And on the second day in July, the Hotel Indigo Newcastle replaced its paper Bibles with Amazon Kindles...
The UK-based hotel hasn't yet decided this is good, though. That determination will take a fortnight. In the meantime, visitors who check in will see Kindles loaded with the Good Book in the place of the standard, iconic dead-tree Gideon's Bibles. Guests will also have the option of downloading other "preferred religious books" for a value of £5 or less via the hotel's Wi-Fi, according to a press release from the hotelier. Users can also download other, secular books for the usual prices.
The hotel is trying the program out and will decide in two weeks if it's worth carrying out over the long term. The idea was inspired by Newcastle’s literary heritage. The city's library has 150,000 books, making it the biggest independent library outside of London. The city also was one of the largest print centers in England in the 18th century.
If other hotels take up the idea as well, it will doubtlessly be good news for travelers who left their Kindle or paper books behind. However, given the access to every e-book in print, it will also undermine the mission of the Gideons International, a 113-year-old evangelical Christian organization that seeks to spread the Word to weary travelers.
What do you think of the Hotel Indigo Newcastle's program? Let us know in the comments.
Image courtesy of Flickr, Seean MacEntee