Book, Meet Your Maker

So I drive up to Manchester. It’s a hot day and the leaves are coming out; I see less and less green as I go north and up into the mountains, as though moving backward in time.

As always, things are bustling at the Northshire. I introduce myself to Annette Rodefeld, who coordinates the Print on Demand program, and ask about the Espresso Book Machine (which is right there, occupying the better part of the entrance-way, but I’m rather shy around machines.) “We have lovingly named him Lurch,” she says, “because he groans and he’s big.” I must have given her a funny look because she quickly added, “We had to give him a name—he’s part of the staff.”Alas, Lurch wasn’t feeling his best. He had been turning out books that were slightly trapezoid, with the trim about 1/16 of an inch off. Fortunately, a kind fellow had flown in from St. Louis to tend to his care. And the prognosis is excellent. (Lurch, you see, is a 1.5 model. The new-and-improved 2.0 is one-third the size and the kinks have been worked out.)

Lurch’s dyspeptic state meant I couldn’t see him in action just now. But soon enough…