July 28, 2011
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Technological (dis)Advances
I first learned about “The Kindle” a couple of years ago.
And then there is also the “Nook”
And maybe some other similar devices that I have not yet learned the names of.
I love to read.
You all know that about me, right?
It is a huge hobby of mine.
Well, actually, pretty much my only hobby. Besides long phone conversations with friends during which they try repeatedly to get off of the phone with me and I ask yet one more question. True story.
I love BOOKS!
Enter…the Kindle. (Cue ominous music)
Someone (my husband) once suggested, when we were in Kohl’s, that maybe I would like a Nook for my birthday.
I said something like “Unless you are talking about a ‘nook’ as being a new room of the house which has the walls lined with bookshelves and involves a cozy chair and ready made coffee waiting for me, then I think I’ll pass.”
Actually, that’s not what I said, but if I would have been feeling as witty that day as I am right now, that is TOTALLY what I would have said.
Either way, I told him “No”. But in a much more whiny and annoying way.
Like “No, I don’t really think I want to read my books on an electronic device. I like to hold a real book in my hands. I don’t think I like the idea of reading on a little screen.”
Thank-you-very-much.
I admit, the idea intrigues me. Enough that I checked out my cousin’s Kindle when we were together last Christmas. He showed me features. He told me how much he loved it.
And I have heard the same thing from anybody I have asked who has one.
They LOVE it.
All I can say is “Traitors!”
I just don’t think I can participate in the sell-out.
Because I don’t just love to read, I love BOOKS.
Actual books. With covers and pages and sh**.
I have an idea to one day have a library in my basement. FULL of books. Otherwise, why would I be buying all of these books at garage sales and on-line and wherever else I can get them?
And tell me, how would my library look if all it had in it was this:
Kind of detracts from the atmosphere, don’t you think?
And what about something like this for a kids room or playroom?
How pretty is that?
Or this cute little bookshelf for a bedroom? What would it look like if there was just a Kindle resting on one of the shelves?
Or this, which I totally want for the corner of my living room…
Books are precious to me.
They are like friends.
And when I think about my house, I think that there are books in every.single.room of my house. Ok, not quite. I have two bathrooms that don’t have books in them and I guess my laundry room doesn’t contain any books. But otherwise, yes.
I have bookshelves with extra room…to expand my collection.
I don’t mean to be a hater.
Everyone can do what they wish.
I totally believe people who say that they love their electronic reading devices. I believe that they are really handy.
I just can’t quite go there.
Call me old fashioned, but I have not given my stamp of approval on this growing trend of reading books without actually having the book in your hands.
Not that anyone needed my stamp of approval.
Obviously.
I also will admit and realize that I am not completely consistant.
I own an I-pod. Why would I have that instead of stacks of CD’s?
Yeah, I know, I know. The same arguments could apply.
Except that, in my head, they don’t.
Because books are special. Books are life changing. Books are practically sacred. Books are beautiful.
And I’m not giving in to the pressure to try something new…at least not yet.
Comments (29)
well. you know me. I LOVE BOOKS!how did you say it? “Actual books. With covers and pages and sh**.”yeah. like that. me too.i not only read them. i also highlight, dogear and underline in them. can you do that with a kindle?the only time i want to read words on a little screen is…when i’m fb-ing and blogging!
I love the picture of the bookcase in the kids room with all the shelves going up the wall but as a mother of a 17 month old, I can only imagine all those books on the floor & him climbing up those shelves. =) I love books & have too many according to my husband. I joined http://www.paperbackswap.com so I can at least get some new ones for a little cheaper.
I’m not really into electronics that much… i’m the one person in the room with the oldest cellphone for example. We have quite a big collection of books and are having to down size considerably with our upcoming move… It’s sad!!! I love the quotes you posted too…. how great theyare!
There is definately something to be said for the “smell’ of books too. That musty, “I wonder who has had this book last from the library” type of smell. I have looked at the Kindle too, but haven’t caved….yet. I do like the feature of uploading a book when you need it. Not having to run to the store, ete….oh, and you can highlight and “mark” the kindle books too (from what I am told).
