Anyone who reads me regularly should probably know by now that I’m something of a luddite. I don’t trust technology, and I don’t invest heavily in it, which is a bit odd considering I make a living from IT. I should be the guy with all the gadgets, right?
Well, I’m not. One minor exception (and I’m still behind the times) is audiobooks. Since my commute take 30+ minutes each way, I find it’s a good time to fill my head with something more positive than endless news cycles or pop music. So I’ve been listening to books while I drive.
And then the unthinkable happened. My book broke.
Last Friday when I went to get in my car to go to work my mp3 player wouldn’t even turn on. It didn’t just give me a “low battery” warning (I have a USB charger in my car, so I could have gotten around that). It was dead. I checked it out some more when I got to work. It wouldn’t even register as a device on my computer when I plugged in the USB cable. It was a completely inert chunk of plastic and metal. And I was only about a third of the way into my latest book.
Vindication should feel better than this. I love physical books, and this is why. I’ve never once picked up a book and found it to be completely inoperable. Warped pages, yes, but never has the cover refused to open or the pages refuse to turn. It just doesn’t happen.
And so I’ve been unable to continue my book. I could have checked out a copy from the library this weekend, but that doesn’t help my commute. I tried using my other mp3 player, but it’s not Audible compatible. It refused to recognize the file type. There was no way I would be finishing this book unless I got a new, compatible player.
Interestingly enough, the book I’ve been listening to is “American Gods”. I wonder if someone is trying to tell me something.
This morning I came in to work, and there was my dead mp3 player sitting on my desk. It being dead, I didn’t even bother to take it home or attempt to secure it at all. On a whim I tried to turn it on again. Nothing. I whacked it against my palm and tried again. It turned on. It’s back. Evidently it just needed percussive maintenance.
Books should not require percussive maintenance. They should perhaps be a means of implementing percussive maintenance. I’m just sayin’.
” Warped pages, yes, but never has the cover refused to open or the pages refuse to turn. It just doesn’t happen. ”
I’ve actually had that experience. One of my old D&D books that I let sit in the wrong spot sealed itself. Never could get it to open again without tearing pages.
Sad. I’ve been having audio woes too, but I think I got them resolved. (I don’t listen to books, though. Just music. All. The. Time.)
Happy end <3