Books Jan 7, 2011 at 2:25 pm

Smells Like a Cliche

Paul Constant
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Comments

1
Don't worry, the new Kindle is including a little button you press to dispense that book smell. You can set the age, size, etc. of the book for intensity and aroma, and refills can be purchased at the grocery store checkout.
Avtar on January 7, 2011 at 2:33 PM Report this
2
Thanks, Paul. I was given a Kindle for Xmas, and while I find it useful and convenient in some ways, I don't see it having an impact on my "real" book consumption. In fact, now that I'm aware of what isn't available for Kindle, I will probably start buying more "real" books.

That's assuming that there are any brick & mortar bookstores left near my town in the next 12 months.
Soupytwist on January 7, 2011 at 2:38 PM Report this
3
Thank you, Paul. I also like to let the anti-e-book crowd know that I am perfectly pleased with my e-books; they are the ones with the fetish for fondling dead plant matter, not I.
Mike Smith on January 7, 2011 at 2:38 PM Report this
4
Most important for me & ebooks: ability to change type size and ability to carry hundreds of books on long flights to overseas reading destinations.
debradiblasi on January 7, 2011 at 2:42 PM Report this
5
i just put my kindle in a quart-sized ziploc bag and bathe as usual...
ironymaiden on January 7, 2011 at 2:46 PM Report this
6
Not unlike the vinyl fetishists in Audiophile.
smade on January 7, 2011 at 2:48 PM Report this
7
@5 Brilliant! I bet it would work in the hot tub, too.
Mike Smith on January 7, 2011 at 2:49 PM Report this
8
Nobody thinks they're a technophobe until something they love starts changing.

Also, who bathes with books? That shit'll steam the glue out of the binding and moisture-damage the pages. How fucking irresponsible are these self-described "bibliophiles," anyway?
balderdash on January 7, 2011 at 2:50 PM Report this
9
Hear, hear.
Gendun on January 7, 2011 at 2:54 PM Report this
10
You know what else smells good? The cold hard cash you'll save buying e-books.
w7ngman on January 7, 2011 at 3:06 PM Report this
11
May you nerds live happily ever after with your e-books. Meanwhile, when it comes to curling up in front of a roaring fire on a cold winter night, it'll be a book in my hands.
Fifty-Two-Eighty on January 7, 2011 at 3:08 PM Report this
12
I like to listen to music, so I like cassette tapes. I like opening them, ripping off the too-fragile, too-sticky security film. I like holding them in my hand, turning them over to see which side I want to play first. They have liner notes I can almost read. They smell nice, like fresh styrene.

CDs are OK, I guess. I mean, they come in a (styrene!) box and have (readable!) liner notes, although I miss being able to twirl the spools with a Bic pen and wind the tape over to the other spool.

But I don't like MP3s. They've got nothing going for them.
Except high quality music and ease of use. Stoopid MP3s...
BiCycleRider on January 7, 2011 at 3:08 PM Report this
13
I really like carrying around a couple hundred cds worth of music in my ipod, I don't read fast enough though for the need to have immediate access to a virtual book case. Am I missing something?
Chester Copperpot on January 7, 2011 at 3:10 PM Report this
14
I personally hate the idea of e-books, but whatever people like. I like the weight and yes, I LOVE the smeel of old books. It's probably my favorite smell, I could wander around Powell's for hours. That said, to each his own. I admit I'm a bit of a technophobe though and with technology replacing so many things like typewriters, casettes (I know they suck), letter writing (really, communication in general), etc. I'm just worried that books may get hard to find like vinyl. This is probably irrational, but human kind is always changing.
Roadflare on January 7, 2011 at 3:11 PM Report this
15
I'm annoyed that these idiots are reducing the value of books to ridiculous aesthetic fetishism. Books are superior technology, not just smell-emitters. Books are technologically superior to e-books in most ways; they are vastly superior for retrieval of complex information and for simple reading.

My Kindle's had a flat battery for three months now. In that time I've bought maybe thirty books.
Fnarf on January 7, 2011 at 3:27 PM Report this
16
Trees smell better than bound books.

Also, e-books are books. The "e-" prefix is not a nullifier.

Finally:

"A Rumi or Kahlil Gibran volume on your nightstand assures your relationships that you are, indeed, a deep and romantic thinker."


Relationships, plural? If that word is plural, one is almost certainly not reading Rumi. Dan Savage perhaps, but not Rumi.
warreno on January 7, 2011 at 3:27 PM Report this
17
@16, a Kahlil Gibran book on your nightstand indicates to your "relationships" that you are an insufferable boob. Best to keep that news hidden on your e-reader.

