pre-Kindle

I'm flirting with Amazon.com's new Kindle. I want one.
Ever desirous of reducing the amount of things that take up space, I picture disposing of a bookshelf full of books because they're all on my Kindle. I'm more pragmatic than romantic, so the notion of tossing bound literature in favor of yet another handheld electronic device doesn't bother me, especially when I consider that I may actually be more aware and consequently more literate of my books if I have easier (read: unhindered) access to them.

There are a couple features I really like about the Kindle. One is the note-taking capabilities. I just finished a lengthy period of reading my friend's copy of "Statecraft," where I couldn't mark it up as I'm prone, because it doesn't belong to me. The Kindle allows you to make notes, and then delete, edit, and compile them into an emailable document. This appeals to me because the things I underline in books always end up in electronic form anyway.

Another feature is even better. It's the dictionary. Usually when I encounter a word or name in a book, I'm disinclined to fetch my dictionary in the living room. With Statecraft especially, there are lots of names and terms I would've loved to look up in either Kindle's dictionary or by its access to Wikipedia.

When I was out with the flu for most of a week last month, I spent most of my time reading Statecraft, and at a couple points, I got a little tired of it. So I took a break from it and picked up my current read, "Legislating Morality." With the Kindle's repertoire of books, I can switch back and forth simply by pressing a few buttons.

I'm also eager to see the revolutionary technology that is the Kindle's digitized-ink paper simulation.

I checked Amazon's selection of Kindle-compatible "religion and spirituality" books, and they have 4,786. I couldn't find a couple of my books there, so I'll wait, especially since it is, after all, an unnecessary $400+ purchase.

Picture this, though: meeting a Muslim on the street and getting the opportunity to tell him about Christ's participatory promise of salvation. This stranger welcomes a dialogue on religion and you begin to discuss what the scriptures say. Which scriptures? Oh, the surahs I have right here on my electronic Qur'an (and hopefully, a digital version of Islamic scripture won't be an offense to him), and the verses in my e-NASB.

I don't really expect that scenario, but I just love the idea of referencing just about anything quickly and easily, especially when a passing thought remains exactly that when searching for a book and passage doesn't seem worth the effort.