New age reader

Last week I made a decision that will forever change the way I read.

I purchased a Kindle.

I have resisted the e-reader craze for quite some time now.  Being a purist at heart, I couldn’t bring myself to trade the feel of a book in my hands, with actual pages to turn, for something that I essentially figured was akin to reading off a computer screen (which I hate). 

Of course, I also couldn’t deny the fact that my already overflowing bookcases were not going to magically expand, and while I knew there were probably some paperbacks in the collection I could bear to part with, others I knew would be with me for life.

So I researched, polled my friends, and in the end decided the Kindle was the way to go.  I am more than halfway through my first book on the device, and so far I have zero complaints.  I am honestly amazed at how well I have made the adjustment from printed to electronic word.  I am very impressed with how closely the typeset on the screen resembles that of a real book.  Much easier on the eyes than your run of the mill computer screen, that’s for sure.  And of course, the accessibility to literally thousands of titles with a less than 60 second download is quite enticing.  It’s the kind of instant gratification I have been yearning for my entire reading life.  

However, my new-found love of the Kindle has not diminished my appreciation for the printed word.  Books, real books, have always been such an important part of my life I don’t think I could ever completely trade them in.  Sitting down in the evening with a book in your hand, hearing the quiet rustle of the turning pages, this is a timeless experience that will never be able to be fully duplicated by an e-reader.  There’s something about the weight of the book, the smell of the pages, the anticipation that builds as one nears the end of a story, it’s that something that has shaped my love of reading from a very young age, and I will never be able to let it go.

But, in the interest of reducing clutter in my house and still being able to indulge in near obsessive reading habits, I have a feeling my Kindle and I are going to be the best of friends.