What the hell is this "Lit Drift" anyways? It's about as literary as an eleven-year-old girl's diary.
Fnarf on January 7, 2011 at 3:34 PM Report this
18
Shades of "If you don't like abortions, don't have one!". Don't worry, we're not coming to knock down your door and tear your books out of your clutching hands, jeez! These types are apparently feeling upset and threatened by this for some obscure personal emotional reason - which of course they have to immediately broadcast. I wonder how many men are upset by e-books? Although come to think of it, all the Kindle owners I know so far are women, and they love 'em.
MarkyMark on January 7, 2011 at 3:36 PM Report this
19
Well said, Paul. Perfect
Garfield on January 7, 2011 at 3:43 PM Report this
20
So many trees have died for Danielle Steel. Ought not this slaughter be stopped?
TVDinner on January 7, 2011 at 3:47 PM Report this
21
I read non-fiction science and science-fiction books so books for me are people-repellent. I should put the book sleeve of The Corrections or Wind Up Bird Chronicles over my Iain M Banks or Peter Ward so I can be a cool kid and have conversations.

Oh yeah. I should get a Kindle or whatever, but I'm afraid I'll lose it or it will get smashed. I'm thinking of a cliche about eggs and baskets or something.
Fish Wrench Asteroid on January 7, 2011 at 4:04 PM Report this
22
If your only reason for buying books is impressing your one-night stands and picking up strangers on the subway...
bigyaz on January 7, 2011 at 4:09 PM Report this
23
This just seems like another Mac vs. PC thing. It's personal preference. I read books in hard copy, on my Kindle, and on the various e-readers I have on my smartphone. I enjoy the experience of reading no matter which medium, some just make more sense than others for different reasons. When I'm curling up in bed to read, I love to do it with a physical book. When I'm on an airplane, I like to have multiple books at my disposal without weighing down my luggage so the Kindle wins When I'm out and about and I've got a few minutes to kill, I'll pull out my phone and read something on that. I'm not going to stop buying physical books any time soon, but I think that eBooks definitely have their place.
motomotoyama on January 7, 2011 at 4:24 PM Report this
24
5280, you are my hero
on January 7, 2011 at 4:26 PM Report this
25
@11 - Me too, 5280 - When I curl up in front of a roaring fire, I want an actual book in my hands, too.

But I must say, since I've lately been engrossed in a 700-page novel, the appeal of the Kindle has become apparent to me. It kills me to leave the book at home each day, but it would kill me harder if I tried lugging it around with me and reading it on my 90-minutes-each-way commute.

So yeah, confirmed bibliophile that I indeed am, even I am starting to warm to this newfangled "e-book" idea. :)
merry on January 7, 2011 at 4:37 PM Report this
26
You're a hipster douchebag. That's all anyone ever needs to know aboutcha. It would be obnoxious if you were talented.
on January 7, 2011 at 5:23 PM Report this
27
If the primary reason you read is to announce to the world who you are, and you are one of those readers who positions the book cover to be maximally visible to everyone near, a Kindle is useless to you.

But then, you also are a giant twat.
Free Lunch on January 7, 2011 at 5:58 PM Report this
28
As someone who routinely finishes every book I read in less than 2 days, and takes books everywhere, and re-reads everything, I have to say, I use my Kindle like an extension of my hand. However, I still purchase books, especially those with illustrations, and have a whole separate list of books that are not available on my Kindle that will be purchased. Plus being able to finish a book while lying in bed and immediately get a fresh new book from my list with a touch of a button is awesome.
divine_miss_em on January 7, 2011 at 6:08 PM Report this
29
@21

Oh, get over it. You live, presumably, in Seattle. No one here's gonna bat an eye at some Banks or some Wolfe or even some Heinlein, if that's your thing. Ditto for Feynman or Dawkins or Kaku.

Now, if you were reading the Left Behind crap... THAT'S people repellent.
balderdash on January 7, 2011 at 11:23 PM Report this
30
When I first started reading this piece, I thought I was gonna want to throw a book at you. But it makes sense. They are apples and oranges. Fine by me.
Sam S. on January 8, 2011 at 6:33 PM Report this
31
Why do I have to choose just one? They both have their place. I prefer paper books most of the time, just for sheer familiarity - and because that's still most of what I can get from the library - but I also enjoy having a few e-books handy for when I'm using public transportation, traveling, stuck in a dentist's office, whatever. I like them both.
Geni on January 10, 2011 at 5:50 PM Report this

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