Right on Broadway across from NYU is a bookstore called Shakespeare and Co. I was a regular during my days at NYU because it was indie, conveniently located and because someone who worked there had a collage of actor Gael Garcia Bernal's clippings collaged behind the counter. The Shakespeare and Co. bookstore is a Paris original located just across the street from Notre Dame. It's one of those old cramped bookstores you can barely move in, it's crammed full of bottlenecks, books and Americans and I doubt there's a place in Paris that feels more New York than that space. I arrived to watch a couple older guys taking pictures of the store front and inside a younger guy was asking some basic how do I get around Paris questions - the kind you would, as a tourist only ask a fellow sympathetic compatriot - while Ingrid Michealson played in the background- can you get more New York, I mean really.
I don't think I have any girlfriends who don't relish an hour in a used/new bookstore. Now that I have a kindle, I buy less books in the flesh, but the experience of perusing is still as tactile and comforting. I love my kindle but there are two things I noticed that could be considered flaws- and perhaps I just haven't worked out how to manage them, but here we go, one it doesn't tell you page your on, it tells you what percentage of the book you've read but for book groups and whatnot when you want to refer to a particular passage I havent found a way to go straight to that page/passage- Im sure there might be a way, but it isn't entirely obvious as of yet. And two, every time I read a good book I want to share it with someone. I generally pass on books once and leave them to the new owner to hold on to them or pass them on, so I don't really mind if like the Barnes and Noble e-reader the nook, I was only able to pass it on once, but not being able to pass it on at all, is a bummer. There is also one more thing that bugs me about my kindle, being abroad I have to pay 1.99 more to download them- I could be wrong but that's just 2 more bucks in Amazon's pocket- it can't actually cost $2 more to send it France then to anywhere in the 50 states. I didn't get a kindle to save money on buying hardcover books, I bought it in order to get books in English while living abroad and because I was looking at a foreseeable future of nomadic life it sure did lighten my load. Overall, excellent buy for my lifestyle but I think Kindle is going to have to compete with the nook in allowing you to share your books with at least one other friend, and figure out a way to show how much you've read along with what page your reading...
When it comes to electronics I am not all that interested in e-devices that allow you to take photos, make phone calls access internet and listen to your music. I think that Kindle has got a market hold having been around for a while they are a step ahead at ironing out any kinks and troubleshooting consumer preferences but they have to streamline their product to consumers needs because anything Apple i whatever is going to rake in consumers because of brand loyalty and social stature- Apple is the Nike of electronics. I love my blackberry and would never switch to an IPhone because it meets the needs I want it to meet, but there are plenty of people out there who like flash.
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