The Google Play Books Experience

I once subscribed to National Geographic via iPad and I regretted it immediately. Not that the magazine wasn't any good, but it was the reading experience that I couldn't get used to. For some strange reason, unlike the feeling when I read the normal paperback where I could just put it aside for a while, there was this unexplainable urge in me to finish reading it as soon as possible. I never understood the rush, but it was just so uncomfortable that I didn't touch any form of e-books since then.

I was googling Sinéad Moriarty's latest novel and the search result eventually landed me on Google Play Store, the Book section. I downloaded from the Apps and rented from the Movies sections before, but this was the first time I became aware of the Book section's existence. Out of curiosity, I just typed John Lennon (strange though it may seem, but when I do some search tests, I tend to spontaneously type either John Lennon or Ringo Starr).

A list of books came out. Some I have, some I already read before, but one particular book stood out among the rest: Memories of John Lennon, edited by Yoko Ono. I was intrigued by it after viewing the sample pages so I purchased it. I was prompted to download Google Play Books app afterwards, then I was good to go.

Was it just me or the app really could adjust the brightness automatically? I couldn't be too sure about that, but I carried on reading at night and when my wife turned off the light, I could switch to the night light feature. A layer of orange shade appeared, covering the usual black letters on white colored base and changing the look and feel to be more friendly to the eyes. It was cool and useful.

So I was able to continue reading. It was an interesting book. I mean, we can easily read about John Lennon the ex-Beatle as it is available everywhere, but this is one of a few books out there that gives us a glimpse of John as a normal human being.

Since he was a Beatle and therefore was idolized by many, sometimes it's easy to forget that he, too, had his list of heroes. The story where he was on his knees to kiss Jerry Lee Lewis' boots and thank him for showing the way of rock and roll was amusing. I also like the memories shared by Cilla Black, a fellow Liverpudlian, about how cheeky John was (only John Lennon could whisper mischievously about tomorrow's washing and got away with it). It was also John who, despite his tough guy and devil-may-care attitude, would do things that were totally out of his characters behind the scene to give her the start of her career.

There were also funny stories about the trouble John went thru to get into the cinema to watch Deep Throat, a famous porno movie (an ex-Beatle still attracted more attention than a porn actress, apparently) and his poor understanding about the concept of money. It was seldom realized, even by a fan like me, that John was so famous easily for the last 18 years of his life that he seldom paid anything by himself. What a revelation! There was a neighbor in Dakota who wrote her part of story, too, about how taking the same lift with John Lennon felt like. She also shared about the gunshot she heard on that fateful night, when John was taken away forever from us.

Well, that was a bit of John for today. That aside, does the Google Play Book change my perspective about e-books? I think it's great and practical, but nothing beats the feeling of reading a book in a physical form. I still listen to CDs and I also prefer the books with pages that I can flip. It's the reading experience that counts. If human is the creature of habit, you can call me an old school if you like, haha...

Flipping through the pages...

Pengalaman Membaca Lewat Google Play Books

Saya pernah berlangganan National Geographic di iPad dan hasilnya tidak memuaskan karena saya merasa tidak nyaman saat membaca. Entah kenapa ada perasaan terburu-buru saat membolak-balik lembar halaman majalah secara digital. Sejak saat itu, saya tidak pernah lagi menyentuh yang namanya e-book. 

Suatu ketika, saya mencari novel terbaru karangan Sinéad Moriarty dan hasil pencarian Google membawa saya ke bagian buku di Google Play Store. Saya sudah pernah mengunduh aplikasi dan menyewa film sebelumnya, tapi ini adalah kali pertama saya menyadari keberadaan bagian buku. Karena ingin tahu, saya ketik John Lennon (ini aneh tapi nyata: ketika saya menguji pencarian lewat internet, saya selalu spontan mengetik John Lennon atau Ringo Starr).

Buku-buku pun bermunculan. Saya punya beberapa di antaranya dan tidak sedikit pula yang sudah pernah saya baca di perpustakaan, namun ada satu yang menarik perhatian saya saat itu: Memories of John Lennon yang diedit oleh Yoko Ono. Setelah saya lihat beberapa halaman, saya pun membelinya. Setelah itu saya diminta untuk mengunduh aplikasi Google Play Books supaya bisa mulai membaca. 

Saya tidak apakah ini hanya perasaan saya atau bukan, tapi aplikasi ini sepertinya bisa mengatur terang-gelapnya cahaya sehingga nyaman bagi pembaca. Di malam hari, ketika istri saya mematikan lampu, saya bisa mengaktifkan fitur cahaya malam. Lapisan berwarna oren pun menyelimuti huruf hitam yang berlatar belakang halaman putih, sehingga lebih redup dan enak di mata. 

Dan saya pun bisa lanjut membaca. Bukunya menarik. Sebagai mantan anggota the Beatles, tulisan tentang John Lennon bisa dibaca di mana saja, tapi buku yang satu ini memberikan kita sebuah sudut pandang tentang John Lennon sebagai orang biasa.

Ya, karena reputasinya sebagai Beatle yang dikagumi banyak orang, kadang kita bisa lupa bahwa dia pun orang biasa yang memiliki banyak idola. Ada cerita bagaimana dia bersujud dan mencium sepatu Jerry Lee Lewis. Ada pula kenangan Cilla Black, penyanyi terkenal dan sesama orang Liverpool, tentang bagaimana John bercanda mengenai rok mininya (John berbisik bahwa dari tempat ia duduk, dia bisa melihat celana dalam yang akan dicuci besok). Cilla juga mengenang bahwa John yang sering bersikap acuh tak acuh ternyata diam-diam mengatur pertemuan yang memberikan Cilla kesempatan untuk memulai karirnya sebagai penyanyi. 

Di samping itu, ada lagi cerita tentang bagaimana John bersusah-payah untuk menyelinap ke bioskop demi menonton Deep Throat, sebuah film porno yang terkenal di masa itu (dan ternyata keberadaan seorang mantan Beatle di bioskop masih menarik lebih banyak perhatian dari film porno yang ditayangkan). Ada juga kisah tentang betapa John Lennon tidak paham cara menggunakan uang. Tidak banyak yang sadar bahwa karena John sangat terkenal selama 18 tahun terakhir dalam hidupnya, ia hampir tidak pernah membayar apa pun karena selalu saja ada orang yang mengurusnya. Kemudian ada juga cerita dari penghuni apartemen Dakota yang bercerita saat ia bertemu John di lift. Dia juga mengenang saat ia mendengar suara tembakan di malam John Lennon meninggal. 

Dan itu adalah sedikit cerita tentang John untuk hari ini. Jadi, apakah Google Play Book mengubah pandangan saya tentang e-book? Hmm, saya kira e-book lebih praktis, tapi saya cenderung lebih suka membaca buku yang bisa saya genggam. Pengalaman membaca buku sungguhan masih tidak tergantikan!