Thanksgiving is over and our thoughts have turned to gift-giving. Well, gift-receiving, to be more precise. Imaginary gifts. No way we'll be getting these. But this is what Steve wants for Christmas.
It's The Penguin Classics Library Complete Collection
It includes nineteen titles by Charles Dickens, 23 by John Steinbeck, 16 by Graham Greene, 20 by Henry James, and about a thousand more titles. It costs $7806.54 and gift-wrapping is not available for this item. I guess I'd better buy some more wrapping paper.
Here's what I want for Christmas.
It's the Kindle wireless ebook reader
It's a good bet that we won't be getting either of these gifts this year. But it's fun to think about.
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Comments
I've been eyeing the Kindle for a long time now, and am tantalized by hints of a color, improved Kindle to be released in early 2009. I'd sure like to actually try one, in the flesh so to speak, before buying one.
sanjuro, I have been trying to pin down some of those rumors, but no luck. I don't think color will be available in the foreseeable future. Right now, you can't even get an old-fashioned Kindle, since Amazon is sold out and has a tw0-three month waiting list.
Book sets do make wonderful gifts. Last year I received Gibbon's "Decline and Fall...", and it looks awfully nice on my bookshelf. And I even pick it up to read every now and then!
http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/penguin_sets/index.html
But first, this Christmas, in my imaginary stocking, I want the entire hard copy of the Oxford English Dictionary.
And the room to put it in.
However, I love the idea of the Kindle. When traveling solo, I love to read and read and read - but traveling light is impossible with even a few tour guides and paperbacks. I've been wishing for something like this for YEARS.
Of course, which the little ones I'm rather grounded at the moment, but this would be perfect for the person who travels only with carry on luggage as I always have. You just can't take more than you can carry yourself when you travel far from the beaten path.
odette -- Ooh, an OED, that would be very nice. But, like you, we have limited space. Would you consider a Compact OED? It has the full text in tiny type, with a magnifying glass included.
artsfish -- I know what you mean about seeing the advantages of both actual books and electronic books. Fortunately, there will be a long period of overlap in which we can enjoy both formats.
Padraig -- a humid climate is murder on books, but ants? A nightmare I had never considered. *shudder*
Ants ate away the insulation until the bare wires came in contact. Pffft! Booom!
on the other hand...the kindle would have been great for my grandma (all her books tended to smell like smoke)...and I imagine you can adjust the font size bigger which is good for eyes...
The only thing about the Kindle becoming popular that I can see as a drawback... is that we would have even fewer used books containing marginalia available for re-sale. What a loss! Still, it does have its advantages when it comes to saving space (says she who once -- actually, several times -- made a case for installing bookshelves in a car, a Volvo to be exact).
The Penguin collection does appear to be particularly appealing, even if the price is a bit daunting. Something to dream about...