Ok, so I know that everything is moving online, and
using our BlackBerry/iPhone/iPad/laptop is what keeps us going
everyday as we constantly crave that unlimited, quick, delicious
information. But I have to draw a line somewhere, and that line is
with e-books.
Call me old fashioned, but I love books. I love the look of
books, the feel of them, the smell of new pages, I even love
sticking in my little silver bookmark to show people how far I've
got in the book (feeling particularly satisfied when it's a really
big book). It's also the thrill of adding a new "trophy" to my
bookshelf. To me, the thought of replacing books with e-books is
almost sacrilegious.
I feel that when you take the time out to read a good book, the
last thing you want to do is look at yet another handheld device
when settling down to read your romantic novel. It just doesn't
make sense to me. Using the Kindle as an example, I try and think
of what kind of people would buy one, and the first two types that
come to mind are the typical business man/woman and the 'cash rich,
time poor' who get it out to read on a plane or train journey to
pass time. As a passionate book lover, I'm struggling to see how it
could replace the original print version.
When I come across stories about e-books either in the paper or
online, I take the time to read them, as well as the comments of
that story to try and grasp what people think about them. To my
surprise, they are predominantly positive - people seem to love
their Kindle. People talk about the convenience, the space saving,
the unlimited access to books, the fact there you no longer have to
queue in book stores or have to order them in when what you want is
out of stock. Ok, maybe there is a point there, but when they
mention convenience, here's what I think of: I love reading a good
book whilst lying on the beach (If I was using a Kindle, talk about
getting sand in unwanted places!) or whilst soaking in the bath
(hmm...are they water proof?). That doesn't sound too convenient to
me. Clearly, it's only the old fashioned book girl that still
won't let go of her paperbacks for the reasons I've mentioned
above.
We still need a lot of convincing. I will never say never, and
maybe one day we will be persuaded to trade but, for now, I will
keep on adding countless books to my precious collection.
Jen
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