My 10 year old diva is in the process of downloading iBook on her new generation chic looking ipad 2. As a geek who collects gadgets as often as sexy lingerie, I am feeling a tad bit left behind by the fact that my kid owns something that is far more advanced than what I have and has nailed the process of buying Apps with her ‘BLING’ credit card with more savvy than what I am comfortable with.
Talking about iBooks – I am delighted about the fact that with this application, perhaps I wouldn’t have to weed through the 1000s of books that we have between our small family in the libraries that exist in every room of our villa and pad. But there is a bit of sadness that comes with it as I love the smell of books….love the fact that the libraries in our home make us feel like its our place and comfort zone. With digital books, this is likely to change as I can imagine that my daughter who reads close to 7 – 8 books a fortnight will now download her reading material on her swanky ipad2.
I felt the same way a few years ago when emails became the norm. Instead of getting a romantic poem from hubby every month on a nice smelling paper (all of which I still keep), I started getting them via email instead. It was just as nice but the emailed ones are sitting somewhere in a diskette or usb right now while the ones I received in hard copy is still among my personal stuff in a treasure chest. I guess it meant a lot because as women, we love being being serenaded and worshiped by getting meaningful stuff that comes from the heart and hand written poems and cards mean a lot more than getting material stuff which most men get away with these days. Thank god my daughter still gives me cards with cute messages, girly stickers and coloured hearts for every occasion…there’s hope yet!
I do feel sorry for the publishing industry though….statistics show that more and more people are turning towards digital technology and book sales don’t have the same edge anymore as they did before. On the positive side, more trees will be saved. While this is a good thing, I don’t ever see myself parting with my giant collection of Shakespeare in one edition or my Dante (not even my collection of over 200 Archie comics unless someone offers me a collectors price of a few million)….i think even my daughter would hit the roof if she had to part with her library of Roald Dahl, Lord of the Rings or for that matter, her Harry Potter books.
I guess I should get my young diva to teach me the joys and possibilities of iBook plus other cool stuff she has bought that has left my credit card smoking while I was on my USA adventure. Perhaps its time to buy Apple shares and start designing a digitised smart home that responds to my every need at the touch of a button on an Apple gadget. That certainly would make me feel more positive about reading my next book on an ipad.
Life on Water 