Are you a dedicated e-reader who no longer buys physical books so that all your reading material is now exclusively contained on your Kindle or other such e-reader? I ask this because I am not in an exclusive relationship with my Kindle. Despite owning the said e-reader and actually using it quite a bit, I have to admit to a string of affairs with physical books. And, right there, is the reason: 'physical'. I like the feel of a book, the smell of a new book and, when it is finished, putting it on the shelf as a tangible reminder of the story (and to show off? Perhaps there is an element of that too...). Browsing for a book on the Amazon site and downloading it to the Kindle pales as an experience when considered alongside going into a bookshop and feeling like a child in the world's best toyshop. So much to choose from! The book buying experience has a parallel with music buying then and now: then, the excitement and anticipation in taking home a gatefold sleeve vinyl LP which could be pored over for hours is nothing like the soulless act of buying a CD now - the experience is as cold and clinical as the sound produced by the CD. Book purchase via the Kindle is, similarly, a sterile affair.
But - ain't there always a 'but' folks - going on holiday with four or five thick paperbacks or even - posh bugger that I am - a hardback or two - is stupid when you have a Kindle and those books fit easily into the 3,000 os so slots available on the virtual bookshelf within my E-reader. E-readers are so much more convenient in those terms. Also, should you run out of reading matter while on holiday, it is simple to hook up to the wifi and purchase some new titles whereas finding a bookshop and then a novel in English may not be quite so straightforward. And talking of 'purchasing', within the Amazon store there are often titles available for 99p or even, occasionally, free. I have yet to find a Waterstones where they were giving the the books away...
So, which to commit to - convenience and progress provided by the e-reader or rose-tinted nostalgia and something that I can't quite define that is provided by the physical feel of a book? There is one more thing to mention. When we were in Manchester airport waiting for our flight to Iceland, I suddenly realised I had packed neither Kindle nor a book of some sort. As a consequence, I went to WH Smiths and bought a suitable airport read: a crime novel by a first-time writer (gotta see what I'm up against when I unleash my own hero or heroine (gender to be decided) detective, Alabastro or Alabaster Stone on the world!). When we landed at Manchester on our return, I managed to leave the bloody thing in the back of the seat in front! Half-read is no good when finding out whodunnit and/or whytheydunnit is central to reading that type of book. Hence, I had to buy it for my Kindle in order to find out those things. More importantly, had I been reading it on a Kindle in the first place, would I have have left that in the seat back?
I can't be Knut-like about it and pretend that e-readers are not here to stay in some form or other and we are now married to that technology. But while the paper page is still available and bookshops are still (just about) on the high street, I shall continue to engage in those clandestine liaisons with my printed peccadillos.
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