Get an e-reader for when the zombies come

July 16, 2012

When the zombies come, what will be the thing that gives us an advantage over them? Why, our delicious BRAAAAAINS, of course! And what lets us use our brains to best effect? That would be knowledge. And the lowest-cost, longest-lasting, best bytes-per-cubic-centimetre storage & access device for knowledge?

It sure ain’t an iPad.

It’s got to be an e-reader with an e-ink display, right? Those things are light, and the batteries last for ages. And the number of books you can fit on one? More than you can fit in a backpack with everything else you need to survive, that’s for sure.

Now there are a few things that e-readers are just simply bad at. The web, for example. But I don’t think that matters in this context. There probably won’t be much of a web left by the time the apocalypse is done, and what there is will be pretty low-bandwidth. And there are a few e-readers good enough for that.

Based on all this far-fetched justification, I predict the following: My next toy purchase will probably be a Kindle and a bunch of zombie novels, as well as entry-level text books, survival guides, classic cultural works and equipment manuals. You know, just in case.