I received the best present I have ever been given for Christmas. A Kindle. I was excited to rip it out of its box and start downloading. Once I had the device in my hands I took a moment to run my fingers over it and to smell it! Strange you might think?
I do the same thing when I grab hold of a new paperback. My entire hand glides over the cover, (several times) my eyes gaze intensely at it wondering what gems of knowledge I am about to behold and finally, there's the sniff! I love to smell the new pages, inhale their wisdom and then let out a satisfied uhhhhh!
So, with this type of behaviour to live up to, I wasn't sure if I would fully embrace the Kindle. I figured that it would be pretty hard for someone like me (who when asked what their favourite store is replies bookstore) to turn my back on the trusted paperback. If I did choose Kindle over Paperback, surely it would take me several months even years to do so?
Wrong! In less than a day, an hour, possibly a minute, the decision had been made. Kindle vs Paperback. It's unanimous in my corner. Kindle all day, all night... forever!
I love the convenience of choosing any book I want and it's downloaded in seconds. I love being able to carry all of my books with me without the added weight! I love the price of most of the books (can't wait for some of the big publishers to get real and lower their prices). I love being able to go into my virtual favourite store any time I choose. I love that it inspires me to achieve my goal of writing a book and to be able to get it published myself (yay for indie publishing).
Kindle vs Paperback. What's your vote?
I vote for both, though I have an iPad and not a Kindle. I can access texts on my iPad that I cannot get any other way thanks to Project Gutenberg, Google Books, and Internet Archive. A lot of the texts I am using for my dissertation are ones that can only be accessed electronically. It is so great that I can! But on the other hand, there is nothing quite like holding a book or periodical from 1850 in your hand and thinking about all the people before you who held it. The crafting of the book itself was a work of art. Handsown bindings, leather covers, linen paper, gold leaf binding -- need I say more?! Besides, I don't have to worry about charging my book. All I need is a light! So, my opinion is that we still will read both paper and digital texts but the way we access those texts are forever changed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reply Sis. S. I would love to hold a book from 1850 in my hand! Awesome to hear you are doing your doctorate.
DeleteI received a Kindle as well for Christmas, and I love it! I love sampling books before I read them, and my purse is much lighter these days now that I don't have a couple of hefty books in there. :)Great blog! I hope you'll stop by mine and follow so we can share our writing adventures. lojwriting.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Lo
Hey Lo
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading my blog. I've already stopped by your blog and tweeted about the great info. It really made me think about the importance of opening lines. You're a high school teacher too, right? We have two things in common. Look forward to more blog connections.
Like you, I received a Kindle for Christmas and I love it to pieces for all the reasons you name.
ReplyDeleteHowever, when it comes to your own work, surely nothing beats the thrill of holding your own printed book in your hands and seeing it sitting neatly on your bookshelf alongside all your old favourites?
Good luck with your first book, Darnel and thank you for an interesting post.