As an old bibliophile I have clung to my paper pages, full bookcases and stacks of books scattered throughout the house.   I have no trouble reading magazine articles, news, blogs that I follow, newspapers and anything else I might come upon while surfing the Internet. But I want to read books in old-fashioned print.   Husband bought a Kindle and bragged about the books he could download anytime without having to order and wait until it is delivered or drive to find it at Barnes and Noble or Half-Price Books.

 

“Not me,” insisted, “I want to hold my books and turn the pages.”

“You can turn the pages on a Kindle.  The pages are numbered and you don’t even need a bookmark.  It remembers where you shut down and comes right back,” he insisted.

I collect bookmarks and have a basket full of them.  No, I would never want a Kindle or other reading device.

Husband continued to enjoy his Kindle so much that he upgraded to a new one.  He told me it was a really good deal.  I could have his old one if I wanted it.

“No, thanks,” I declined.

“Well, if you change your mind, let me know and I will set it up for you and even an Amazon account so you can buy books,” he remarked eagerly as he set it down on a stack of books by my nightstand.  I do most of my reading at night.

Some of the blogs I follow feature writers who have published their own books and are available in print and e-books.  Some are e-books only.  Was I missing out?  Perhaps.  So I decided to try just one or two e-books.  What could it hurt?  I wouldn’t be giving up print books.

The first e-book I bought was John W. Howell’s action thriller, “His Revenge.”  John lives along the same Texas coast as I do.  I like an action books occasionally and this book delivered action, a little sex and a hero, John Cannon, that we can all cheer for as he tries to say do his best for the United States.  John’s books can be found on Amazon in paper or e-book and you can follow him on his blog, Fiction Favorites, for daily fiction and fun.  He is working on the third book in this trilogy featuring John Cannon.

The second e-book I bought was a novelette by an author from the  western coast of Canada, Diana Stephen.  Her novella, “The Blue Nightgown,” caught my attention with its fifties-style pattern for a cover.  Set it is set in a Winnepeg, Canada boarding house in the 1950s, it reflects the mood of the time when men and women tried to remain within the boundaries of their roles and where sex was often hidden away in a bureau drawer. It is available in e-book only on Amazon.  Her latest novel, “A Cry from the Deep,”  is available on Amazon in e-book or paperback.   You can find out more about her on her blog, Diana Stevan.

To my surprise I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of reading both of these books even though they were read on my Kindle.   Perhaps I had been a bit of a literary snob.   Reading was reading no matter what form  it has evolved into over time.  Now we have choices.  And isn’t the reading the important thing?  However, print books are still my first choice!

For now I will go back to a print book I have started, “Hitch-22, A  Memoir”,  by Christopher Hitchens, and perhaps fall asleep in bed and lose my place.