The Book Kindle Debate

I’m a book lover. I love books and I have not succumbed to the E-readers yet. I’m cringing as I write this because I am afraid it’s only a matter of time. I know how great the Nook and the Kindle are (and yes, I won’t even go there with the iPad), but I love books like some women love shoes. And I own more books than shoes. How many of you can say that you own more books than shoes? I have a specific shelf of author-signed books that I would run to in case of a house fire. Yep, I would grab those books before anything else.

So, when I was speaking with my mom the other day and she mentioned she was reading a book on her iPad I about gasped! She said she could have waited to borrow my autographed copy of Jen Weiner’s Fly Away Home when she visits in a few weeks, but instead, she just put in her order, and bam! There it was, on her iPad book shelf and she started reading it. For less than it would cost to buy it in the bookstore, she was reading the book she wanted to read two minutes later. Magic.

I admit I was a scant bit jealous.

But then I remembered all of the reasons the experience of having real books means to me:

Because, if you’re a book lover too, you know they smell soooooo delicious. And they also feel good.

There is nothing like the feel of a new book off the shelf. You get to turn the pages, and inhale the scent of the paper they use to put those words into that book that was created for you. And the colors that someone thought of to put onto that book cover. It’s art I tell you!

And there’s a special feeling I get when I open a book and read that inside flap and discover a new book. And then I always, always go to the About the Author section to learn about the author if I don’t already know about her (because it’s usually a her). Then I head to the acknowledgment page and read who the author takes the time to thank. But I never, ever go to the last page because that’s the most sacrilegious thing you can do to a book and so disrespectful to an author. And I know people who do this. What is wrong with these people!? That is cheating. Cheating yourself, cheating the author.

I wonder if someday I will have a Nook or a Kindle? Right now I am too in love with my whole book experience that I can’t fathom the idea of not having that– the whole package of a real live book …

Holding it.
Touching it.
Feeling it.
Smelling it.
Looking at it.

And yes, bringing it to my chest when I get to the last page and closing it up, relishing in the beautiful words an amazing author has taken the time to create just for me and saying, “Wow, that was the best book I’ve ever read!”