Caught with Packages

Sylvia often teases me about the number of packages I receive from Amazon and other online retailers. From my point of view she exaggerates, but she certainly caught me red-handed a couple of weeks ago. 

Muhammad Ali vs. Kal-El

Thanks to the generous gift of an Amazon gift card, I was able to purchase Amazon's well-regarded portable photo studio. I tested it for the first time today, somewhat carelessly, using my smartphone with no regard for the proper shutter speed, iso, etc. Even so, this action figure homage to Neil Leifer's "Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston" turned out okay. 

We Dropped it Off, Honest!

This is mildly interesting: a few days ago someone dropped off a package and emailed me a photo to prove they had indeed delivered it. I'm not sure if this is creepy or good customer service. 

E-Waterloo

A couple of weeks ago, I finally gave in an ordered an e-reader, which arrived on the Friday before Christmas. I resisted for many reasons, some of which still bother me:

• You don't own e-books, you licence them, which means you can't resell, loan, or give them away without breaking the terms of your licence
• They don't smell right (or at all)
• You can't fill shelves with them
• The reading experience is sterile
• How much electronic waste are millions of generations of e-readers going to generate over the next couple of decades? 

I finally gave in because something I feared eventually happened: some of my favourite authors are no longer publishing traditional books in the physical world. Unless I resort to piracy, I can't read their stuff. 

It was Lois McMaster Bujold who broke me. She's written several new books set in the same fantasy universe as The Curse of Chalion, The Hallowed Hunt, etc., and you can't buy print copies because they don't exist. 

Hence my surrender. To ease the pain, Sylvia bought me a very generous Amazon gift card, which I've used to fill my new Kindle with electronic books. 

I knew it would happen eventually; I just didn't expect it to be this soon. E-books, how does it feel now you've won the war? 

The Agony and the Ecstasy and the Missing Once Upon a Time

Oh, Amazon - cornucopia of delights -
How sweet to see your packages in my mailbox
How bitter the discovery
When boxes contain parts 2 and 3
And Part 1 will not arrive for another month
And yet I cannot forsake thee
My online addiction
My consumer heroin

Amazomg

Sylvia thinks I order too much stuff from Amazon. I usually counter by saying it looks like more than it is, since Amazon consistently splits up my orders into multiple deliveries. Unfortunately I drove Sylvia home today, so there was no hiding the evidence when we arrived home to find this...

LATE BREAKING UPDATE! My Amazon shipment included my friend Leslie's new book, The Complete Canadian Book Editor! I can't wait to delve into this; I know it'll be a great tool for real and aspiring editors.