Electronic Devices for Reading

MH and I went to Jackson, TN tonight and while he ran some errands, I browsed the bookstore. I had been searching in desperation for my copy of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress but I have possibly loaned it to someone who has not returned it. When I really love a book, I can’t wait to let someone else read it. The pitfall is that when you loan it, you may never see it again. It is also possible that this book was a victim of the flood as I did keep a good supply of books in my old store building for sharing.
Although I am a huge library advocate, when I love a book, I want to own it. More often than not, I read my favorite books at least twice - maybe more. And if you ask whether or not I own a Kindle? Yes, I do own a Kindle. Sometimes I buy books on Kindle that I don’t particularly want to own (self-help and minor reference type books), and sometimes I buy books on Kindle that I’m not even positive I want to read. If you don’t have a good recommendation, it is cheaper to pay the 9.99 on a “chance selection” than buy a real book that turns out to be disappointing. My mother thought it was a sin to start a book and not finish it even when she didn’t like the book. I am not that way. There are too many things I want to do so I don’t waste my time on a book I am not enjoying. If a book is really bad, I don’t even consider it a sin to throw it away, and I’ve thrown away some that I considered trash. So the Kindle is my man for some situations. And I’ve got an iPad ordered. I’m sure one of the things I’ll like about the iPad is that it is backlit and I’ll be able to read in the car after dark. There are a number of reasons why I wanted an iPad but the backlighting for the book app figured heavily into it.
They say the electronic devices are the future of books. I hope with all my heart that this never happens. If it does, I hope to be in Heaven when it does happen. There is just something magical about holding a book in your hands. This discussion makes me think of a quote I saw on the American Library Association website some time ago....

“I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library.”
- Jorge Luis Borges

If you like to read, please click on the Favorite Books tab. The additions are not new selections, but they do make the cut in my “Book Hall of Fame”.
Tomorrow is book club day and I can hardly wait!