Crossing To The Dark Side...

Well ya'll know how I feel about books if you've been following this blog very long.  I love them.  Love to read, love to see them, love to smell them.  I have lots of books.  Lots and lots.

And I swore I would never, ever, ever, ever get a Kindle and read an electronic book.  It was just a bizarre concept in my eyes.

So then I turned 21 (since my sister just turned 29 (again) I can only be 21, right?    For  my 'big --0 birthday' in December my sister and niece teamed up to destroy my vow of no kindling.  They gave me my very own little Kindle.   I don't really think that was their motive, but there you have it. 

And I was delighted.   I would never ever ever ever buy one for myself (really) but hey, how could I say no to a GIFT.  So the minute I got home I forced myself to turn it on and download my info and start reading.  Well... maybe it didn't happen that fast, but the truth isn't too far from that. 

See the really big exciting thing is that you can get books free--or very low cost.  I'm a picky reader.  There are things I like and things I don't.  Usually if it's a 'popular to the masses' book I don't even bother anymore because I find them dull.  With the Kindle I can hop and shop around, try many, many authors and books on a myriad of subjects.

There was a problem though.  I hated holding that slim little gadget in my hands.  It was awkward and certainly did not feel right.  Then there was the issue of reading at night after I got into bed.  Once upon a time I could read all night, but now, I'm lucky if I last a half hour....and I don't nod off gracefully.  I (usually) end up dozing off and invariably throw the book up in the air, or occasionally let it slide off the bed to the floor.  Real books don't break....Kindles do, so I was uneasy about that.

It probably would have been easier to buy a Kindle cover, but hey, that would be too simple (and expensive), so I thought and thought and decided to make one. First I tried to hollow out an old blank journal book and that took forever and was awful looking.  For take two I found an old leather look vinyl Journal cover (that you could slide the paper tablets into), which was absolutely the perfect size.  It also had a slide in tab flap you could close it with.  I removed the paper, bought some small black elastic, rummaged around and found a nice piece of gold colored corduroy and some fabric glue and was ready to assemble.  It actually went together pretty smooth and when I was done, I had a thin nice looking case for my Kindle.  It looks homemade when you look close, but it's durable and I like it.   I slipped the Kindle into the four pieces of elastic on the corners and there it has stayed since.  Now I have the feel of a book when I'm reading and the Kindle is protected from 'the elements' of day to day life. (cats)

As I've mentioned I love the fact of having unlimited access to various authors and books.  Plus it is easy to slip it in my purse and carry with me.   I  have the paper white (I think that is right) version so it is like reading a book and not a computer screen, and I really appreciate that.  There is also the anticipation of finding a 'new' author that I will really love. 

And that thing stays charged up forever, unlike the usual three hours for the laptop.  I mean days and days. 

There are some things I don't like about it as well.  I still find it awkward to read--because even though it has a percentage read bar it still isn't like holding a book and visually being able to see how much is left of the book--always an exciting thing.  I still struggle with this aspect of it and the small page size bothers me.

My biggest dislike though is that there are allot of people out there who really really should not be publishing their work.  They are considered 'indie publishers'.   Some really can't write --even if they have a great idea--but many of them just need a good proofreader and don't even bother to have that done.  Some of them are truly atrocious.  I'm not a terrible stickler for everything being all proper sentence structure, but it does bother me to see misspelled words and improper usage of words.   I also get royally ticked off if they haven't done their research or they lose the continuity of key story lines and end up contradicting themselves.  And you really can't decide much based on reviews.  Sometimes I'm wondering if we are reading the same stuff.   At times it can be hard to wade through the 100s of books listed to find something that appeals.   Many authors let you read a sample though and I've started doing that before deciding to spend time on reading the whole thing.  I've deleted many --but hey, easy come easy go.

I'll never give up my books.   I still like the visual and the feel of 'real' books, but the Kindle has become a handy little tool in my voracious book reading habit.

Thanks T & T for dragging me kicking and screaming into the 'modern' world.