Kindle

8/25/2012

Kindle

I want to talk about the Kindle for a moment.  Please don't confuse this with kindling which is a whole different ballgame and likely will become a story for another day.

I have been an avid reader all my life.  My father read to me every night before bed from the Little Golden Books (remember those).  I think my favorite was The Pokey Puppy.  

Flash forward 60 years or so and my nightstand and every flat surface in my house was covered in books - some read and some waiting.  As a neat freak the piles (though always tidy) were upsetting and I seldom re-read a book - when I'm done I'm done.  

One day during Oprah (remember her?) she and Amazon were offering the Kindle for 24 hours at a discounted price and I looked at Jeff and said I want that.  Actually, I think it was more like I think I want that.  

We bought the first Kindle and it comes to you naked with nary a written word to read.  It's up to you to fill up the contents, which over the years and several upgrades I have done.  I now have about 15 pages of TOC of books I've yet to read.  I find on the Kindle that once I've read something I delete it.  I can always get it back from Amazon and it's tidier! 

Once I got in the groove of the Kindle, I began to give away or sell my books.  I only have a few shelves of actual books and most of them belong to Jeff.  I do have two books that I will never sell "The Ladies Club" and "The Stand".  Those two books will be with me until the end.

I love the convenience of the Kindle - I can download a book in seconds and if I don't happen to like it, no biggie, just switch to something else.  This is amazing technology to travel with - kind of like an entire library at your fingertips and weighing no more than ounces.

I do have a small confession to make.  Every now and again I buy a "real" book.  While I love the convenience of the Kindle and my ability to magnify the type to make it easier to read, I do miss holding a book in my hands.  I never buy hardbacks because that feels too much like a commitment to me.  I have on occasion left a paper book in a public place with a note that says "please enjoy reading this and pass it on".  Do the books get picked up or does a janitor toss them out?  I don't know for sure but just my act of trying to pay it forward is enough for me.  It's the thought that counts you know.

Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.  Maya Angelou

Well it's Saturday folks.  Go finish up your chores and get outside and collect some Vitamin D and then perhaps you can curl up on the front porch and read something.

P