Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 12:23pm | Edit Note | Delete
As I see it…
I closed the pages one more time on a book I’ve read at least a half of a dozen times over the years. To know me is to realize my respectful love affair with literary things that are Tozer’s. The book is, The Knowledge of the Holy. Each page, each sentence, is filled with astute thinking and God-honoring prose. I will probably revisit this book again in the near future. The question right now is, “In what form will the book be the next time I open it?” I read an article in this morning’s paper that reflects my current condition and dilemma. The article was reviewing the current phenomenon turned literary rage among those of us who are bookophiles (sorry, it’s a made up term, if you don’t understand it, don’t grieve over it). The current question is: will the book I will read in the future be printed paper or lit-up electronic digits? e-books are now a thing, a very real thing! You first must choose your instrument or reading preference: Kindle®, Ipad/ipod/iphone®, or other like constructed electronic media. My instrument of choice has led me to make my e-bed with the Apple® people. (My son told me that sooner or later I would come over to the “dark” side of computing; alas, it’s happened.) And now my conundrum, I have owned a library of printed books (yes the old fashioned kind, enough to make Gutenberg proud!) that has amassed to over 2,000 units. I have started to wean myself away from some of my woody friends. Saving a forest is not my motive; retirement and convenience is. Again, my conundrum: I love the smell of books; I love their feel; I love the sense of completion by turning the pages and ultimately shutting the book when finished. I will miss all of that, though not completely. What I mean is, most of the books in my current library will eventually be sold or given away. My wife will rejoice and somewhere in the darkness of a cold, blustery night, I will cry…softly, but still I will cry. But so much for melancholy, I have elected to move in the direction that those of Applessque and related electronic wizardry have concocted; I do it kicking and screaming, but I do it. Yes, I suppose the Holy Spirit can still bless the words of electronic writ. But somehow I have a hard time imagining the Apostle saying to Timothy as he wrapped up his ministry: “Please bring the ipad and my pc, but most importantly don’t forget the wifi modem.” I wonder, since I’m giving up the sound of pages being turned, will I ever hear a complete book make a sound as it’s downloaded into my Apple® thingy?
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