To Kindle or not to Kindle?

My mind was firmly closed on the subject of e-readers.  I knew where I stood on them: nothing could replace a book so far as I was concerned.  And then in December one of my friends showed me her Kindle.  On one level it was disappointing: grey and ugly, and nothing happened when I touched the screen - I was expected to press buttons the old fashioned way!  But I was impressed with the quality of the screen definition and the lightness of the thing.  And so the idea simmered away in the back of my mind.  Many bloggers and tweeters I follow have them and swear by them.  I keep looking at the Amazon page and hypothetically debating 3G or wi-fi.  I keep nearly buying one.  And yet I keep not buying one.  

But on the horizon comes a home downsizing which will be very welcome but also radical.  My CDs are all digitised; can I contemplate doing the same to my books?  (Actually just typing that sentence has every cell in my body screaming ‘no’!)  And then holidays loom with the always huge pile of hardbacks which I deem indispensable for any period away from the house that exceeds 24 hours.  A Kindle would be a major help on both fronts.  

I could keep all my classics, biographies, poetry and reference books in hard copy and going forward buy contemporary fiction in e form.  After all, this is the stuff which has the highest turnover rate in my life.  My rule is that a book only goes on the shelves if I am convinced that I will want to re-read it.  Only about a quarter of the contemporary fiction I read makes the cut.  Putting these on the Kindle would save space.  Packing holiday reading would be a breeze.

But this is where I start to have doubts.  I know that if I get a Kindle then I will immediately download every public domain classic and hug the plastic incarnation of the complete works of Shakespeare, Dickens, the Brontes, Jane Austen, Trollope and so on, just because I can and because obviously I never know when I might need to re-read Wuthering Heights for the eighth time.  And then instead of choosing 5 contemporary novels from the hundred odd that lie, unread, in my library, I will stuff them all (or as many as I can afford to stockpile) onto the Kindle thinking that it will be good to have lots of choice.  But then when I actually come to read something, rather than getting my book out of my bag on the plane and reading I know I will start half a dozen novels on the Kindle, flick through several classics, decide to read Shakespeare, change my mind, go back to the Orange short list, lose interest, skip to a thriller and then be told to switch off all electrical devices before I have read even half a chapter of anything.  I will be paralysed by choice, constantly undermined by the idea that there is something better elsewhere in the 3,500 books the Kindle can apparently hold than.  

And then there is the loss of the memory of the physical sensation.  This shouldn't be underestimated.  In the future all I will have is a  recollection of holding a Kindle, whereas now I can summon the exact feel of the weight of A Place of Greater Safety on the beach in Mexico, the London Library copy of The Quest for Corvo  on the flight back from Venice,  and the moment I pick up my old Penguin copy of Jane Eyre I am straight back to my sixteen year old self (not always such a good trip that one!)

I think that it is almost inevitable that I will buy one.  And that I will both love it and regret it.  Until then - any wisdom to share dear readers?

 

Comments

[Patti]

You are absolutely right about the choice issue. I have so many books on it and it is great for traveling, but whenever someone sees me with it, they will ask me if I like it (which I do) and then we will get to talking about books and the ones we love and I will think "ooh, I have that on here" and I will immediately want to read that one instead of the one that I'm in the middle of.

It is extremely convenient though and wonderful when you don't have two hands for turning pages.

[Heidi]

I absolutely love my Nookcolor (FYI: way better than a Kindle). I was so surprised too bc I have always loved books, the print, the smell, the weight. But it will NEVER replace books for me. I will always buy books, stamp and keep books in my home, nightstand, table, car. (lol) My nook is such an added accessory to my library. I can carry as many books (up to 6000). I can buy with any wifi. I can read (without wifi) so during a flight - it's not considered electronic. I can turn pages, highlight, take notes, look up words with the touch of a screen. And so many other features that I talk about on my blog.

[Kim]

Just thought you might like to know that I have just downloaded Brave New World and The Happiness Project to my kindle reader and am contemplating a nervous but excited return to being an avid reader of anything and everything. Been too busy for too many years but you have inspired me and I will enjoy choosing from your reading lists. Not only will I flit from book to book but I will also have all the distractions that an iPad brings. Neither good nor bad, just a very different reading experience. Bring it on!