Like many people, I've been considering how to deal with the New York Times and their sudden reluctance to provide all their fine work for free. Rather than subscribe to the website, I decided to try getting the Times on my Kindle. I think the main reason I decided to start there was that there was a 14-day trial period.

I've discovered something interesting (and it's only been a few days). The Kindle edition comes every morning, like the hard copy paper, and there are advantages. The Times website is an incredible resource, but I'm realizing that it is not the ultimate way to read the paper, because of course today's news is right there with yesterday's, the day before's, and last week's. On top of each column, of course, reverse-sorted by date, but still right there.

I often find that I'm scrolling down a column and trying to remember, "Is this article from yesterday? Did I read it already? What's the date it was posted?"

I just got the Sunday Times downloaded, and it's been a while since I've dealt with that behemoth. Unlike my father, I never had the habit of running out to get the thing every week and lug it home.

But here, in a few minutes, I skimmed through several sections, read two articles, decided I do have to read something by David Foster Wallace, and disagreed with this.

The question of "spoilers" is far more complex than what the Times allows, as I talked about here (and that post links back to an earlier one here). I knew the "secret" of The Sixth Sense before I saw it, I knew the "secret" of The Crying Game the minute the character came on the screen (like most New Yorkers), and the only reason I saw The Village was because I knew the "twist," and I still enjoyed all three movies.

But of course the Times doesn't want my agreement, they want my money. Which it looks like they're going to get.