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.
