Adventures · Emptying the nest

The Kindle is to blame

 

I’m in love with books.  I love to sit and hold a book, read each word (yeah, I’m not a skimmer…), turn the pages and drift away in time with the author’s words.   Who needs a bathtub to escape?  (Calgon…take me away…I’m dating myself…again…!)

I’m pretty darn serious when it comes to my book reading time.

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That is unless I’m reading in bed – then the bed wins the amount of page turning time I spend.  Not for lack of trying though…!

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My goal was to be one of the last people (ever) to convert to a Kindle.  My mantra was, “If I’m going to buy a book, I want to be able to hold it, turn the pages, flip corners over to mark pages I love, and then place it prominently on a shelf.”

Books deserve to collect dust.  Books in my collection have earned their keep once I’ve read them.  Even old books I’ve never read, or if I love the charm of their spine titles, they, too, earn a prominent place in our house.

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In the great clear out of 2017, during my dubious minimalist attempts of clutter clearing, I downsized my book collection.  I’ve since gotten over the loss I felt with the parting of ways.  If I don’t look back at the pictures of what I donated, I can’t even remember what books I owned.  Yeah, it was that many.

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For my birthday, in support of my clutter clearing efforts, my loved ones gave me a Kindle.

“Well, gee, thanks, we’ll see, I’m just not sure…I think I’ll really miss holding a book…”

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I’ll be damned…old dogs can learn new tricks after all.  After I figured out all the nuances of the adorable little thing, I’m in love with it.  I even set-up my good reads store access and started adding to my virtual ‘to read’ shelf.

Dagnabit I’ve been hooked ever since…

So much so, I was shocked when I read my credit card bill.  I’m normally not the culprit when there are mystery charges.  I can readily know my own purchases without any need for confession.  As the bookkeeper, it’s my right.

“Honey, have you been buying stuff for your hobbies?  What are all those Amazon charges on the Discover bill this month?”

“No dear, those might be yours.”

“Crap…”

“What did you say?  Maybe they are books for your Kindle?”

“Shit…(just walk calmly out of the room so your reply is intelligible)…Okay, honey, thanks!  I’ll go check my emails for receipts.  I’ll let you know if I can’t figure the charges out, I’m sure you’re right.”

Daily Post Prompt:  Evoke

50 thoughts on “The Kindle is to blame

  1. Reading books is a joy, storing them is a nonsense, unless you live in a Georgian mansion and have first editions leather bound as an investment. Even buying them on a Kindle is a nonsense when you can join Kindle Unlimited for £7.99 per month! I read around 10-12 books a month …. science and crime fiction, politics, philosophy, psychology non fiction. Just like a library, a no brainer.

      1. Well that’s a surprise, I thought you were going to “blast” me for being a book fascist or something! Oh well, back to my pheasant casserole 🥘 😂👍

        1. Nah, what fun would that be to give you what you expected? 😉 Enjoy the pheasant casserole…I might not agree with that choice in dining!?!

  2. I love Kindle. It makes my author’s work manageable. It also earned our KDL director the award of the Librarian of the Year. That is his clearing of the clutter in the libraries and replacing it with ebooks.
    “I got rid of the nostalgia and moved forward,” he said.
    I am doing the same. I still love to hold a real book in my hands, but times are changing, and we are changing with them.
    If not our destiny shall be that of the dinosaurs. Extinct.

    1. Hi Emma, thank you for sharing your thoughts! Congrats on your book release! I added it to the ‘to read’ list on my Kindle. I’ll be thinking of your visit here to my blog when I read it!!

      1. Thank you Shelley for adding my book. I enjoyed reading your post that I found on the Daily Prompt round-up for Evoke. Grateful for that.

        1. You’re welcome! Glad you enjoyed reading my post. There are so many to chose from, I’m honored you stopped at mine!

  3. My brother gave me a Nook several years ago and I rarely use it. I love to hold a book and turn the pages, plus I already look at too many electronic devices and can’t read on the Nook before I go to bed. Perhaps I am old school, but I prefer it that way! 🙂

    1. It definitely takes some getting used to. My Kindle isn’t backlit, so it’s sort of like a real book, I need natural light or a lamp to read it. My other must-have was that I could put it on my treadmill so I can read while I run. It works for that, too, and it doesn’t matter how thick the book is – it always fits. I’m not ready to quit my day job selling Kindles though, I know there are plenty of us out there that prefer the good old books!

