And I just had a thought that made me laugh. I’m working on a paper for a conference, and I suddenly wondered “How do you cite the text in an e-book?” (Project Gutenberg, for instance, doesn’t keep paging of a specific edition.) Although I’m sure that somewhere in the MLA manual there are guidelines for e-texts.

Okay… so my brain is in scholar mode. The up-side is that one of the subjects for the paper is Babylon 5, so I can pretend that my watching for enjoyment is for purposes of the paper. Ooops, I meant vice versa.

But it’s looking more that I might get myself an iPad later this summer (after a number of other pending purchases).

I had no intention of buying one. It just looked like a bit of excess status symbol machinery to me. But now that I have it, I am sold.

I also didn’t like having to sign up for yet another provider service. But seriously, the money I won’t be spending on books will more than make up for it.

I know that a significant portion of publisher income is derived from reissues of classics. I am curious what effect free digital books will have on that market.

Not like I am going to weep for anyone in that food chain, but I know a few illustrators who made some decent bank doing illos for classic reissues.

For my part, I won’t be buying another paperback classic.

Fine binding, top quality illustration: yes.

Anything else: no.

I look at all the crap editions of classics in my library, and think, yeah, that’s some dough I won’t be spending anymore. I can use that money to support new creators.

But I am dying to know what effect this has on publishers of classics.

If any.

There’s no reason for me to keep my cheap paperback library of Edith Wharton.

The IPad is very light. The screen is clear and easy to read. You can turn it and see vertical or horizontal, so boffo for those double-page spreads. It’s about the size of a magazine. Smaller than the September issue of Vogue, that’s for sure.

Also, it doesn’t get hot like my laptop.

IPad still doesn’t beat a beautiful edition of a book. But most books aren’t in beautiful editions. I’d just as soon have a readable copy that doesn’t take up space.

The IPad has cleared an entire bookcase. I’m keeping my recent translations of classics like Marcus Aurelius, because public domain translations are old and ponderous. But my Shakespeare and my 1001 Nights are gone. Good riddance to some bad illustrations, too.

It’s nice to be able to find obscure novels by Wharton, William Morris, and some fun old King Arthur volumes available on IPad. Hard copies of some of those books are a pain to find in good editions.

But I’m happy you’re enjoying your prezzy, Colleen. I have been hearing good things about the iPad.