The problem with books is that it’s an addiction. A problem. I have a kindle, that I’ve had since November and it has hundreds of books in it. Unfortunately, I still love a good paperback or hard back if it’s a beloved series, and My husband’s reading material doesn’t really come in electronic format so our house is STILL covered in books. Books in the kids rooms. Books in the living room. Books in all the bedrooms on the bed, nightstand, dresser, radio. Books in the bathrooms. Books all over the kitchen and dining area. Steven will walk in at any time and say, “where’s my book?” to which I say, EveryWHERE!I still visit the library and the used bookstore for books also. So my kindle didn’t really affect that. What it DID do for me was get me lots and lots of FREE books.
And also, I said almost exactly what you have said here to someone, not less than 3 months before I got my kindle. HA.
I have a Nook. Can you still be friends with a traitor? I will never give up on the wonderful feel of holding an actual book in my hand… BUT… when I am traveling the Nook is a dream! I can load 5 or 10 books on it and slip it into my purse. I have even downloaded books right from the car or our hotel room. That picture of the children’s room with all the books!!?… makes my heart skip a beat! Seriously, I could look at that all day long.Audrey, have you ever put together a “Suggested Reading List” for your readers? I would love to see what what on you must-read list.
I am like you. Love love books. Then two years ago my dad gave me a kindle for christmas. I didn’t use it for a year, because i really missed paper, and covers and stuff. It taught me that maybe I like books more for the asthetics then for what they actually contain, because I would way rather have all three hardbacks of The Lord of the Rings on my bookshelf than in my Kindle. Books can make you look smart. I’m really starting to like the Kindle now though. You can underline and note and see what others underlined. Oh, and I’ve gotten some free books too, so thats cool. I like that paper books are a great conversation starter w/ strangers: “Oh I read that and it is so good” etc etcE-readers not so much. How annoying to hover over to someones Kindle and ask “Whatcha reading?” It is rude and intrusive, thats probably my biggest hangup w/ e-readers.On another note: how cool are those bookshelves? LOve love them so much.
@bethro78 - I thought about you when I wrote this post, because I knew you had a Kindle and really like it. Anyway, I am liking what you wrote about doing both. I have kind of been looking at it as either/or and why couldn’t it be both/and instead?
@inanorchard - I don’t know why, but I don’t really feel “qualified” to put a list like that together. Maybe because people have such different tastes and different interests. But who knows? Since you suggested it I might do it one day.
Books fill a very big part of my soul. I think decorating should center around books. New, old or borrowed, books are life changing. Decorate around an electronic device? Na. My Blackberry frustrates me enough- why would I want to spoil precious time spent reading with hard, cold electronics? Ya think anyone knows how I feel about it by now?
I’m with you, sister!
i love me some books…. as the Amish man told me about his horses
. the SMELL, the FEEL, the LOOK…. those bookcase pictures just make my soul smile. i want the round one! but i think i would like a Kindle too. for traveling, lying in bed and it would be lit up so i could read in the dark. i have been sorting my little childrens books. the girls are outgrowing them, the bookcase is overflowing….. so the ones i really really didn’t love i passed on and it tugged.
I would not be kind to a Kindle and could totally agree with you on what kind of Nook I want…I’ll take that round BOOK shelf and oo-oo-oo, I want that corner in my house also! My fave kind of book is like what I have a bunch of…old, with faded celery green covers. or faded blue. or faded red. with wonderful, cute stories or poems for little kids. Because usually, I still feel kind of like a little kid who just wants to live a simple, happy life.
looooove those kids room shelves. How fun are they!?!And i agree about everything else you wrote too. Nothing like the colorful cover of a book to look @ and feel, and old musty antiqute books like those in that picture.Altho. a kindle could be kinda fun. kinda. but totally not necessary for my happiness. That’s what the library exists for.
what i really want to say to this post?!? AMEN!!!!
i hear April though when she says its nice for traveling and she can just slip it in her purse. That i must say is one of the only benefits i see to the electronic book, it ends up being alot less bulky. However, like Cynthia my books are written in, dog earred and just basically well loved cause i can’t get enough of them (much like it sounds they are in your house)i have a voracious (almost unquenchable) thirst for both books and knowledge…and i was sharing with a fellow xanga writer, i have most of my books still packed from when i moved back home but since November have purchased at least 30 books because i just can’t live without them 
some of the pictures on my pinterest account have all kinds of amazing book cases but i hadn’t seen that revolving one yet…put that in my decorating for the future folder on my computer!!! thanks for writing about this my dear! totally hear you on this one!
