And I thought the ones that sold lip gloss and fake tattoos were cool...

I love vending machines. Ever since I was six and randomly pushed a button and got a free TAB from a Best Western motel machine (yes, I drank TAB at six, which may explain why I frequently trip on flat surfaces and scare quite easily), I've loved the idea of viewing a colorful array of goods behind glass. I love that you can have a transaction without human contact (course, now I can shop on the Internet.) And, though I have to say I rarely actually BUY any snacks from the machine at work, when I go to get myself a Diet Coke, I always like to take a peek at the snack machine: Just knowing that I CAN get yogurt-covered raisins (which I can't fathom ever, ever wanting) makes me feel good. It must be my survivalist instinct: If I get trapped in my building, so long as I have correct change, I can dine for weeks on pretzels, peanut M&Ms, Sun-Chips, cinnamon buns and Hershey bars. (I'd probably draw the line at pork rinds, though they might be good for starting a fire if the heat goes out.)

But leave it to the French to give me a case of vending machine-envy. I love books. I love mechanical arms that pick things up and drop them nicely into a chute, like this machine purports to do. And I love vending machines.



So how much do I want to return to Paris right now to buy a copy of "The Flowers of Evil" or "The Wok Cookbook"? Or the French translation of "Alice in Wonderland"? (By the way, the French translation of the slogan on the machine is "Books at any hour!" Pretty much my ideal world.)

FYI, I liked the French before this, so it's not the TAB talking when I say we should take a cue from them on this one. Easily-bought books available at public transportation stops make so much sense it's funny they've not been available before now. And in an age where people want DVD players in their minivans and ESPN on their cell phones (there's a post coming on that later), the idea of something as simple as a vending machine seeming like an innovation of the future is sort of, um, novel?

(The pun? That was the TAB talking.)