Summary

In the introduction to “Ur,” King writes that a friend told him Amazon was looking for a famous author to promote the Kindle by using the e-reader as a plot element. King turned down the opportunity because he was generally not able to write stories on demand, but he did get a good idea for a story involving a Kindle. After it was written, he sent the story to Amazon and said they were welcome to use it. One of the perks was that he was given a one-of-a-kind pink Kindle.

In “Ur,” Chapter 1, Wesley Smith, a college English instructor, claimed he bought a Kindle because he wanted to experiment with new technology. In reality, he bought it out of spite. Ellen Silverman, the coach of the school’s women’s basketball team and Wesley’s ex-girlfriend, had caused that spite.

Wesley and Ellen...