A Man and His Kindle

Yesterday morning, I picked up my Kindle--a weak-eyed man’s best friend--and read The New York Times.

The Book Review contained two fascinating pieces: a most favorable critique by Christopher Buckley of a first novel called The Imperfectionists, by Tom Rachman, about an English-language daily newspaper published in Rome--rather like an Italian version of the Paris-based International Herald Tribune.

I went to my Kindle’s menu, clicked on “Shop Kindle Store,” and in seconds a copy of The Imperfectionists was delivered to my home page. At first glance, it seems to be everything that Buckley enthused about--full of beautiful writing, jaded but memorable characters, and a rich feeling of the great city of Rome.

Also in the Book Review was a long piece about several recent works that look at who really wrote Shakespeare’s plays. Briefly mentioned was a 2007 book called A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare, by James Shapiro--a book I’ve meant to pick up ever since its publication. Once again, the Kindle Store had it whizzing to me.

Other recent downloads were the Edgar Award-winning, 2008 thriller by John Hart (who just won another Edgar last week for The Last Child--a great choice), and The Discovery of France: A Historical Geography, by Graham Robb, which includes these delicious quotes: “This was the puzzle of micro provinces that General de Gaulle had in mind when he asked, ‘How can one be expected to govern a country that has 246 different kinds of cheese?’” And: “On the Cote d’Azur in the hills behind Cannes and Saint-Tropez, wild people were said to descend into market towns wearing goatskins and speaking their own incomprehensible language ...”

OK, so yes, I’m addicted.