Kindle Hunting on the F

 

Two sightings in one week.

 

Two days ago I was standing on the F train, late afternoon, crowded enough to stand, but not so crowded I couldn’t breathe, when I spied what appeared to be a black leather cover about the shape and size of a Kindle. I couldn’t believe it. All this time I’ve been waiting to see one on the F and there it was.

 

I walked carefully across the car to get a closer look – not too close, because this is New York and staring at people doesn’t go over too well. I stepped on one person’s foot and had to apologize twice during the short passage.  

 

I stopped ten feet away.

 

I gazed at the leather cover and then… away. There was something wrong. The cover was flat and not shiny. Up closer it didn’t look like the same kind of leather I’d seen on the advertisements and on my wife’s machine. There was no cream colored interior. I was pretty sure the device the cover was holding was silver with a black/gray screen.

 

It wasn’t a Kindle. It was a Sony.

 

Advertisements galore, but no Kindle. Instead a Sony Reader had infiltrated my ‘hood. I looked at the owner. He was Caucasian, maybe 30, balding, had a belly, carried a black messenger bag, wore a white shirt, no tie, black sneakers, and glasses. I wasn’t sure what it meant but I filed the description away in the back of my brain.

 

Then this morning, on the F, I went into work early, caught the train about 7:35. There were seats available on all cars. That all by itself was amazing. At 8 or 8:30 it’s a mob scene.

 

I stood for a moment, looking to see whether I could sit or not. I did a quick seat-or-stand scan of the car. There were no pregnant women standing – no women at all. A couple of guys were leaning against the door but they were young and healthy, clearly choosing to stand. There were no elderly straphangers waiting for seats to open up.

 

I was good for a seated passage.

 

A seat next to a man, thirties, balding, glasses, white shirt, black pants, black messenger bag, slight belly, but wearing black shoes, was sitting down at a two-seater by himself – and, I shook my head to make sure I wasn’t dreaming, he was reading a Kindle.

 

It wasn’t the same guy from two days ago but it could easily have been his brother or twin. I hesitated another moment then sat down next to him.

 

There was something different about this Kindle. It was bigger, wider – more like the size of a large hardcover than a trade paperback like the Kindle my wife has but still won’t let me read. Yes. It was the new model – specially designed for folks who want to read larger items like newspapers or magazines. It’s the exact same looking model only bigger.

 

I couldn’t help myself. I stared at his machine. He glanced at me then back at his Kindle. I stared some more. I had to hold my hands in check so I didn’t reach out and touch the thing.

 

“I hope you don’t mind my asking, but is that the new larger sized Kindle?” I asked.

 

He nodded.

 

“What do you think of it?”

 

“I like it,” he said. “I only just got it but so far it’s pretty good.”

 

“How does it compare to the smaller one?”

 

“I don’t know. I only have this one.”

 

“Thanks,” I said. “I’ll let you get back to your, you know, reading.”

 

He nodded and smiled at me, then shifted a little away, just enough for me to notice.

 

I nodded slowly, smiling myself.

 

There you have it folks. First the advertisements for the Kindle — then a Sony Reader. Now, finally, after months of searching for one on the F train coming into or out of Jackson Heights – the Kindle had arrived.

 

And both electronic books were being used by bald white men in their thirties, with small bellies and black messenger bags. Keep an eye out. You never know where they’ll turn up next.

 

–Joe Lunievicz

PART I is here.

 

… And Half

 

By Straphanger Joe

 

… only it’s not the Kindle exactly. It’s an ad campaign by M-edge and features the Kindle front and center of every poster from one end of the car to the other.

Reading never looked so good.

Personalize your Kindle 2 with an M-edge accessories jacket.

 

Who is your Kindle wearing?

Here’s a book you can’t judge by its cover.

Go green. Buy a Kindle. 

I check the F-train car. No one is using a Kindle, neither a 1 or a 2 – though I’m not sure if I saw one I could tell the difference. There are papers, books, reports, magazines, one guy has an open computer on his lap, but no Kindles. I look up at the advertisements. I guess they figure, If you build it they will buy it.

 

My wife has a Kindle. She got it for Christmas, only she didn’t actually receive it until a couple of months later. It seems the demand was so big they sold out pre-holiday and had to fill orders in February and March. They upgraded her to the Kindle 2 free of charge. She reads it all the time – hasn’t purchased a book in a bookstore in the last three months. Well, not in a physical bookstore, only in the virtual one of Amazon.com.

 

She reads the New York Times on it on Sundays. I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing. She also won’t let me read it. Not even just to check-it-out. She bought a black cover for it before M-reader came out with all their beautiful colors. Who is your Kindle wearing?

 

It’s 20 minutes later and there’s still no one on the F train reading one. The advertisements look pretty good, though. Nice colors. Go Green is the way to go these days.

 

Now I’m hungry and I feel like reading something electronic.

 

If only I could dive into the Choco-Kindle Ocean.

 

–Joe Lunievicz