Portland, OR Bookstore Will Take Your Kindle as Trade

The Microcosm zine and book store in Portland Oregon is offering to take unwanted Kindles in exchange for books.

Their offer is simple; if you received or bought a Kindle and have a real preference for books over the eReader, bring it in and they will trade you the value of the Kindle for like value in paper books and magazines. Consider bringing a friend to help haul your exchanges out because, as they state, "...most of the store's books are priced in the $2-$6 range so with a $139-$189 trade-in (note: going retail for the Kindle at Amazon's site) you might be carrying your books out in a fleet of wheelbarrows!"

As I explained to two of my friends on Facebook the other day, I read both "real" books, newspapers and magazines as well as eReader versions. I don't believe anyone could accuse me of not loving "real" books. If you come to my cabin you will find that my library overflows out of my office and onto bookshelves throughout the home. Hallways, stair landings, and bedrooms show ample evidence of my love for books made of paper.

On the other hand, the convenience of an eReader is hard to beat in a couple of categories. I can take multiple books with me when I travel, which works out well for someone who is typically reading at least 2 books (sometimes 3 or 4) and various magazines and newspapers at the same time. If there is a book I want to read and I am not near a bookstore, I can download an eBook version immediately and start reading; instant gratification (or information availability).

Last night I wanted to read the next book in a series I have been enjoying, but the paper version was not available. I found a .pdf version, converted it to my eReader format and now am enjoying the continuation of the series without interruption. I might have waited months for a paper version but can now enjoy the rest of the author's storyline immediately.

But if you, for whatever reasons, don't want your Kindle, then Microcosm zine and book store is waiting to give you a real deal and get you back into "real" books.

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Life The Week I Was Born

Google has digitized every issue of Life magazine and made each issue available for online viewing, all from the comfort of your computer. I thought it would be fun to look at the issue that hit the stands the week I was born.

I used to run an in-house advertising agency for a company that sold electronic equipment. By "run" I mean that, for the most part and excluding a short amount of time that I had an assistant, I wrote the copy, drew line art, composed and pasted up mechanicals for ads and catalog pages and oversaw the printing. So looking at the ads in this issue and seeing how wording, page composition and graphics have changed was a big part of my perusal pastime. In advertising, the goal is always to entice the viewer to buy the advertised product. But it is interesting to see how the manner in which that goal is reached has evolved over the years.

Life magazine was famous for its photography and this issue is full of photos. It was enjoyable to see a photo of a much younger Queen Elizabeth on page 33. The photo montage of customers trying out the new escalator in a bank in Chile and headlined "Scares from Moving Stairs" on page 67 reminded me that my late grandmother always refused to use escalators because she was convinced her foot would be caught and mangled in the moving steps. Finally, the "Vassar 40 Year Reunion" photo spread beginning on page 135 is like seeing little slices of time.

The cover of my birth week issue of Life shows the crew of the USS Constitution on her decks. It's an important moment in our country's history, to be sure, but when I was growing up my favorite issue of Life was the one dated March 11, 1966 with Adam West as Batman on the cover. I wish I still had the copy I talked my mom into buying for me, but it is long gone.

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