One Year of Firsts: Trying Out An E-Book Reader

Day 47

No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting.

I love books. I have so many,  my bed side table and house in general are over run with them. Under my bed? books.   I ridiculously spend money on  hardbacks because I like the feel of them and want my own copy. But I really have no where to put them any more. These day  I actually try to pass on good books to good friends.

Meanwhile, I've learned one of my co-workers Kathy Gerrow is having the same issue. But lately she's been carrying around a Kindle. She swears she's okay with the feel of this wireless reader , pressing a button instead of turning a page.  She loaned me hers for a few days to give it a go.  Here's a little tour.

I don't know why, it will be hard for me to give up physical books. I just like to look at them in book stores and wonder what's in them.  As a  practical matter,  something like a Kindle makes sense. ( I don't have to worry about what I'll do with the next 50 books.) I guess I could go to the library but I hate carting books back and forth.  I know. I'm a book snob.

There's something romantic and mystical about opening a fresh book. Where's the romance in opening a Kindle?  Eh, i don't know.  Maybe I'm just not ready for  this new kind of reading.

Everything else is changing so fast. I guess very soon it will be old fashioned. But I still want to hold on to a few things that make me feel secure in the world like a solid, hardback book.

Lu Ann Cahn is an Emmy award-winning journalist who's been in the biz for more than 30 years. She's survived motherhood, breast cancer and chasing down bad guys. Now, Lu Ann's trying to complete a year of "firsts." Can she do it? She'll be posting daily here on NBCPhiladelphia.com.

Contact Us