Some may recall that retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter bought a new home when he retired because the farmhouse he lived in wasn’t structurally strong enough to hold the thousands of books he owned. One of his former law clerks took steps to perhaps stop the problem from recurring.
According to annual financial disclosure statements filed by the justices this month, former law clerk Julius Genachowski, now chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, gave Souter a Kindle. As CNN notes, though, Souter earned a reputation over the years as being suspicious of technology gadgets. Although a neighbor said Souter’s farmhouse had no phone lines, author Jeffrey Toobin reported in his 2007 book, The Nine, that “Souter had a telephone and a fountain pen but no answering machine, fax, cell phone, or e-mail.” Toobin also wrote that although Souter once received a television set, he “never plugged it in.”
No word on whether Souter has downloaded anything to the Kindle — or even turned it on.
UPDATE: Perhaps more justifying is the announcement after this was posted that B&N has not only cut the price of a Nook it has a wi-fi only one for even less, something attractive to those of us who don’t use the AT&T network.
…it is clear that when enough people start reading them, electronic books will do for the ophthalmologists what taffy and caramels did for dentists.
Martin Arnold, “Making Books: From Gutenberg To Cyberstories”
Justice Souter is going to be able to get some thinking done!