In Which I Offer To E-Sign Your E-Books

A book is lovely, lovelier when signed
By he or she who wrote it, but now we
Have ebooks, and for this they're much maligned:
They're hard to autograph, but now we see
(While waiting for Paul Cooley's MyWrite app)
That someone's tried to fix this problem, made
This program: Kindlegraphs. So give a clap,
Mayhap a cheer. As yet, though, I'm afraid
That only Twitter users can request
Inscriptions. Still, as things go, it's a start!
So now it's up to you: please be my guest
And ask for one on my book if your heart
Desires such. And meanwhile, watch this space
For news of paperbacks, anon, apace!

Kindle Sharing: Whoop-De-Freaking-Doo

Yippie, for if my Kindle did still live,
Soon I'd be able, if I chose, to lend
Ebooks to other users (but not give!).
That fond tradition, sharing with a friend
May yet survive, attenuated though
It is. But while my pal enjoys, I can't
(Supposedly, but pirates always go
For bait like this, don't they? But no, we shan't
Cry piracy when sharing what we've bought,
Unless we're cretins), not for fourteen days
Until the lending time is up. This ought
To please me, I suppose, but I just blaze
With great annoyance: artificial brakes
On natural behavior? More mistakes.

R.I.P. Kate's Kindle

Not unlike other tech doodads of yore,
My Kindle's fate is now quite D.O.A.
The gadget endured just a little more
Than covered by its warranty. I'll say:
I've used it hard and long and well, but think
That if or when it gets replaced I'll go
With something less restrictive, more in sync
With what I want from books and, as you know,
With what I most believe: that culture's meant
For sharing. Paperbacks and DVDs
Can easily be lent, donated, sent
To others. While I do like sparing trees,
Renewing them's not hard. Meanwhile I've got
My iPod with the Kindle app, eh wot?

In Which I Muse On A Gadget Study And Its Choice Of Test Material

Oh, what would Papa think, to be so used

As he was for this study of iPads

And Kindles verses paper books. Bemused,

I'd bet. Though I am sure that there are scads

Of writers who would be quite chuffed to learn

Their prose is "pleasant and engaging" yet

Not very difficult for dummies. Spurn

Ol' Hemingway I don't, but I would bet

I'd read a little faster were there stars

And aliens and spaceships in the place

Of something dull and literary, bars

And manly man crap. Give me outer space!

So many of us, forced to read him when

We were in school might sigh if asked again.

In Which I Say Meh To A Fruity New Gadget

An iPad is not something that I need;

I have a Kindle and an iPod touch.

Between them I've more books than I can read,

And that's not counting paper ones, as such.

Within the App store I've found much that's fun

But don't see where they need a bigger screen

That weighs near two pounds and won't fit in one

Of my ass pockets (really, that's my scene:

The Kindle makes my shoulder bag so light

Compared to five or six big paperbacks,

And now the iPod Touch does too, fits right

And takes up even less space!). But relax

I will not be a hater and reserve

The right to change my mind, indeed to swerve.

I Love Living In The Future...Most Of The Time

The batteries, they all need to be charged
On many of the things I use each day.
I won't complain; my life is much enlarged
By laptops, cell phones, and my Kindle. They
Have let me do my thing 'most anywhere.
But ne'er before was there a pefect storm
Of power loss as right now. It's not fair!
My work PC, I regret to inform,
Restricts my freedom while my laptop sleeps.
My phone at home, an cool old candlestick
Works all the time; my cellie not so much.
As for my Kindle, right now it's a brick.
It lasts a week on one charge but, as such,
One has to charge it sometimes. I'm so glad
I bought a back-up dead tree book. Not bad!

I've No Problem Loving Them Both!

My house's rooms are not full of perfumes,
(Though scented with the smell of antique books)
No longer are they dark and crammed like tombs,
But they are still library-like in looks.
And so they will remain, despite my choice
To buy a Kindle 2 and load it up.
In "dead tree" books I always will rejoice
And hoard them like a crazy miser. Yup,
I love them both, the Kindle and the old
Familiar kind of book, whose pages turn
And is a pleasure just to see and hold:
For that alone I know I'll never spurn
A real book, but I have to say it's great
That Kindle holds 1000, less the weight!

BONUS SONNET: Talk To Me, Kindle 2

I've never been an audiobook fan,
I hold no scorn for other folk who are.
I like to read, and do whene'er I can.
One thing alone can make me stop so far:
A migraine. When those come I rush to hide
In darkness near as I can make complete.
I've often thought t'would nice if at my side
Someone could read to me; it would be sweet,
As lying in the dark is awf'ly dull.
I'm not about to buy recordings for
This purpose. I just went through a great cull
Of paperbacks and CDs; want no more.
This Author's Guild nonsense is simply that.
What threat to them is Kindle's voice, so flat?