Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are Affiliate Links. That means if you click on a link and purchase an item, we receive an affiliate commission at no cost to you. All opinions remain our own. We are affiliated with Bookshop.org to help support Indie Bookshops. Click here to learn more about our decision!
I have always been a little bit of a book snob.
If you could have told me 5 years ago that I would purchase a Kindle E-Reader, I would have laughed. The texture and smell of a new book brings happiness to my senses that you can’t recreate with an E-Book. I was obsessed with having enough books to create a personal library, and it’s a little difficult to show off your vast collection of E-Books. In fact, every dollar I earned growing up was spent to fuel my addiction of having more and more books collecting in my future library.
I didn’t have any boundaries for when to stop buying books. When staring at a book in a bookstore, I had a simple logical way of figuring out if I should purchase said book.
If I had the cash in my wallet, said book was purchased. See?! Simple.
I scoffed when the first E-Books came on the scene. Nobody wants to read on a computer screen! How will I show off my vast quantity of books if they are stored on a hard drive?
My opinion changed very little over the years even as more and more reading devices came out: the Kindle, Nook, and even using your phone with an E-Reader App (as they are roughly the size of tablets now). There is just something about holding a physical book that is so comforting and familiar. Not to mention all the news reports regarding the health issues with blue light from various devices.
Nothing like a scientific article to assert my own superiority.
However, my addiction had a problem. We purchased a home of only 1400sq feet. No matter how many boxes and bookcases I used, there was both a storage issue with our small space and an acquisition issue as we were approximately 75 miles from the closest physical bookshop.
POST MARCH 17 2020 (When the World Changed)
When COVID hit with the first wave of lock downs, I ran into several problems.
First, I could not go to a physical bookshop for purchasing or delivery. Even the local library was closed, and there was no way to sign up for a library card online. There was a strong discouragement to order any thing online that wasn’t essential though I do stand by my argument that books fit that criteria.
Second, my mental health was suffering with the constant bombardment of the news and the unknown with work.
#LAYOFFSARESTRESSFUL
I took a deep breath and downloaded the kindle app on my phone.
However, the mental stress increased! Every time I would attempt to relax and read on my cell phone, I would constantly see notifications of “160,000 COVID DEAD” “US TOPS THE WORLD IN # OF COVID CASES”. There was no way to “get away from it all” even for an hour or two to escape in a fantasy novel.
Further Reading: Here are some of my favorite YA fantasy novels
Then I did it. The women, who vowed to never order an e-reader, purchased a second hand Kindle Paperweight from my neighbor for $50.
What I Like About My Kindle E-Reader
- The Kindle stores like a million books (possible exaggeration). As I normally am a fairly frequent traveler even if it is just in my our van to go hiking, I agonize about which books I want to bring with me. Now, I can bring literally every E-Book I own.
- The battery lasts a pretty long time. I recently took it on an 8 day trip to Moab, UT, and didn’t have to charge it at all. This is good because it’s a little hard to charge in the middle of nowhere.
- I don’t worry as much about my books getting destroyed. I have a case on my kindle. I throw it in my hiking pack and don’t worry about the pages getting bent or the cover coming off.
- I own the lowest version of the Kindle which means other than reading, you can not use it for anything else. No news, no apps, just focused reading for a real mental break.
- My house is less cluttered. I’ve given away about half of my books and finally have let go of the dream of the personal library, sigh….
What I Dislike About My Kindle E-Reader
- I still love physical books, and I really dislike that there aren’t packages in which you purchase both the E-Book and the physical book. I actually own several duplicates of books in both formats which I think is probably a bit silly, but I would gladly spend a little bit more to purchase the E-book and the physical book at the same time.
- It is actually too easy to purchase books. (which is brilliant, Amazon, brilliant).
Now I need to know, what is your decision process of buying a physical book versus an E-Book? Or are you as crazy as me and purchase both?
-Alice
