Thursday, September 27, 2012

Changing the way I read

I've been very slow to climb on board the e-reader wave.  Partly this is because until last year you couldn't even get a Kindle in New Zealand.  But mostly it's because I love books.  Real books.  I love the weight of them in my hands, the way they smell, the physical sensation of the paper against my fingertips.  You don't get that with an e-reader.

I love bookstores and libraries and can spend hours wandering around, pulling books out here and there  to see if they might be things I'd like to read.  And I mainly read in the bath which is not a great place to be with an e-reader, especially if you're like me and often fall asleep in there.

But times change.  I got an i-Phone earlier this year, and the first app I bought was Kindle.  And it's changed my life.

I used to panic about getting stuck somewhere without a book to read, so I always had to carry a bag big enough to fit one inside.  My work bag is heavy anyway, with a laptop and everything else in there already, and if I happened to be reading a 500 page book at the time, it made my shoulders ache.

I no longer have that problem.

I still go to the library every two weeks or so.  I still have a real book to read at home and in the bath.  But I also always have a book loaded onto the Kindle in my phone.  It means I have something to read on the bus on my way home.  I have something to read at the pool while my kids have swimming lessons.  I have something to read if I'm waiting in a queue at the post office.  In fact, I never get stuck without something to read.  If I finish the book I'm reading, I just buy another one.

Yeah, my credit card kind of hates me now....

Are you an e-reader fan or still clinging desperately to paper books only?

5 comments:

  1. Books as a first choice but I am asking my husband for a kindle for Christmas! I am like you and have resisted till now, but there are just too many books I want to read and some of them from blogging buddies are only available on e-reader. Times change don't they?

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  2. Like you, I use both my paperback books and my Kindle. I like the advantages of both and see no reason for one to overtake the other.

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  3. A year ago, I was totally against the idea of replacing real books with technology. Now I'm publishing my first book as an e-book only and have already spent too much money on e-books for my iPhone! Things definitely change!

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  4. I was the exact same way until about a year ago. It is so much easier with an e-reader and when you finish a book you can quickly upload another without having to drive anywhere. I still go to the bookstore and browse and occasionally buy because there is something special about it that an e-reader can't give you.

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  5. Funny how we all seem to be in the same boat!

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