Book or BookBook?
The BookBook Case
I was recently traveling by air–on Southwest Airlines to be exact–and I found something quite interesting in Spirit, Southwest’s in-flight magazine. It was a product feature, in the “Business Perk” section. Basically, an ad for the latest in laptop chic, the BookBook Case (pictured, left.)
This was not an ad placed by Apple. Spirit specifically endorses this. They titled their feature, “A Novel Idea” (super clever) and angled it toward the fearful traveler as a way to prevent laptop theft. It’s an eighty-dollar case that is designed to look like a rare, leatherbound first edition (of what, it doesn’t say–are Russian authors more likely to scare away thieves? What about Melville? Dickens? Whose work is truly tough enough to work as a security system?)
Either way, the article makes sure to tout the benefits of BookBook ownership as it relates to potential theft. And I quote:
Never again will you have to keep one eye on your laptop as you stand in line for a refill at the coffee shop. Just zip it up in your BookBook.
Of course, after reading that endorsement, I had to know more about this amazing product, so I went to Twelve South’s website (the folks responsible for the BookBook) and learned more. The BookBook isn’t just about security, but about style. It’s beautiful, unique (no two are the same, apparently), and it protects against dings and dents, cushioning your laptop (MacBook or MacBook Pro only) like a regular laptop case might.
But what’s been bothering me since I first saw this, since I took the in-flight magazine off the plane (which felt like theft even though the airline encourages you to take them), since I considered buying one myself, is this: that a book is considered less valuable than a computer. A leatherbound vintage first edition, no less. I can see how no one would want to steal a water-stained copy of He’s Just Not That Into You or Going Rogue. I can see passing up a textbook–the more specific and complicated the topic, the better (I’m thinking metaphysics of quantum neutrino fields or advanced digital signal processing). Granted, there doesn’t seem to be a title for this “first edition” the BookBook is mimicking. It could be a first edition of Tuesdays with Morrie under that leather cover (though I doubt it was ever leatherbound). But what inherently makes a book less valuable than a computer? Especially a rare book, which can be quite costly (a first edition 1964, leatherbound Dickens goes for $175 at veryfinebooks.com–nothing compared to a laptop, but still a chunk of change).
I admit that computers are capable of holding hundreds of times the information that books hold, and give us access to as much information as the internet can store. I admit that the building of a computer is more complicated than the building of a book. But the design of a computer? Is that more intricate than the design of a book? I would argue that it isn’t. In some ways, it might be easier. There are finite numbers, concrete limitations to computer design. My husband is a computer engineer, and when I talk about writing, he marvels at the complexity. Now, this might just be because he expected crafting a story would be simple, or it might be because he’s tried it and failed–it might not reflect at all on the comparison of our two vocations. It would be like comparing artichokes and avocados, after all.
Either way, the next time I see a rare book sitting unattended at a coffeehouse, I’m going to be quite curious to see what’s inside: Apple or Austen.
Interesting. I really like the idea of camouflaging your laptop for security, but I agree with you about the choice of books. Personally I think a leatherbound first edition of a classic is much more desirable than someone’s laptop.
Nice! I kind of want one…..but I think I’d want one that looked like it was a text book on String theory or something. Seems appropriately inappropriate. There might be something kind of awesome about writing a story in a book about physics. I kind of question the security of it though. I mean even if the potential thief doesn’t see you zipping up your computer in a book while you go refill your coffee, do you think they would miss the zipper?