A BLOG FOR READERS AND AUTHORS OF MTV BOOKS

The MTV Books Blog will close on October 31. Follow us to our new home at YA Outside the Lines on November 1!

Friday, December 11, 2009

To Kindle or Not to Kindle...


That's the question I'm asking myself. The other day I was on Amazon and I decided I wanted a Kindle. I thought it would be cool. So I told my husband that's what I'd like for Christmas.

But then as the days went by I thought to myself: "Really? Holding what amounts to another computer in my hands while I read? As if spending all day on a laptop isn't enough. As if my nighttime routine doesn't already include powering down a computer after checking my emails one last time. Do I really need another electronic gadget?"

The thing is, I love books. I love book covers and book jackets and dog earing pages. I love holding a book in my hands. I love going back to read phrases I enjoyed. Replace that with a "device"? No way.

So a few days later I told my husband that I decided I didn't want a Kindle.

But apparently I was too late, because the next day a box from Amazon arrived in the mail and it was addressed to him. And it was the exact same shape as a Kindle.

Now I'm wondering if he'll send it back or not. And I'm torn. It would be great for traveling because I usually take 3 or 4 books with me on vacation. Unfortunately my vacations also include beaches and water and sailboats. Do I really want to have to be careful with my "book" when I'm reading? Do I really need another thing that requires technical support when I'm having problems?

Not to mention the guilt factor. I love my local bookstore. But if I'm buying ebooks off of Amazon, I'll feel like I'm screwing them out of a sale. And we need local bookstores!

If you have a Kindle or ereader, what are your thoughts? If you don't, why not?

2 comments:

Jennifer Echols said...

A lot of people love their Kindles and I'm so glad they have the option, but I do not understand it at ALL. To me personally, it seems like a solution to a problem that didn't exist, and it is actually worse than what we had before--like the bagless vacuum cleaner, and pointy-toed shoes.

Stephanie Kuehnert said...

^^^^ what she said! Yeah, I don't see the point. I love my books. I love the feel of them, the smell of them. Sure my house is incredibly crowded with them, but oh well. The only purpose I would possibly see is traveling, but it just doesn't happen enough to be worth it.

Oh and like you, I feel that staring at screen like I do all day, would defeat the relaxing purpose of a book.