Reading via Kindle

I love books.


One of my very first memories is being read to. I think it was my father reading to me, I really don't remember. But I do remember the book - The Poky Puppy, a Golden Book and the little puppy was fuzzy. I was probably hooked on reading from the first time I was ever read to.


From Golden books to Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, Little House on the Prairie, Caddie Woodlawn and all and everything in between. I loved to read. When I was little the Milwaukee Public Library system had a summer Billy Bookworm Club. Oh - I loved that and strived to read as much as I could each summer.


I truly believe that one of the best thing about America is that we have a free library system. We can walk into any library in any state, city or village, sit down and read to our hearts content. I rarely purchase a book unless I will use it for reference or it is one of my all time favorites like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.


And, the books. Thick, thin, large font or small. There is just something about holding a book, paging through it - even the smell of a new book at a bookstore makes me feel absolute delight. What adventures are within these pages? What laughter and/or tears? What will I learn? How will I feel when reading it? Will it stay with me long after I am finished?


My boyfriend also shares my love of reading. He reads every night before bed, lying on this tummy. It's kind of cute. He prefers non-fiction, historical books; however, we have shared books and it is fun to discuss them. Even if we are not reading the same books and don't plan to, we will talk with each other about what we are reading.


So, for my birthday he bought me a Kindle. A Kindle is an electronic book. It is about the size and weight of a paperback and you can download books from Amazon.com or other places. Most books cost to download, but it is cheaper than purchasing the actual book and there are lots of books you may download for free. You can page forward and backwards, download newspapers, blogs - all sorts of things. It has a back light so you can read in the dark and you can change the font types to your specifications. It's pretty cool.


I have to be honest and when he told me what he had bought me I was very disappointed. I have a rule: No presents that need to be plugged in unless requested and then think twice. He seems to have forgotten that as I got a GPS for Christmas. But, I digress. By the time I unwrapped it, I had checked out the website. I admit I was starting to get curious and excited. His logic was that I would be able to take it with me when traveling and I could download books from anywhere. He really was being thoughtful when he bought it for me.


I have completed my first book on Kindle. Luckily, it was a delightful little book that I really enjoyed - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, otherwise I may not have liked using the Kindle. And, I did enjoyed using it. It takes a litle while to get use to, but it worked out just fine. It will be great for traveling as it is easy to pack and carry. I like it and will use it a lot. It was a great gift.


However, for me, it cannot ever replace a real book. A Kindle will never, ever replace the joy of walking into a library or bookstore where I can walk up and down the rows of shelf after shelf of books, picking one up here and there, thumbing through pages and exploring what lays under the cover.



I hope years from now electronics don't replace all books and libraries. What a sad state our world will be in then.


P.S. - interesting observation. Notice I always say "use" a Kindle and "read" a book? Hmmm. . .