I bought a Kindle several years ago when I was still living in Australia.
I never expected to be a huge fan of the whole screen-reading experience—I’ve always been a lover of physical books. Still, I wanted access to some Canadian titles that I couldn’t get for a reasonable price in rural Australia, so e-books sounded like the perfect solution.
In addition to scratching that itch of homesickness, I also enjoyed having access to a ton of free books. I downloaded all the classics and trolled promotions regularly to score reduced prices on not-free items. I also chose to purchase a small number of books I knew I would read only once, because the digital formats were cheaper than paperbacks.
But in spite of its many benefits, I really didn’t use my Kindle much.
I’m a homebody with four kids, and I don’t get to travel often, so I had little occasion to need the device. I downloaded far more free books than I could ever read, and at the same time I still went to the public library each week to stock up on physical books. I liked toting that heavy bag home with me, liked being able to hold those volumes in my hands.
In 2013 I moved back to Canada, and regained easy access to all those books I wanted in the first place. At that point, I found myself using the Kindle very, very infrequently. Maybe three times a year.
Then one day I found my Kindle on the floor, its screen fractured. I assume one of my kids found it and either dropped it or stepped on it. Or both. When I turned it on, only half of the screen could be read.
Faced with a decision to replace it or not, I instantly knew it wasn’t worth it to me. I realize there are people who love their electronic readers, especially if you want instant access to the latest books, or if you’re a reader but not a re-reader, or if you live in tight quarters and need to avoid clutter. But for me, this has been a great excuse to focus even more on cherishing old-fashioned books.
I love my floppety old Bible—just love the way it lies open in my hand, the weight of it. Its leather feels like a second skin, like holding a piece of my life in my hand. It makes me think about the most difficult moments I’ve been through, and how I came through the other side still in one piece.
There’s that hardcover of Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman that my dad gave me recently and has been waiting for me to read so we can discuss it. And there’s Michael Christie’s The Beggar’s Garden, which I bought for Dad’s birthday because the author is from our hometown, and I thought that was kind of cool.
There’s the oh-so-beautiful double volume of Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I know one day my daughter will inherit these cookbooks, and use them, and pass them on to her children. I still have my great-grandmother’s cookbook with all of its stains and notes and faded script.
What of those two or three boxes of beautiful books from my university days, which completely disappeared during a home renovation? Were they accidentally given away? Whose hands are they in now? It’s sad that I don’t have them but interesting to wonder: like so many of the friends I made from those formative years, where are they now?
On a trip to Canada years ago, I bought a secondhand copy of Mary Lawson’s Crow Lake. I took it back to Australia and handed it to a friend: “Read this,” I said. “This reminds me of home.” Sharing that book with a special person was sharing a little piece of myself. I couldn’t have done that with an e-book.
My broken Kindle prompted me to consider the true beauty of books, the way they feel, their smell, the inscriptions you find on the inside of their covers. Their torn dust jackets and stained pages and taped spines a reminder of how loved they have been.
While technology has made so many things possible, sometimes I wish for life to be that little bit simpler again. I spent a lot of time recently looking through old family photographs and realizing how precious they are, being able to point to something and tell my kids about those faces, scenes, relationships (the ones that worked out and the ones that didn’t). By contrast, almost all of the photos I’ve taken or received in the last ten years are on a computer. I pray this never happens to our books.
I’m all for living simply, for not holding on to things just for the sake of it. I’m all for e-books as a supplementary reading experience, or for informational-type publications, quick-reads, and the like. But let’s not forget what makes old-fashioned books important.
Books are history. They are memory. They are community.
Share one today.
I feel the same way about my Kindle. My husband gave it to me years ago, thinking it was the perfect solution to my book obsession. I find that reading books on a screen lacks the magic I feel when I hold a physical book. I don’t connect to the words in quite the same way. So I will continue piling library books by my bed and purchasing books that I must have on my shelf.
Too right, Cathy—the magic just isn’t there! Useful, for sure, but still inferior.
I have a Kindle app on my iPad and use it from time to time — and like it. I like the search, notes, and bookmark/highlight functions. But in spite of its utility, it is not my first choice for reading pleasure. And permanence? That’s a joke.
Interesting, Lindsay. I very rarely used the ‘Notes’ or ‘Search’ functions on my Kindle because I found them clunky, but I guess it would be easier with the app.
I love my Kindle, but like you, I’ve downloaded more books than I will ever read. Some books I start reading and then stop because there are so many to choose from on my Kindle. I still enjoy the feel of paper, however I read faster on my Kindle Paperwhite. And who doesn’t enjoy a trip to the library? I think paper books and the library will be here forever. At least I hope so.
Jean, I had the exact same problem—I’d start reading something, then be distracted by all the other books. The books that I did read from cover to cover on the Kindle tended to be informational books, not literature.
My husband and I live and travel full-time in a 400 sq ft RV. While many RVing friends have gone to tablets, readers, and phones for their reading (because there’s precious little space for books in an RV, or so they say), I’ve resisted.
I was glad to read your take on this! Like you, I like the feel of a book. I like seeing the progress I’m making as my bookmark moves through the pages (odd, I know, but true). And when I’m done, I donate that book by leaving it in an RV park laundry room. Reading a physical book is a break from the monitor, the ever-present screen (TV, laptop, phone). It’s like giving my eyes an entertaining vacation.
Ellen, that’s a wonderful system. Plus, I think we ALL need to give our eyes an vacation from screens!
Paper books for the win!
Yay! 🙂
I know exactly what you are talking about. I also love physical books and couldn’t get myself to buy a kindle yet. I even like to write my first drafts on paper and to leave the laptop closed until I start the reworking process.
Call me oldfashioned, but paper has a very different feeling to it!
It does, for sure. I have gone back to writing on paper a lot more!
I love this! My husband asked a few years ago if I wanted a Kindle for Christmas, thinking he’d landed on the perfect gift, but I had no interest. I have been known to spend an entire afternoon in a used bookstore. Those excursions are my getaways, and I lose all sense of time when wandering through the aisles and sifting through boxes in those often dusty, disorganized places. I love the smell of old books, and like you, I wonder whose hands those books have passed through over the years. Just something special about the old, printed word.
Stacy, I totally agree. New books are awesome, but there’s something special about perusing a used bookstore!
I am still 50/50 on this. But I really like the ease and ability to downoad a book immediately on the Kindle.
J.L., I agree that being able to download a book immediately is a definite advantage. But then, aren’t the best things in life worth waiting for? 🙂
I can see both ways. I prefer the experience of reading a physical book (feels better for my eyes, etc), but as someone who travels and moves a lot, taking 100+ books with me every time is just not feasible. So, while I still read books, I also have the Kindle app on my phone and use that for the majority of my reading these days. Personally, I find the magic of books in the story that they tell, not their physical attributes.