So, I won a Kindle last week.
I have mixed feelings about this.
I have repeatedly said that I do not want an e-reader. I love reading paper books, for many reasons:
- I like books.
- I like feeling the heft of a book in my hands, and being able to tell how many pages I have left by the width I need to pinch the fingers of my right hand.
- I like covers, fonts, even the feel of the paper as it varies from book to book.
- I like to keep books I've finished on my bookshelf, so that I can see them there, revisit them, think about them, and lend them (but only to trustworthy people).
- I like to support authors and bookstores and fear that the e-book business is harming both irreparably.
- I like to snoop at what others are reading, which is impossible with a Kindle.
- I like to strike up conversations with strangers about what they are reading (pretty much the only time I will talk to strangers), which, again, is impossible with an e-reader.
- I like to get books signed at author readings.
So that's why I have resisted an e-reader. Part of me thinks "why bother? you'll hate it" and part of me worries that I will like it… too much.
Meanwhile a brand new Kindle sits upstairs, unopened.
This is where you come in. Do you have an e-reader? Do you love it? Do you hate yourself for loving it? How do you deal with the bullets I raised above? Or do you just not care about any of that?
You are all readers, like me, and I really value your opinion on this – please weigh in!