Friday, September 12, 2014

Surprise

I was apparently very surprised

I went for a walk with a very good friend of mine yesterday which was good fun.  We chatted and enjoyed each others company, but along the way he dropped a bit of a bombshell on me.

He was of the opinion that I will be using a lot of PDFs in my upcoming studies and that the best way to view these was a Kindle. Then he gave me one.

It was an act of such generosity that I was almost speechless. I have a deep affection for the printed page, but I have over time gathered together a considerable collection of PDF material.  These can be read on a screen, but having tried using the Kindle I am convinced that it is a far superior platform than a laptop for reading PDFs.

Of course, I betrayed every progressive and technological bone in my friends body as soon as I got home.  The first book I've started reading on it is "The Nameless Castle", a late 19th century adventure novel written by a man called the Hungarian Dumas. It was a book I had been meaning to read, but that I only had access to a digital copy.  I had made some attempts on my phone, but the Kindle is a far more pleasent experience.

I am still utterly flabbergasted by my friends generosity, which was as surprising as it was characteristic of the man.

In the meantime, I busy hunting around the intriguing possibilities this gift offers.




15 comments:

  1. He's a friend indeed... few ideas to get you going here:

    http://steve-the-wargamer.blogspot.sk/p/electronic-book-library.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. Friends are so very precious and yours sounds a peach and I am sure it's a two way street, maybe not in a the gift of possessions (but may well be) but time and friendship which are as precious

    Ian

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice present! I acquired a Kindle a couple of months ago (having previously had some use from the Kindle app on my iPad) and am much impressed. But I still but 'real' books too....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't think it will ever replace the printed word for me - but it is very handy. I just chucked a bundle of A. Hillard Atteridge on it.

      Delete
  4. A great fan of the printed word , I've surprised myself by purchasing a Kindle and actually enjoying the electronic media - very addictive and I was running out of space on my book shelves , Tony

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is that. I'm looking forward to getting the books off the stairs. There are a lot of book shelves in our future.

      Delete
  5. Hi CK,
    Check out Project Guttenburg for an absolute goldmine of treasures for your Kindle.

    "Things....Wonderful things...."

    All the best,

    DC

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have - there is an embarrassment of riches there.

      Delete
  6. Well, that's the last we'll hear from you for a while . . . . ;)

    FMB

    ReplyDelete
  7. It takes a little adjustment but eventually you come to realise that the thing that really matters is the written words in many cases, not the format. Like anything there are exceptions and as a confirmed bibliophile I will never abandon my books altogether but pulp novels, most gaming material and magazines much I prefer in digital format now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree - but I think its a case of different platforms for different jobs.

      Delete
  8. Amazon have a surprisingly huge amount of primary sources available for literally no money whatsoever if you dig through their history section and organise by price. More than I could ever read I think.

    ReplyDelete