Taking The Plunge

I have resisted the e-reader "thing" for ... well, as long as it's been around. So ... a few years now?

Anyway.

I've established in the past that I might have a small problem when it comes to books. Heck, I planned an entire vacation around a bookstore. I collect them kind of indiscriminately -- money gets spent that probably doesn't need to get spent, I have a large stack that I haven't read yet but have had for months or years, and for the most part when I need to clean my living room I really need to collect my books into one place and find their proper homes again. (That pile is what happened today in one such endeavor.)

And to be perfectly honest, I don't see that changing a lot. I like my paper books. I like the smell and the feel and the ability to take notes in them and point things out to people easily and have them get dropped in the snow without being destroyed.

In recent history,  however, things have shifted in my collection. I have a fairly large assortment of audiobooks because I realized just how awesome they are for long drives when I'm alone. [Side note: if you've never read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks but think it looks interesting, the audiobook is a fascinating way to experience it.] Moreover, I've taken to acquiring paperbacks and cookbooks in electronic form because I don't need a stack of books that I will probably never read again ... and I have Kindle apps on my phone and laptop. Also, they're frequently less than $2 that way.

It seems only natural that now I'm considering the e-reader plunge. Especially on those trips where I'm hauling four to six books with me because ... I need the exercise? Something like that.

Pretty....
I posted a question earlier on my Facebook page regarding the e-ink vs. tablet approach, and it seems that people really like their Paperwhites.

This is good news.

I have a laptop and a smartphone, neither of which is going away any time soon. My laptop is crucial for the volume of typing I do and my smartphone will some day be upgraded into a fancier one. I can access all of my podcasts and audiobooks from both of those. More importantly, I have no use for one more device constantly hooked to Facebook.

An e-reader gives me the same distance that a regular book does, with the added bonus of being lighter and slightly stealthier. (At the very least, I could lie about what I'm reading if someone asks questions and I'm halfway through a cheesy novel.)

So it is that tonight, I find myself perusing the Kindle pages, trying to make up my mind. It's really only a matter of time now.

Wish me luck.

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