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Bethanne Patrick

Tom Stoppard and the Bookcase of Desire

January 29, 2008

I covet Tom Stoppard's T. Anthony traveling bookcase.Call it the Anti-Kindle, but as Joe Wikert commented on my post yesterday, "Can't we have both?"

I think Sir Tom would agree. He says of his case that “It goes well beyond its function...There are all kinds of connections it brings with it. It’s like having something substantial which you don’t have to justify because it does have a use, but it’s also like bringing a bit of home with you.”

However, I think he also recognizes that circumstances sometimes dictate different choices. I met him a few years ago (believe me, he does not remember the encounter) at a London Book Fair demonstration of Margaret Atwood's The Long Pen. He was fascinated by the presentation and the device.

Stoppard says he loves his case because “If I am on a journey where I only have time to read one-and-a-half books, I never know which one-and-a-half I’ll feel like reading...So I bring eight.”

Maybe someone should give him a demonstration of a Kindle. He might decide the traveling bookcase would make a fabulous piece of decor.

Posted by Bethanne Patrick on January 29, 2008 | Comments (5)

January 29, 2008
In response to: Tom Stoppard and the Bookcase of Desire
robyn a commented:

maybe instead of him getting a kindle, he should mass produce that box. I LOVE IT! i think there are two types of readers - those who want the story and those who want the story AND the book (the dust cover, the pages, the ink, print, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera). i LOVE that box!

January 29, 2008
In response to: Tom Stoppard and the Bookcase of Desire
Julie commented:

Are you going to work the Kindle into every single blog entry from now on? I hope Amazon is paying you handsomely for all this shilling. As for me, I'm removing this blog from my bookmarks. I've got nothing against the Kindle, but I have a lot against having it shoved down my throat, like there's something wrong with both Tom Stoppard and me if we don't have one right this minute. I'd rather read blogs that talk about books, not blogs that talk about reading devices that store books.

January 29, 2008
In response to: Tom Stoppard and the Bookcase of Desire
Kevin A. Lewis commented:

Uh, Bethanne, apparently aside from attracting cyber-snipers, one of the Kindle's unintended side-effects seems to be concerned with asteroids-it's kinda hard to make out the fine print on the instruction booklet, but it sounds a bit ominous...

January 30, 2008
In response to: Tom Stoppard and the Bookcase of Desire
Bethanne commented:

Julie, I'm sorry you won't be reading any more -- especially since I plan plenty of future entries that have nothing to do with the Kindle. The reason my blog has the word "maven" in the title (one of its meanings is "freak," after all) is that I tend to get enthusiastic about things. My blog talks about reading experiences as well as books, and I know that while I hate to lose a reader, there are others who enjoy hearing about reading experiences, too.

January 30, 2008
In response to: Tom Stoppard and the Bookcase of Desire
Kevin A. Lewis commented:

Don't worry about it, Bethanne-some people just have no sense of humor and can't roll with a change of tempo...