Since acquiring an e-reader last year, one of the great mysteries of life has been why e-books cost so stinking much money, since there’s no ink, no paper and no physical logistics to consider. I had my suspicions, of course, and now the Department of Justice has confirmed them: Apple and most of the […]
An old-school ghost story for Halloween
Judging by displays in big-box stores all over this great land, Halloween is just around the corner. The other day I was in Lowe’s and there was a life-size animatronic witch on display. The witch would periodically move one arm in a spastic way, then deliver an annoying cackle and some phrase that was […]
Here’s the booze; the bottle’s extra
I was about to make a few remarks regarding my Nook e-reader, but then Jeff Bezos announces all the new Kindles and renders my thoughts even more irrelevant than usual. I am beginning to hate gadgets of all kinds, simply because it’s impossible to be content with the device you have for more than […]
Hey, Steve. I’m back.
I used to love Stephen King’s books. But until getting Under the Dome on my Nook last week, I don’t think I’d read anything he’s written during the last 10 or 12 years — except for his excellent On Writing two or three years ago. It wasn’t a conscious decision to boycott his later […]
A late adopter acquires a Nook
I finally succumbed to the e-reader craze. As of about a week ago, I’m the proud owner of an All-New Nook. That’s actually what it’s called, presumably to distinguish it from the Nook Color and the Relatively Old Nook. So far, I’ve purchased and read one book on it, and sampled a couple more. […]
A trash bin in the palm of your hand
More than three years ago, I mocked Amazon’s Kindle in a manner that has become my trademark: with a smirking blog post that was not very timely, very funny or very smart. It’s the “not very smart” thing that’s bothering me now, because I can see from looking at my groaning and chaotic bookshelves […]
Is the Kindle right for you?
You’ve probably heard of Amazon’s Kindle. It’s like a book, only it costs $399 — just like every other electronic gadget now on the market. Notice how everything costs $399? When I was a boy, everything cost $1.98. Except for DC comics, which, at the beginning of my Superman period, would fetch anywhere from […]