COLUMN: I can't get past the feel of a paper book in my hand
Melissa Herrera (COLUMN)
June 23, 2014
411
COLUMN SUMMARY: If you have a book by your side at all times then give me a high five. Reading is a rush, but not everyone loves reading electronically. Do you?
Raise your hands if you have to be reading a book at all times. This doesnt mean a book on the shelf, this means a book that has been started and is actively being ready at any point during the day. That would be me since I was old enough to read. Which by the way, my first book was about a frog that jumped around on its lily pads, and when I finished it the surge of energy that went through me never left. I could read. I moved on quickly to whatever I could get my hands on, mainly Little House on the Prairie books and all Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries. I remember the chill I got from holding those G-rated
mysteries in my hand and reading until all hours of the night. No sleuth, in any other book, was ever better. They enthralled me.
Of course my tastes would change and now I like to read whatever strikes my fancy. As I was going through my books last evening to pick some out for our garage sale, I was reminded once again just how wide a variety I do like to read. I was also reminded how much it takes for me to part with a tome I have picked out and loved. I wouldnt call myself a book hoarder, but I do like to own my books. Much respect to the libraries, but if I cant categorize and stack my books the way I like them then I dont want to get them until I come across said title at the thrift store. Yes, nearly all of my books come from the thrift store, except for The Hunger Games, The Clan of the Cave Bear series, and several others I scored on Amazon. I will break my rule of only used books once in a great while. I cant imagine the amount of money I would have spent on books in my lifetime if I got them new! To me, the thrill of walking into a thrift store and finding a title youve been hungering for? Nothing better than plopping down that fifty cents to a dollar and walking out with a smile on your face. Ive learned to be patient when it comes to reading and wait for the books to find me.
This brings me to my ultimate question – how many of you are e-readers? I dont mean reading articles online, which is something I am somewhat addicted to. Give me a few hours with nothing to do and Im all over the article train. I could sit forever reading the interesting articles that are available to me online. Alas, I curb myself so the house doesnt become a cesspool of filth. When the kids leave for college and the house contains just George and I watch out. I may become the queen of article-reading because the house will never get dirty! But back to the question at hand about e-readers – I own a Kindle and its sitting on my bedside table gathering dust. I tried, really I did. I even downloaded a few books onto it and after nearly a year and a half, theyve never been read. I read a few pages but then my hands started itching for that paper feel and I couldnt see the front cover or read the reviews. I am not a fan of reading books electronically. Woe is me, because Ive read that eventually this will be the only way books are printed. Weve already lost several magazines to online editions and newspapers are heading this way as well. Hopefully we wont lose printed books for at least another fifty years. Ill be safely tucked away in the hereafter by then and wont have to think about what weve lost.
