There was a sense of freedom when I digitized our last CD. I felt liberated. No more scratched discs. No more lost cases. Living without CDs has hardly inconvenienced me. If anything, I may actually listen to more music now.
But what I didn’t anticipate was the social consequence. I was used to scanning my friends’ rows of CD cases to see what was new or different. It was a way to learn about new music and about them. The iTunes-organized digital music that replaced my CD collection was more convenient and practical but so much less social.
The Kindle and Apple’s rumored tablet promise more of the same. I’ll be able to take my books, magazines and newspapers anywhere but they’ll be totally private. If I feel like claiming I’m reading Faulkner but secretly it’s Dan Brown no one would know looking at my bedside table.
I have no doubt that I will love how the next generation of eBook readers makes my personal library portable but I know I’ll miss the ladder I will, now, never need.
