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Please, Give Back Sara Nelson's Kindle!
January 15, 2008

Last week we had a bit of a tizzy here at Maven Manor, because I lost my flip phone just days before it was to be turned in for a brand-new CrackBerry. Woe was I as I shook out pockets, upended giant shoulder bags, and searched beneath the seats of my Mini, all in vain. Just as I'd settled into despair, Mr. Bethanne gave me the good news: my phone had been found buried deep within the sofa cushions.

Phew.

So I'm familiar with the kind of panic our own Sara Nelson must have felt last week when she lost her Kindle at LAX: "Suffice to say, mildly hysterical mayhem ensued—frantic digging through oversized handbag, lots of cursing and, finally, a desperate call to the airport's Lost and Found. (I got a recording telling me to describe the lost item; I'd get a call back only if they found it.)" 

So far, the device hasn't been returned, and here's what I'm wondering: Is the new "owner" planning on simply reading the books Nelson had already downloaded, or will he/she somehow hack into the Amazon proprietary technology and find a way to get new ones? After all, one of the big selling points of the Kindle is that it comes set up and ready to "roll;" if you buy it, you are set to buy reading material for it, too. While Nelson kindly thinks that her Kindle has found a "good, bookish home," I'm a little more skeptical. 

A real reader would send it back, knowing that anyone fortunate enough to have nabbed a Kindle would be missing it. "I missed my Kindle, its ease, its readability without glasses, its ability to provide me with books I never got around to buying in print—think Snow Flower and the Secret Fan—but was loving in the downloadable format." 

Now, Sara Nelson may be one of the few people whose supply of reading material I worry about less than my own, but I feel for anyone who is deprived of any reading material at all (I'm weak that way).


Posted by Bethanne Patrick on January 15, 2008 | Comments (4)


January 16, 2008
In response to: Please, Give Back Sara Nelson's Kindle!
Claire commented:

Though I'd like to think that Sara Nelson's Kindle has found a new "bookish" home -- LA folks are readers, believe me, I used to exhibit books for a small publisher at the LA Festival of Books, it was the most profitable show for us all year, much better than Miami. I think Los Angelenos need something to do when trapped in those god-awful traffic jams. But I fear that the Kindle has been thrown into a box with all the other goodies the airlines find every day and keep at Lost & Found. I too feel for Sara, I know what a raging maniac I become when I misplace a book.




January 17, 2008
In response to: Please, Give Back Sara Nelson's Kindle!
Tony Ritchie commented:

Wow. I thought I was generous in leaving galleys on planes for the next person to read. I think this falls into the Sunglasses category. Spend more than 20 dollars on sunglasses and you will loose them. The higher the price paid, the faster they disappear. I have a pair I bought for 10 pounds in London that are now three years old. Paperbacks are only a few bucks and they seem to be underfoot at all times. Maybe the Buddhist mentality applies. Perhaps the Kindle never really belonged to her. If Sara needs a new book to read, I will send her a good one. I am sorry for her loss.




January 21, 2008
In response to: Please, Give Back Sara Nelson's Kindle!
Bethanne commented:

Tony, I once managed to keep a relatively expensive Knirps umbrella for 15 years -- but I can't keep a pair of sunglasses, no matter how cheap! I think you should send Sara a Tony Ritchie Recommends stack.




January 24, 2008
In response to: Please, Give Back Sara Nelson's Kindle!
Laural Bidwell commented:

I left a pair of good sunglasses on a restaurant table for 3 minutes tops...and they were gone. I went rafting down a river with cheap sunglasses on..a wave hit and the sunglasses went flying into the river. 15 minutes later, another wave hit and the cheap glasses flew back into the raft. Go figure.





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