I read a PBook by Cormac McCarthy
My daughter is in from San Francisco for Thanksgiving and she brought “The Road by Cormac McCarthy and insisted I read it before she leaves on Monday. Well, the book was a paper one and so I embarked on the task.
The reason I mention this is that I’ve just spent quite a while reading books solely on the Sony Reader, so reading The Road was an abrupt change and so makes for an easy contrast. I noticed the following things:
I didn’t mind the contrast difference between the pbook and the Sony Reader screen - this surprised me because the pbook has so much better contrast
The Sony Reader was lighter, thinner and easier to hold. The Road comes in at a mere 287 pages and is not a heavyweight at all, but the Sony was more pleasant to use for long periods.
It fatigued my hands to hold the pbook’s pages apart, i.e., bending the spine. This was noticeable since I read the whole book in one session. The Sony Reader would have been much more comfortable.
I had to keep a real bookmark in the book, which was a pain.
Turning pages took about the same amount of time as the “flash” when I turn a page on the Sony Reader.
Overall, I think I would have preferred to read this book on my Sony Reader, rather than paper form. I definitely would not have felt this way if I were reading the book on my Palm TX or Nokia 770 or 800.
By the way, heres an excerpt of the NY Times review of The Road: In “The Road†a boy and his father lurch across the cold, wretched, wet, corpse-strewn, ashen landscape of a post-apocalyptic world. The imagery is brutal even by Cormac McCarthy’s high standards for despair. This parable is also trenchant and terrifying, written with stripped-down urgency and fueled by the force of a universal nightmare. “The Road†would be pure misery if not for its stunning, savage beauty.
I have to add that in my 60-odd years of reading I have rarely, if ever, come across such a compelling vision. I cannot overemphasize how moving this book is, and how the writing style and the mood are so completely intertwined. Mission accomplished, my daughter can take the book back home with her (however I will buy a hardcover version for my permanent library - but that’s another topic).
Technorati Tags: Cormac McCarthy , The Road
Hardcover copy?! After touting the Reader? It’s not in e form yet?
Funny you have just read a post-armageddon novel. I’m just reading Earth Abides:
http://www.grasslimb.com/sallis/GlobeColumns/globe.06.earth.html
(I haven’t read that article myself yet in case it contains spoilers. YMMV.)
Doesn’t seem to be available as an ebook, but Fictionwise has it as a radio broadcast in MP3 form:
Based on George R. Stewart’s fascinating 1949 novel, Earth Abides, this radio drama was originally broadcast as part of the weekly Escape Radio Series in two segments on November 5th and 12th, 1950. Listen as Isherwood Williams suddenly finds himself alone in a world devastated by a plague?with only his hope and intelligence to guide him. (Published: 1950)
Yeah, I’m reading an NYPL paper copy. I searched for an ebook edition too. None available — at least, uh, legally.
Re: ebook edition of The Road
I just pulled up listings at EReader, BooksOnBoard, and Fictionwise with no trouble at all — if searching on Road or McCarthy is pulling up so many hits that you miss the listing, search for “Cormac.” It’s there.
Bests to all,
–tr
We’re talking at cross purposes, it seems.
You said you were buying the Cormac book in hardcover. I wondered why, after you lauded the Reader over reading print.
Somehow the wires got crossed. Next time, let’s do this wirelessly.
Re: ebook edition of The Road:
If searching on “Road” or “McCarthy” is pulling up so many hits that you miss the listing, try searching on “Cormac.” I just pulled up a listing for this title at EReader, BooksOnBoard, and Fictionwise with no trouble at all. Search for “Cormac” — The Road IS available as an ebook.
Bests,
–tr
Re: ebook edition of The Road:
If searching on “Road” or “McCarthy” is pulling up so many hits that you miss the listing, try searching on “Cormac.” I just pulled up a listing for this title at EReader, BooksOnBoard, and Fictionwise with no trouble at all. Search for “Cormac” — the title is available as an ebook.
Bests,
–tr
Sorry for the multiple posts — hadn’t read the FAQ yet. My bad.
Bests,
–tr