83 - kindle

I know I've mentioned it a few times, but I feel like I need to officially address something.

I love books. I love physical books. I love reading them, turning the pages, even smelling them (on occasion). There was a time in my life when I always had a book with me, and there was nothing and no one that could stop me from reading it when I wanted.

That being said, I have always been against kindles. (Like I said, I know I've mentioned this before. But I've read so much anti-kindle stuff recently, so I felt like I should explain myself.) I naturally shy away from anything that promotes the idea that paper is obsolete, especially books. My dad bought the first generation kindle when it came out several years ago, and I was mostly disinterested. Then I was mostly offended. (Don't ask, I'm not sure why. Haha.)

My parents have asked and asked if I wanted one for years, and the answer was always no. And I thought it would always be no. Then I met someone at Utah State who carried one around, and I messed around with hers for a while. Then, I decided that I had perhaps judged them too quickly...

So I now have a kindle touch.

I still buy books (in fact, I just bought three online yesterday), and I still read books. I have discovered that I can buy the super cheap cheesy romance novels on my kindle (Most of the time I don't have much of an interest in paying $10 for them in book stores because I don't know if I'd ever read them again) and then save my money for the books I really want to buy. I still browse Barnes and Noble (one of my favorite activities EVER) and buy on a whim. I still read my books over and over again. I'm still building my library. But now I don't have to spend money on a book I know is going to get ruined in Mexico. (Thanks, Mom.) Plus, many of the cheap cheesy romance novels are actually free! And all of the books published before 1900 are free. (I mostly want to own those, though, so that's not a great incentive.)

Also, I can connect it with my library account. It doesn't have nearly the selection that an actual library would have, but since I don't live in the city where my library is anymore, it's great! Come summertime, I'll go back to checking out books. But for now, getting them instantly without having to be in Salt Lake is fantastic.

I just felt like I had to defend the usefulness of the kindle. It doesn't take away from my inherent bookishness. It definitely hasn't replaced my obsession with spending all of my money on books. Print books are still much better than my kindle, but I'm not ashamed to say that I like my kindle as well. :)