C. J. Box, on the Hugh Hewitt Show, just mentioned that “You can’t autograph a Kindle.”
I’m kind of embarrassed to admit that that was an angle on electronic publishing that I hadn’t considered. I kind of like signing autographs. Makes me feel like a big shot. I suppose authors will have to come up with some kind of cards that they can sign, so fans can collect them like baseball cards.
Another complication that had occurred to me is that you can’t lend an electronic book. The great era of loaning books you love to your friends is going away, or at least enjoying increased mobility.
On the other hand, as poets have oft lamented, even the best of friends tend sometimes to not return beloved books.
And no, I’m not thinking of anyone specifically. Offhand, I can’t think of anyone who’s got a book of mine. (It helps to have very few friends.)
OK, there’s one, but that’s a relative, and no one expects much from relatives.
I made a radical decision today (by my personal, low, standards). I decided to attend a Viking reenactment event down in Missouri, in late April. A fellow I know (he’s commented on this blog once or twice) owns a farm down there where he’s building a Viking fort. There’s a hall and another building, and it’s an ongoing project. He holds a spring and a fall open event, where the authenticity standards are low enough for me to squeak in, and he’s asked me to come for a couple years. I even get to sell books.
I’ve never gone before, probably because I have a fixed idea in my head that Missouri is a long, long way away. I lived in Missouri (though somewhat further south) for a year long ago, and got kind of tired of the length of the drive back to Minnesota. But since I drove to Chicago last fall, and go to Minot every year, I really don’t have a good excuse for avoiding northeastern Missouri. All you’ve got to do is cross Iowa, and you’re pretty much there, if the boredom doesn’t kill you.
What I found interesting was the decision-making process. I hemmed and hawed, argued pros and cons, and generally dithered. Then it occurred to me to pray about it.
The moment I prayed, I felt the answer in my spirit—“Yes, you must go.”
Now as you know, I’m no great advocate of feelings-based decision-making. But this seemed (and I emphasized seemed) to be a genuine answer from God.
I shall watch how things work out now, to test whether my sensitivity to the Spirit is better or worse than I think.
