Ebook

So I have been reading a book that has just been released as an ebook by Open Road Media, by Sherman Wilkie. I just love the title, ‘The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven’. It is a collection of short stories about life on and around the Spokane Indian Reservation, and is a great read. I will be posting a review soon, but for now here is some information regarding the release, and the author, to whet your appetites. Well really, it is to get you frothing at the mouth in anticipation of the review, since I know how eager you all are to read my reviews.

First a little information about the author Sherman Alexie.

Sherman J. Alexie, Jr., was born in October 1966. A Spokane/Coeur d’Alene Indian, he grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, WA, about 50 miles northwest of Spokane, WA. Alexie has published 18 books to date.

Alexie is an award-winning and prolific author and occasional comedian. Much of his writing draws on his experiences as a modern Native American. Sherman’s best known works include The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, Smoke Signals, and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

An interesting video of the author

Now a few details about this ebook, which was released on Tuesday, October 15, 2013.

ebook, 242 pages
Published: October 15th 2013 by Open Road Media Iconic Ebooks (first published September 1st 1993)
Original title: The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
ISBN: 1480457248 (ISBN13: 9781480457249)
Literary awards: PEN/Hemingway Award: Best First Book of Fiction Citation Winner (1993)

Don’t forget to come back and check out the review, when it is posted. As if you would.

Okay. So I’m a convert. Not in any religious sense. No, I haven’t joined a cult. At least not any new ones. But I have made a momentous decision. One amongst many lately, as it happens. I have decided that I like being able to read ebooks on a mobile device. I haven’t yet invested in a kindle, but I do have the kindle app on my tablet. And here is the shocker. I love it. I love the freedom that it gives me to travel and still be able to take a library of books with me. I also love that it allows me to carry on getting the books that I want, at a time when I am trying to reduce the amount of stuff that I have to dispose of, or take care of, when I sell my house and move. I never thought I would enjoy reading on an ebook reader, but I do. Perhaps it is time for me to send out some more hypocrite cards, after my ereader bashing days.

That being said, this will never replace physical books in that special book place in my heart. There will always be something special for me about physical books. I like the look and feel of them so much. For me there is just something indescribably beautiful about a physical book, well, most of them at least. As I have discussed before, and shall refrain from boring you with in detail again, all of my senses get a kick out of physical books. Actual bricks and mortar bookstores will never, for me, be able to be replaced by buying an ebook, or even a physical book, online either. The experience of browsing in a small, dusty independent bookstore. Visiting that special bookstore with a loved one and reminiscing about pivotal moments in your life together, whilst conversing about books outside with a coffee. Smiling as you think about that store, years later, and what you got there. Memories are built in places like this. This could never be surpassed by purchasing a book online with the click of a mouse button.

So there you have it. After all this time I am a convert to ereaders, in their place of course, and the freedom that they provide. I am a hypocrite, and I don’t care who knows it. Deal with it. I have.