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I'm With Andy Rooney
Remember when I wrote about e-Books? How I asked everyone which e-book I should get? How you told me what to get? (The Kindle) And how I ignored you? How I tried the Nook, and I hated it?
Well, check out this link that shows Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes. It’s just over a minute.
Turns out, I have something in common with the ole codger.
Who knew?
So what do you think? Could Rooney be reading my blog?
As you get older, what are you starting to get cranky and rigid about?
I really liked Andy. Always pointing out the absurdities of life. Not so much our individual eccentricities and how we believe this or that or convince ourselves of this or that despite all evidence to the contrary. He showed us the absurdities of daily living and how we comply and conform seemingly without a second thought. I always thought “Yeah, that’s right. How come Andy and I are the only one’s that know this?” His charm was that I felt it was always a “between me and him” thing and I suppose everyone who enjoyed him could feel that way too. He would like your blog because you often put that needle deep into the foolishness of people and situations as well.
Why are you talking about my beloved crank-pot in the past-tense. He is alive and kicking. 😉
It is funny though; people seem to either love him or hate him.
My husband thinks he is a complainer. I think he is hilarious. But I think most things are hilarious.
At this point I don’t have any e-reader and don’t have plans to get one either. I too love the whole book experience including holding it with two hands, thumbing through it and all else that goes with it. Maybe someday that will change but for now, I’m still loving the bound-paper experience.
As I get older, I find myself getting cranky at kids with loud stereos in their cars/trucks. Of course, I LOVE loud music, however, I hate the music shaking my house.
Those darn kids! 😉
I thought for sure you were going to go with “whippersnappers”.
Shortly after your piece on e-readers, NPR commentator Andrei Codrescu did a bit about how he disliked the “group highlights” feature on the Kindle. As an annotator yourself, what you think about it?
http://www.npr.org/2011/03/07/134342235/E-Book-Tarnishes-The-Reader-Book-Relationship
That would be, of course, “what DO you think about it?” (I suck without a comment preview, apparently. I wonder why that is?) Doh!
Oh KB:
It happens to the best of us. 😉
I’m with you all the way. I peeked at some Nooks the last time I was in B & N. Unimpressed. I will keep my thick, tattered and warm books. I usually agreed with Andy Rooney. (I have always thought it was because I was closer to his age than to yours!)
Yes! Yes! He must have read your blog. See what words can do!!!!!!!
As a bookstore owner, I am totally opposed to e-books: http://writerwoman61.wordpress.com/2010/08/13/a-dozen-things-you-cant-do-with-an-e-book/
Andy’s right about a lot of things!
Wendy
Wendy:
I LOVE your post! I, too, love the smell of books, love to bathe with books, and want to pass my cherished books down to beloved people who might (maybe) appreciate them. I have a few 1st editions that I treasure; I always say, they are like chocolates I won’t share. When I’m dead, I’ll share.
Maybe. 😉
Thanks, Renée! I rarely loan books either…the ones I have lent often don’t come back!
What do you think e-readers will do to bookstores and authors?
Many of the smaller bookstores have already gone out of business. I think all that’s left around here is B&N. Most people go through Amazon.com or other online sites even to buy hardcover and paperback books.
How do authors make a living when everyone is downloading the books free with the e-readers? It will also have a huge affect on print publishers.
I thought we were trying to create jobs in the US…
Well, I’m pretty sure the e-book business is booming. They make lots of gadgets which will all have to be replaced (like all electronic gadgets). But it is a problem for small bookshop owners.
Right, Wendy?
I don’t think it’s really impacted our business yet, because we specialize in old books…however, it’s only a matter of time before a lot of these books are digitized…
I like Andy Rooney. Even when he sounds ridiculous. I am a lover of books and haven’t made the leap to e-readers yet. When I do I will still own and read paper books as well. But I love how Rooney laughs at the thought of e-books outselling paperbacks. That’s not fiction! Fresh off a writer’s conference I am still sorting out all these trends, but everybody in charge of this business concedes that traditional publishing is over and must change or die.
It’s a little unclear as to how they determine their data, but it is my understanding that e-books are now beating out paperbacks in sales.
There really must be two camps out there though: those who love books – especially the old ones with yellowed pages – and are willing to pay for them because those folks love to snuggle, sniff, make marginal comments and absorb the experience of a book.
And then there are those who say, I like having the convenience of having 6,000 books in one clutter-free zone.
I don’t think books will ever really completely disappear, but I wish I had known this information when I was offered my book deal a few years ago. Getting a portion of money from e-books sounded pie-in-the-sky crazy. I didn’t know anyone who had a Kindle. And so I walked away from the table. (Of course, there were other reasons, too.)
But Andy always makes me smile. Especially when he is maddeningly wrong about something. It must be nice to be so sure about things.
Plus, I can generally get past anything and just enjoy his eyebrows. 😉