I am nearly certain I will alienate many of my tried and true reader friends out there with this post, but here goes…
I am considering (seriously considering) buying one of these:
I know, I know I also said I would never get one. I too couldn’t imagine anything electronic coming between me and the feel of a really great book. Turning the pages, smelling the print, seeing the finished book sitting happily on my bookshelf waiting for me to pass it on to a trusted friend or to read again. But alas, I may be caving and here is why:
See that lovely rubber band encompassing my current book? This is my oh-so-high-tech method of reading at the gym where I do the majority of my hardcore reading (I would like to say that I read curled up in a comfy armchair while my children play happily at my feet. Not only is this a completely unrealistic image, but I am usually asleep in less than five pages if I even look at a comfy chair, bed or sofa while I am reading. The elliptical machine is the only thing that will keep this reader awake!). I have been doing this since college and it has (sort of) worked well until these last three or four years. The rubber band has duel purposes – it not only secures the book on the magazine rack of the elliptical, but it keeps the pages opened to the right place rather than succumb to the slightest breeze in the gym. The problem is that these darn exercise machines are becoming more high-tech themselves and the amount of metal that I have to stretch this poor rubber band over is laughable. Our gym has now put huge flat screen TVs on each elliptical machine and my current system is essentially unworkable – I have already snapped all of the big rubber bands in the house and sent Will off to work this morning with instructions to bring home “as many as you can find.”
All of this brings me to my current controversy – a Nook or a Kindle really would work much better for reading at the gym. I am attempting to pacify myself by saying I would still buy the actual books, too, and just use the Nook at the gym. I am not sure if this is even a realistic though considering that means spending literally twice as much on books (and will surely make Will’s head spin).
For now, I will keep reading in my old-fashioned way; but I am curious if anyone out there is using or has used an e-reader? Am I wasting my money or is it time for me to bite the bullet and get one already?
Happy Thursday everyone!
I am a new Kindle user! I love how light it is. It easily fits in my purse and takes up no room. I didn't miss turning the pages, as I thought I would. I was a little annoyed that the progress bar said I was 75% done when the story ended. The remaining 25% was the index. (It was a biography about Gypsy Rose Lee--fascinating!) So that was a bummer I would have avoided with a real book.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'll become an exclusive Kindle reader. So many books I read are borrowed from friends. And I get GREAT joy from passing them along. I LOVE hearing about "my" book being passed on and on. In fact, a friend told me today that a book i gave her is about to find its fifth reader!
I'll use my Kindle for trips. No more bringing five books in case I race through or don't like a few! I'll have hundreds of options at my fingertips. (Yay for free classics!)
Good luck with your decision! I don't think you'll regret it for gym reading!
As a fellow book lover, one who has shelf after shelf of books (and box after box of books in storage in the attic, seriously), I will never tire of the feel of an actual book in my hands, the turning and marking of pages.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I also love my Kindle. While I'll probably never completely eliminate the actual book from my life, I have to say that I've been kind of swept off my feet a little bit by Mr. Kindle. The convenience, the numerous options, the size and portability. There are many things I love about it.
My one recommendation is also getting a cover (mine has a handy dandy light that also allows me to read after everyone else has gone to sleep without waking everyone up--great for vacations and such when you're sharing rooms with the little ones) if you go with one (I'm assuming the Nook also has available covers) since I'm on my second Kindle after crawling into bed and accidentally putting my knee directly on the rather delicate screen. Needless to say, it was completely shattered and I was a little bit distraught. So I sucked it up and bought another one.
Despite thinking I could never come around to the idea of an e-reader, I can honestly say that I love having one. (Although I probably wouldn't have bought one for myself, Jamison knows me well enough that he knew I'd be a convert once I gave one a spin. He was right. He got me one for my birthday (or for Christmas?) and I've loved it since day one.)
I think you'll be glad you have one, especially for the purposes you outlined above.
PS. I'm pretty sure I need a parentheses intervention. (Help!)
lucy, i highly recommend the kindle! i still use the library and buy books, but it is such a lifesaver when traveling... and classic books are mostly free. i have never thought about using it at the gym before, but now i'll be sure to try it. :)
ReplyDeleteoops, that last comment was from Annie :)
ReplyDeleteI don't know the answer to this truly difficult decision (as I barely have time to read myself these days) but I will say that the pictures of Will that your little one took (from a previous post) are hilarious. I'm off to show them to Kenny at this very moment. :)
ReplyDeleteI love my Kindle too! I never thought I would use an e-reader, but after lugging a separate suitcase for my books on our vacations for years, my husband insisted I try one. It is perfect for trips, not only because of its size, but because if you run out of reading material while on the road or are unsatisfied with your library you can purchase more books instantly.
ReplyDeleteLike everyone else, I miss the flip of the page and still read "real" books as well. This is especially important if you like or need to flip back and forth between the table of contents and the various chapters since the Kindle doesn't have this table-of-contents functionality. This specifically is for books like travel guides, etc.
My favorite aspect of the kindle is that it allows me to look up any unfamiliar words on the same screen as the relevant page. To be honest, I would previously just these words slide like a lazy bum, but now my vocabulary is expanding again thanks to the instant gratification of the kindle dictionary.
As Sara mentioned, a cover and book light (since the screen is not back lit like a tablet would be) make it much more useful. Since I mentioned tablets, it would be remiss for me not to include this last tidbit. My husband recently got an Ipad. While I am not a huge apple fan, the Ipad is pretty neat and it has what he deems a good e-reader as well. It may be worth checking into the Ipad too. It, of course, has a lot of additional functionality. I, personally, find the simplicity of the kindle more my speed.
-Telia