just a "Tell-Tale Heart".

Don't Throw It Out

I just finished reading "Don't Throw It Out: Recycle, Renew and Reuse to Make Things Last" by Lori Baird and the Editors of Yankee Magazine. It was a fun and informative book, and organized in way that I loved. It had chapters for nearly every room in the house, along with Sports and Hobbies, Lawn and Garden, Home Workshop, and Cars and Trucks.

It gave ideas for new uses for old things like terracotta pots that were broken, old cutting boards, old tires and more. Under the Recreation Room chapter, there were sections on knitting, quilting, scrapbooking, general crafting and books... topics near and dear to my heart.

At the end of each chapter is a quiz, so you can check what you learned, but that felt too much like school to me, so I skipped them. At the end of the book, there are resources on where to buy recycled art, frames made from tires, hubcap creatures, items made from from old 45s and LPs and more. There is also a section on how to dispose of TVs, computers, tools, quilts, running shoes, etc.

I was using one of those irritating magazine subscription cards as a book mark (I try to find uses for those darn things), and I found myself ripping it in strips to marks sections that I wanted to make a note of later. One of my favorites was making fire starters out of old egg cartons, dryer lint and and candle wax. You know, I've been looking for other ways to use my dryer lint. I usually throw it out for the birds to make nests with, and I'm not sure they really appreciate it.

Another was using a product called PlastiDip to coat garden tool handles. It will give them a more comfortable grip, and it comes in bright colors so it will be easy to spot your tools outside. I don't believe in conspiracy theories, but it's certainly a sly marketing ploy to make garden tools in greens, browns and blacks. Once you put them down and walk away, you will never find them again. It's the Bermuda Triangle of gardening.

Check this book out of your local library, sit down with a cup of tea and a few magazine subscription cards cut into strips and find yourself in useful-tip-heaven.

What Do I Need (other than my head examined)?

I just cleaned off my bedside table, and gathered all the books I've read lately. I've got to find a permanent home for them on the bookshelves or move them out. I noticed the titles and remembered that I read once that you can tell what a person needs more of in their life by the books they read, ie. if you read romances, you need more romance; if you read thrillers, you need more adventure.

Hmmm, this can't be good. Here's what I've been reading lately.

Driving With Dead People by Monica Holloway - This is a riveting memoir of a girl whose father was fascinated by death. She drove a hearse for awhile after she got her license. I couldn't put this down.

Survival of the Sickest by Dr. Sharon Moalem - A medical maverick discovers why we need disease. Can a person rust to death? Who gets drunk faster - European or Asians? Why? I found lots of tidbits to use as cocktail party conversation - if I went to cocktail parties.

The Front by Patricia Cornwell - Don't bother! I don't know what happened, but she's not the author she used to be.

Waiting for Daisy by Peggy Orenstein - A woman's quest to become a mother while struggling with infertility. I could relate since I went through this too.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers - A humorous book talking about the science after death. The chapter on embalming is making me reconsider burial; cremation might be the more peaceful alternative.

The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood - A fictional tale of a woman who joins a knitting circle after the death of her only daughter. While learning how to knit, the other women share their stories of challenge and loss.

The Woman with the Worm in Her Head by Pamela Nagami, MD - I was expecting stories of unusual medical maladies, but instead she wrote of AIDS, staph infections and chicken pox. It made me wonder what little germs and bacteria were hiding inside of me that could strike me down at any time.

Comfort: A Journey Through Grief by Ann Hood - The Knitting Circle was so good I had to read her true life account of of dealing with the sudden death of her five year old daughter. Sad, but inspirational at the same time.

Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair by Laurie Perry - It's not in the photo because I borrowed it from the library. A laugh-out-loud, true-life story of a thirty-something woman dealing with her divorce. I liked so much that now read her blog (Crazy Aunt Purl) regularly. The book includes some fun knitting patterns, too.

I don't think I need more death, divorce or disease in my life, but that seems to be all I'm reading about lately. Perhaps a change of genre is in order. Read any good books lately?