To Kindlize, or Not to Kindlize

That is the question.

Quite a few people I know already own Kindles, a good number of friends, my cousin, even my sister has one. Of the people I know who have one, I don't know a single person who has expressed regret in buying his or her Kindle. Evidently they are a handy tool. so I've been thinking about the possibility of buying one (since many of my friends have been prompting me, and telling me that I should), and seeing whether it would be worth the $160 or so that it would cost, assuming I got a case for it.

So, in order to make an accurate call I had to look at some of the advantages that are often mention of an eReader to see if it was worth it.

1. You can have hundreds of books with you and not have to lug them around.

I've never found that to be a problem. I've never needed hundreds of books with me when I am traveling. One, maybe two would suit me just fine, and take up no more space than a Kindle would.

2. You can buy and read a book in 60 seconds.

Again, never had a need to buy a book and then read it within that amount of time. Maybe for some that is an advantage, but I only see it as a cool, though non-vital feature.

3. You can change the text size for easier reading if your eyes are getting tired.

It will probably be 40 years before I really struggle with that. When my eyes do get tired, it's not because the text is too small, it's because my head is too heavy. =)

4. You can have the Kindle read to you with the "text-to-speech" option, if you get tired of reading.

I've listened to some of the "text-to-speech" and I can never get anything out of it because I am always too distracted by the way the words are being read. If I listen to an audio book, then it has to be a person reading it, and the reader has to be at least some what involved in the text, not just reading in a monotone voice, otherwise I don't get anything.

5. You can browse the web with some eReaders.

From what I have read it is very frustrating to navigate around the web with an eReader, and slower too. Besides, I have a laptop for that.

6. You can get most best sellers for $9.99, and other ebooks cheaper than paper books.

Cheaper is good, but according to my research this wasn't true. Not that you can't get ebooks cheaper than paperbacks, but that the books I needed were at most $1 cheaper for the ebook over the paperback, and sometimes up to $3 more expensive for the ebook vs. the paperback (and that is including the shipping).

It's not looking so good for the Kindle unfortunately. None of it's advertized advantages seem to be much of an advantage for my needs, and we haven't even covered the disadvantages yet. So, lets look as some of the things that I don't care for about eReaders.

1. Though Amazon has about 950,000 books for the Kindle, it doesn't necessarily have the ones I need. When the Kindle first came out I always thought of it as a toy for avid book fans who enjoy sitting by the fire, reading their fiction books. So, I thought that it wouldn't have any of the books I need, but my sister did show me that they actually have more of my books that I realized. So, I searched, all the books that I could think of that I had bought and read recently, or will be reading in the near future, to see how many they had, and how much money I would have saved if I had bought an ebook instead of the "real" thing. This is what I found.

Our Passionate Journey: Frazier	x
The Journey Continues: Frazier	x
What is a Healthy Church?: Dever	√ (three dollars more)
The Five Love Languages: Chapman	√ (one dollar cheaper)
Holding Hands, Holder Hearts: Phillips	√ (30¢ cheaper)
The Deliberate Church: Alexander	√  (two dollars more)
More than Spectators: Downey	x
Why Johnny Can't Preach: Gordon	√  (two dollars more)
Tell the Truth: Metzger	x
The Feasts of Israel: Scott	x
The Christian & Social Responsibility: Ryrie	x
Upright Down Time: Hand	x
Why Johnny Can't Read: Flesch	x
Boy Meets Girl: Harris	√  (one dollar cheaper)
The Trellis and the Vine: Marshall, Payne	x
Promise Unfulfilled: McCune	x
The Measure of a Man: Getz	√ (50¢ cheaper)

Of the 17 books I could think of, over half were not available, and I actually saved $4.20 by buying the "real" books as opposed to the ebooks.

2. I want to have a physical library of books. I want to be able to pull out a commentary of Job and lay it open on my desk. read some, then slide it to the side. Write some on my laptop, then look at my Bible, then open another commentary on that same passage. Compare the two commentaries. Open up my Hebrew Old Testament and examine a particular word. Sit back and muse for a while, then turn to my laptop again and type some more. Managing that with ebooks would be challenging, if not impossible.
3. I like holding a "real" book. I've handled my roommate's Kindle, I've messed around some with my sister's Kindle and I much prefer holding a real book in my hands. I like turning pages. I like holding the book open and looking at it from the top and seeing how far along I am. It's just not the same with an eReader.

Kindles and other eReaders do have their benefits for some people, indeed a good number of people, but after doing the research, it does not appear as though I am one of those people. Maybe someday if my needs change, but as for now, I'm going to stick to killing trees. ;-)

                                                                                                                           Still old fashion,

                                                                                                                                           Tim

Man of Many Homes

Do you know that feeling when you are driving back home from a long trip, or time away? When you start to recognize some of the road names, major intersections, land marks? You are returning to a place that is familiar to you, a place you call… home.