  4. Dr C and I travel lots all over the world and carrying the volume of books I read, plus city guides, would require an extra suitcase. But…… I don’t even use a Kindle reader, just the Kindle app on my iPhone mini. Perfect for waiting at airports, on the plane, sitting in bars or cafes. Reading, photography, writing notes, messaging, emailing, researching, blogging all on one device. If you take the “I like the feel of the book” to it’s extreme then you would take a book, city guide, camera, notepad and pen etc everywhere you go! A bit extreme?

    1. I do love my Kindle that isn’t backlit. I don’t care to be tied that closely to my I-phone, while ‘efficient’ – if you lost it, how would you feel? While it is fun to be able to take pictures (for SnapChat and Instagram) from my phone, I adore my canon and another lens for taking better pictures. We are spoiled nowadays with all the options we have available to us.

      1. I’m at the stage of life now where if I lost my iPhone I’d just buy another one! All is backed up and synced, it’s only money!

    1. Wow, I’m impressed, you’re planning several days in advance about what you’re writing!! Yes, feel free to share my post. I look forward to reading your post!

  5. Like you, I still love reading books that I can hold and I love the smell of good old books. Though I have ebooks on my ipad, I still buy books from the bookstore. For me, nothing can beat those good old books.

    1. I agree good old books are treasures. They are also a good restraint mechanism. When I think of going to the library, my arms limit the number I check out. The Kindle…well, it is a tad too easy to build a list to read as well as purchase them! Oy!

      1. You’re so lucky to have easily access to many books. In our country, I don’t see any local libraries accessible especially in our area. True! It’s much easier to accumulate in the new technology 😉

        1. Aw, that makes me sad to hear about the limited access to books. I hope you find comfort in being able to use the internet to read?

          1. Yup. But there are bookstores and shops that sell books and magazines at low prices. Right now, I’m reading handme down books from a friend. I really love the smell of books 😉. I put aside my ebooks for future reads.

          2. Oh, sorry to hear it wasn’t a great day, but I’m glad to read it got better for you after talking with friends. Hope it continues to improve!

          3. Yup hope so. A friend broke my trust and she doesn’t want to settle the money she owed me. She’s hiding. My friends know me too well especially when I’m out of the radar. They missed their clown 😄

          4. True! They’re my high school batchmates. Even our kids are friends because they are almost at the same age. I’m going to email you some pictures 😉.

  6. I’m the same – my shelves groan with books and I use those old favourites as decoration because looking at the spines of beloved books is better than any wallpaper as far as I am concerned. But the convenience of the kindle is amazing. I love that if someone raves about a book I can be reading it within 30 seconds. I still buy the IRL version of favourite authors or particularly loved stories, but I am hooked on the kindle. I have about 600 on there now. My monthly bills are terrible! 😂

    1. I agree, there’s beauty in the spines of books! I’m right there with you on the convenience of the Kindle. I just finished verifying my credit card statement…the ease of buying a book via Kindle is something that may need to be watched more closely…(Shhh….!) Thank you, for stopping by to share your thoughts, nice meeting you here in cyberspace!

  7. I also read a number of Stephanie Plum books. I’m looking forward to reading her series with a co-writer. I liked reading so much I started writing my own Novels. If you do get Kindle Unlimited, you can read mine. I started with science fiction and am now working on fantasy. No matter what you read, happy reading. Phyllis

    1. Ah, Stephanie Plum – I love spending time reading her books. I laugh out loud every time I read one. That’s awesome that you started writing your own. I am going to hook up with Kindle Unlimited so I will look your books up. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and for stopping by to read my post. So nice to hear from you – happy reading & writing to you!

      1. There are two Phyllis Moores. My are Pegasus Colony and Storm’s Coming. Do you write reviews? Every review is helpful to an author, exceptionally new authors. Not just mine, but any author. If you do, thank you from all of us. ;0)

  8. I never thought I would give up books until I received a Nook a year ago for Christmas. With the backlit text and ability to adjust font type and size, I have really enjoyed using it. I still read a REAL book occasionally, but the Nook is my ‘go to’ most often.

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