I Love My Kindle!

"It is a great thing to start life with a small number of really good books which are your very own."

— Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

 I have always loved reading.  My mom tells me that I liked nothing better than to sit on someone's lap and hear favorite books read over and over. As soon as I could read myself  that is all I wanted to do.  I checked out my 2 favorites, Madeline and Horton Hears a Who, from the public library over and over.  I remember my first "chapter book" that was in my Easter basket is 1st grade.  It was The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore. I went on to read many other stories about Ned, Nan, Flossie and Freddy and then moved on to Nancy Drew, Donna Parker and basically anything I could get my hands on.  I was never without a book.  I read in the car, in bed at night, and even in the midst of family gatherings.  I kept a book in my desk at school and secretly read holding the book on my lap under my desk.  This caused a little trouble now and then especially if the book was funny and I laughed out loud during a lesson. (Sorry Mrs. Probst!)

I also became a great re-reader, mainly out of necessity.  You could only check out 2 books at a time from the library and there were no bookstores in my small town. Most of the books I owned were purchased at the local 5 and 10 or through book clubs at school. Although I could and would walk to the library by myself, there were many times, especially Sunday afternoons or snow days, when I would find myself without a new book to read.  No problem- I would just pull something off my shelf and read it again.

Although there have been a few times during my life when my pleasure reading has slowed down, mainly during college and when my kids were young, I continued to devour books.  I have always been a fast reader so I still go through my books quickly.  But not having anything new to read should never be a problem again.  This Christmas I finally decided to give Kindle a try.  When I first heard about e-readers, I was convinced I would never own one.  I needed to feel the book and turn the pages, I thought.  It just couldn't be a pleasant experience to read from a small screen.  But one of my good friends got a Kindle last spring and has done nothing but sing its praises since then.  I experiemented with reading on my Itouch and realized this could be a good thing.  So my Kindle arrived a few days before Christmas.  I love being able to instantly download a book and start reading whether it's Christmas afternoon or 3 o'clock on a Sunday.  The sample feature is kind of like what I do in the library or bookstore while trying to choose a title. I won't have to resort to reading American Baby or Popular Mechanics at the doctor's office because I forgot my book.  The Kindle (and/or my Itouch) is always in my purse with all sorts of reading material. I may even be able to hold it on my lap and secretly read during the next faculty meeting at school!

I don't think e-readers will replace books.  I'm certainly not going to take my Kindle into the bathtub or on my float in the pool.  I'll still need my paperback Nora Roberts and other romance novels for that.  I'll still purchase professional books so I can flag and highlight pages to share with other teachers.  E-books will never take the place of all my picture books for children.  But tonight, when I've decided to rediscover Stephen King, a Kindle is the perfect choice for me.