I know that feeling. I felt it last Saturday when I was driving back to Dade City to see my sister and aunt and uncle for the day. I was driving to their place and started recognizing some of the street names: 301, Fort King Road, Clinton Avenue. Recognizing some of the buildings and landmarks. Returning to a place that is familiar. A place I can call "home". Strange though, I've called my aunt and uncle's house "home" before, even though I've never actually "lived" there, only stayed there for breaks from school, Thanksgiving, Christmas, at the beginnings and ends of summer. I've stayed there many times for periods of a couple weeks, 4 weeks at the longest. But I have many memories from that place. Many hours out in the sheds, pulling papers. Times out in the front lawn playing catch, eating Thanksgiving dinner with my grand parents over and friends and family all having a great time, setting up Christmas decorations, jogging coupons, packing my bags to head off to Alaska. Without a doubt a place where I have made many memorable memories. A place where I know what I can do, what I can't do, what I should do, what I shouldn't do. A place that I am familiar with. A place I often refer to as my "home away from home", but easily a place worthy of being called home.

I haven't been able to visit my "real" home, the place where I grew up and my parents and younger siblings currently live, for a little over 3 years now. Yet, I still call it home. Being a missionary kid, with your parents in a different cotenant, it can be difficult to go back and visit on the weekends. =) One day I was looking on Google maps, and I zoomed in on my "home" there in Poland, and I saw the street names and started reminiscing about the days long ago, when I would ride my bike to school, when I first get onto Reymonta and the road is only dirt. Swerving back and forth to dodge all the big dips and holes in the road. I zoomed on the school that I went to, saw the athletic fields in the back, remembering those days at school, on that field when we would play soccer. Looking at the school gym, remembering how my brother and I used to ride our bikes there in the evenings when we were taking karate classes. Then I zoomed back on my house. Looked at the trees, remembered that one birch tree that I used to climb, but needed my rope to get me a boost up to the first branch. Looked over at the spot where we had the old tree house years ago. Looked at the yard, all green and grassy, remembering how my brother and I used to have to mow that whole thing with our one little push mower. Remembering how the whole yard used to be completely covered in nothing but sand before my parents planted grass. Looked at the hill, remembering the days when it would snow, and we kids would break out the sleds and slide down it. Looked at the trampoline and remember how my friend, Daniel (Polish kid), used to do front flips on that thing and tried to get me to do them too (though I never was successful). Looked at the roof of my house, and pictured the inside, the 2nd floor, the ground floor, and the basement. Picturing them in my mind as if I had a blueprint laid out in front of me. Very familiar with that house, that yard, that area. Definitely home to me.

Yet there are other places I call home. BJU is one of them. Yes, I have actually referred to my college as "home" before. Some people observe that as an oddity, but really, in the past 3 years that is where I have lived and spent most of my life, slept there, ate there, washed my clothes there, everything. Basically all of my friends are there at BJU as well (or used to be there, but have graduated already). I have many memories there such as getting lost in downtown Greenville on my bike, at night. Running in the turkey bowl every year, attending various Artist Series events, spending hours locked up in the library studying for my classes, shooting pictures for class, going on bible club extension every Friday evening since arriving on campus as a young, wide-eyed, energetic freshman, having crazy/hilarious conversations with roommates. So many things. So many memories, mostly favorable, though some not as much. Sometimes I wish I could go back and undo problems I caused, or others' emotions I damaged because of not realizing the extent of my actions. But other times I think back on an event and a smile emerges on my face, because of the many wonderful times with friends. BJ is also a place I am quite familiar with, a place I know, a place where I am comfortable being. A place I feel I can call home.

The fact of the matter is that a "home" is not just a building you live in. It's not just a physical structure that protects your body from the elements. It seems that a home is more than that. It is a place where you reside, yes, but also a place where you feel comfortable, a place you know well, a place you are familiar with, because you have spent the time required there to become familiar with it. Because of my situation, with going to college a great distance from my mother and father, yet still having family here in the US where I often stay, I have several different places where I can call home. I know I am not a unique case, and that there are others who have several places where they call home as well. Here I have mentioned 3 separate places that I call home, but there is a 4th that I haven't mentioned yet. That one is actually the most important of the group, because I won't live there for 2 years, or 5 years, or even 13 years. I will live there for an eternity, in a mansion none the less. Yes, that home is heaven.

The question is though, when I arrive at that home, will I be familiar with it? Of course I can't go currently and visit or anything like that, but will I have spent the time becoming familiar with it? Have I spent time getting to know the master of the house, his character? I should, because in reality that is my true home. We often get caught up with things happening in these homes, and neglect to spend time learning about our future home. However, we must remember that these homes here are just temporary, but that future home is our true home. For, this world is not my home, I'm just a passin' through. Never neglect your true home, because you are caught up too much with your current home. =)

Far from homeless,
Tim