Reading and books were my first love. I can remember my Grandmother Woodward and my Grandma Margaret bragging to anyone who would listen, that I could read the newspaper before I started kindergarten. Some of my earliest memories are of using my MomMom Eyet's manual typewriter to peck out "stories" for my family to read. I would spend every summer under the lilac tree in our back yard reading stack after stack of books - escaping from my world into theirs.
To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life. ~W. Somerset Maugham
Books have a soul. They become alive in your hands as you fall into the wonderful stories woven into the pages. There have been many, many times where I have cried because a book ended (Time Traveler's Wife). When books are stacked five or six high on your nightstand, they are friends, waiting patiently for you to steal a few minutes from your life and spend it with them. I unabashedly love them.
Books let us into their souls and lay open to us the secrets of our own. ~William Hazlitt
But I am cheating on them - with a Kindle.
Several years ago when Kindle first came out, I thought - how can you read that way? It was really foreign to me. And then last year, I thought, maybe a Kindle might make sense. I travel a fair amount and even on short trips I have multiple books in my bag so I thought a Kindle would help lighten the load and there would be more room in my suitcase for shoes (my other love). But, I didn't buy one. I just couldn't do it to the stack of lovelies beside my bed.
And then, this past July, at our office summer outing - I won a Kindle during our prize raffle.
I took the Kindle home and took it out of the box. It was very light and fit into my purse (!). But, there was no way this slim piece of plastic had a soul. I downloaded my first book - The Help - and began to read. I was aware of the lack of pages- a subtle push with my thumb and the page turned. I could highlight passages without wandering around looking for a highlighter. When I was done reading The Help, I wanted to read One Day. I downloaded the book in less than two minutes. No trip to the bookstore. And I downloaded Scrabble (to which I am addicted) and Blackjack and a Hangman game for the kids.
So many people said to me "You are going to LOVE your Kindle." I like my Kindle. I appreciate the fact that when I travel I have multiple books and games all in my purse. But I can't honestly say that I love it. I love books. I always have and I always will. But, after more than 40 years, I may need to move on from this first love and into a marriage of convenience.
A good book on your shelf is a friend that turns its back on you and remains a friend. ~Author Unknown
Peace.
Tee
