In light of the recent news about being able to rent library books on your Amazon Kindle, I thought I’d dedicate this post to my love/hate relationship with my Kindles (yes, I have two of the same brand of e-readers).
I got my first Kindle for Christmas circa 2007/2008. I didn’t ask for it since I have this strange love for tangible books. I like the smell of the pages, the feeling of turning a page, scribbling a note in the margin, dog-earing the pages, etc. Books are nostalgic. They’re special. They’re magical. So why in the world would I want to start reading my books electronically? (* I should note that I also worked in book publishing, furthering my love for the typed word on paper, and stitched spine of a hardcover.)
Well, at that time I worked in the city and lived in the suburbs, so I commuted on the Metra – about an hour each way. Carrying multiple books was bulky, so this seemed like the logical solution, despite my silent protest of e-anything. Pretty soon, I had multiple books, newspapers, and blogs all at my disposal, with just a click of a button. How cool! My hate turned to love.
Fast forward a year or two and my poor Kindle starting collecting dust on my bookshelf. I changed jobs so no longer took the Metra, and any reading I did was basically at home. When given the option of reading on the Kindle or reading a “real” book, I always chose the latter.
Fast forward another couple of years and I re-discover my Kindle on my bookshelf. Around this time, I started seeing ads for the new Kindle – slimmer version with Wi-Fi and a whole bunch of new features. Awesome! I immediately wanted one. It turns out I have a perceptive husband and got the Kindle 2 as a push present in May when Noah was born 🙂
This was such a lifesaver, especially for the midnight feedings and being up every couple of hours with a new baby. The only “me” time I seemed to get was when I was feeding him. I would read a couple of chapters in a book (shout out to the Hunger Games series!) or catch up on news. If one book was at a slow spot, making me sleepier than I already was, I could switch in an instant. It was perfect and so much easier than walking to my bookcases and committing myself to a single title.
I’ve retired my first edition Kindle due to the upgraded version, but the new one has a prominent spot on my mini library shelves. The Kindle has its time and place, and the convenience definitely is one of the greatest perks.
And the fact that you can now check out books from the library on the Kindle adds to the list of benefits. It’s a definite keeper and I highly recommend it to the bookworm who’s tired of carrying around 25 lbs of books everywhere they go.
Things K Likes 