The Kindle...an amazing gadget really. You can store an insane amount of reading material on one. You can take your library with you wherever you go, and except for a power emergency and a dead battery, always have your favorite novels, manuals or whatever at your fingertips.
But there's one thing a Kindle doesn't have...the sensory qualities that a book has. A new book has a delightfully intoxicating smell...a bouquet of paper and ink and sometimes the heady aroma of leather. An old book can have that nostalgic scent...of dust and time and untold fingers roaming through the pages. The cover can be made of many different materials...supple leathers, soft linens, coated papers...each with their own unique feel. Even the weight of a book can be comforting...there's just something about the feel and scent of a real, actual book in my hands that I just love.
I wouldn't give that up for a small plastic device! Nor would I be opposed to owning one, it definitely has its practical side. But to completely replace a book with that...no way! Sometimes, there's nothing more relaxing than snuggling up in your favorite space with a nice, thick book that not only captures your mental attention, but engages your sense of smell, and touch as well.
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I am in TOTAL agreement! Just had this conversation with someone today. A cold, hard piece of plastic & metal can never replace the loving feel of a good book in your hands, the joy of turning page after page. I have over 500 books at home. My shelves would be so bare if I replaced them all with a tiny Kindle or Nook. And I would be denied the pleasure of remembering the joy a particular book brought me every time I glanced at it sitting on my shelf.
ReplyDeleteTerri Dowd