Column: Something About Nothing

I am addicted. I don’t know how it happened but I am addicted to my Kindle Fire.

When e-readers first came out I was skeptical. I watched as one by one my children succumbed to the e-reader craze with both the Nook and the Kindle. I protested loudly. I could not imagine wanting to read from an electronic gadget.

I am the person whose ideal day was a day at Barnes and Noble. My girlfriend and I would plot and plan so we could have a day away to meet at Barnes and Noble for a day of lattes and book browsing. We would walk into the store and inhale the smell of new books. We would gently touch the bindings and sigh at the pleasure and anticipation of reading a new book. We would scour the aisles and load our arms with books and magazines that perhaps we would want to buy. We never left the store with just one book and it was hard to stop ourselves from spending and spending and spending.

At home I would pick up the book I wanted to read and caress the cover. I would cuddle on my couch and let my books take me away to a fantasy world. I would never, ever give up the world of paper pages.

Then I bought my Kindle Fire. The only reason I purchased this electronic device was because of my business. I have to keep up with the trends and know how they work. The first weeks I had it I would pick it up, play around with it and not understand what all the hype was about. Then I downloaded my first book.  I adjusted the text so I could read it.  I adjusted the lighting and I started to read.

I subscribed to a couple of magazines to read on my Kindle Fire. They were delivered immediately to my Kindle. How easy it was.

I found that there were many free books that I could download from various sites. I signed up for library books to be downloaded to my Kindle. Wow!

Now I am addicted. When I run out of something to read, there it is at the touch of my fingertips. If it is 2 a.m. and I am out of reading material the touch of my finger can get me something to read fast.

Therein lies the problem. I am addicted to downloading new books. I used to have piles and bookcases full of books that I bought because they were interesting but didn’t get the time to read. Now I have been downloading new interesting free books that are waiting for me to read. I start to get stressed because I have all these books on my Kindle to read and I seem to keep finding more. I can’t read fast enough.

My magazines get delivered monthly to my Kindle and I don’t have to do a thing. It is so easy and so addicting to want to subscribe to more magazines. No more magazine clutter. Receiving a magazine on my Kindle is the same excitement I experience when I am waiting for an exciting piece of mail.

I do read much more with my Kindle. I think it has something to do with eye comfort and the ease of finding a book for my mood.

I use my Kindle Fire for my morning devotions. They are delivered to me wirelessly and each morning when I wake up they are there ready to help me start my day. No more hunting for where I misplaced my devotion book the day before.

I have found browsing the bookstore on my Kindle is like being at Barnes and Noble every single day and browsing their aisles. Maybe I should have got a Nook. Maybe I could have two. Yes, I would like a Nook too. Then I could have two e-readers. I could have one for my car when I am riding (not driving) and one in my house. I would not have to tote my e-reader with me. Yes, I like that idea. I wonder why I didn’t think of it sooner.

When we travel I have one less suitcase and a happier husband. I always took a bag full of books and magazines. I never knew what my mood would be and what I would want to read. Now I carry my books in my purse on my Kindle.

The only thing missing from my daily bookstore jaunt is the lattes and the smell of the freshly printed book.  I guess I must buy myself a coffee machine and there must be someone out there that makes a candle that smells like freshly printed books. Now if somehow the Kindle could come up with that feeling of touching and running your fingers over the freshly printed page. It would make my Kindle experience complete.

Yes, I am addicted to my Kindle.

 

Wells resident Julie Seedorf’s column appears every Monday. Send email to her at thecolumn@bevcomm.net.