ohhh and i just read April’s comment about a must read list. i’m totally in on that. I LOVE seeing what other people are reading or love to share about what they are reading. one of the benefits of working at a coffee shop is that so many people bring books in (and their e-readers) to share with their coffees. and i get to see some books that i may not have otherwise been introduced to. THere was one today i don’t remember the name but it was about the experience of an education at Oxford and Cambridge (i am fascinated by the British school system because it is quite different from our’s here in NOrth america!)
i think I laughed and snorted all at the same time when I saw that color cordinated shelf … last picture! Seriously, that would be over in a matter of like .03 seconds at my house. The kids are forever pulling books off my very small bookshelf. What I really want to know is how do you find time to read without falling asleep? I am looking forward to the day when I can do that again … that being, not falling asleep!
Books and plants are 2 things I think that I could not live without. They blend so well in my sun room and I enjoy loaning my books out to friends (who I know will take good care of them). I have thought a Kindle would be nice for traveling especially flying.
I do like real books… but I also like technology. I think maybe you could have the best of both worlds.
I am so with you about books…I just can not bring myself to get rid of any good book around here, so we have maybe a thousand, I don’t know, but it’s a big number. And I LOVE those first two bookshelves that you posted!!! I have an iPad (gift from my son) on which I have several ebooks, but I have yet to read them, even on trips. I don’t remember, for one! There IS nothing like a real book, but I know that print media is on the way out (hopefully it won’t become extinct in my lifetime!). One exception to my comments above: I do have a devotional book called Morning and Evening on my iPad and I really like how handy that is, especially on trips, but even here at home. It’s a supplement to my regular devotional reading. If you traveled worldwide on long trips, ebooks would be much handier than taking along a big pile of REAL books. All that to say, I understand where you are coming from!
At least it would be less messy.
But nope, not for me.
totally in agreement on this one. technological advances are not my strong point ( i leave that to my husband). i need more books like i need more holes in my head, and yet….i gravitate toward them anywhere we go. i’m so disappointed that places like Borders are going out of business, and in a lot of ways, i think it is because of these very kind of technological advances. not only are we losing the stores, people are losing jobs left and right….it just seems wrong to me in a lot of ways…but that’s a soapbox in and of itself that i will not climb up on today….great post friend!
Wow–someone else who thinks like me about books and from the comments it sounds like we are definitely not alone:) I just can’t imagine that reading off a little device would have the same feel as curling up in my recliner with a good book. But hey, who knows what I’d say if I would just try it. Maybe I’d fall in love with it…but to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure I want to
I totally agree with you and have said the same thing. I love the smell, the feel, the look of a book almost as much as I love the words inside it. Books are special and I don’t like them to be tampered with cold electronics, but than that’s my opinion.
I really need to read everyone else’s comments before I offer my own. Looks like I could have say ditto to all the above.
I Like this post!
I’ve felt like I don’t quite make sense…I love technology and electronics. And I love the “idea” of having a kindle. But I just can’t really imagine myself enjoying reading books on it. I love books. And we’ve got scads of them everywhere in our house. So why start over?! 
Although I can see the advantage for traveling….
Oh, I am SO with you!! I just LOVE books too, I think I inherited my mother’s weakness, because I think I have books in almost every room in the house! I think books make a room look so cozy and warm and inviting. The pictures you showed are SO amazing!!! Can you imagine that being your living room or children’s room?? Wow… I do think the electronic would be nice for trips, because I always take around 5 books on every trip I take, even though I usually read only one of them, but I never know which mood I’ll be in and therefore take several difference genres. BUT it makes my bags SO heavy and it takes us so much space. So with traveling, that’s the only time I think I’d like it… But I’ll take a cozy sofa, blanket, hot coffee, and a real BOOK in my hands anyday!
GREAT POST!! 
I’m old-fashioned with you. 
AMEN! I’ve always been insane about the souls of books, but I think I really started falling in love with their bodies (LOVE “Richgem’s” remarks on celery green, etc.) as I entered the world of George MacDonald. Yeah, ironically, Michael Phillips’ versions are cased in paper.. But the SMELL of books, especially very old or very new, has always been pure enchantment. Heh. Anybody smelled a Kindle lately?
I agree with everyone above & the only reason I would want a kindle is for traveling as someone mentioned but for not anymore than I travel it wouldn’t be worth the cost.Another blog I follow just posted on this topic here-http://lifeasmom.com/2011/08/booking-it-august-updates.html