There's No Going Back

Well, my effort to NOT spend money on books this year gets tough sometimes. Whenever I learn what our new book club books are going to be, I have about 7 weeks to get them and read them. That means that I'm usually down to the wire getting them and then reading them. I'll admit, it makes me nervous.

This month, I've been waiting and waiting for Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. I've had hopes that it would come in on time. I have exactly 2 weeks to book club.

On our family vacation, I noticed that Stephanie (she's in our book club) had bought the hard back. She said she actually preferred real books to the electronic. I have not tried a hardback since getting my Kindle about 6 years ago. In fact, when Butch gave me the Kindle for Christmas, I was afraid I wouldn't like it because I like my books so much. It took me about two minutes to get used to it.

Well, it was hard going back. I noticed a couple of things right away about the book. It's heavy! Really heavy! I can't remember how I used to hold them while reading---especially in bed at night. I don't remember how I attached my little book light. It's awkward and keeps getting in the way of page turning. But the biggest negative---and it's a big one for me---is that you actually have to use a real dictionary to look up words. I'm obsessive about that. I cannot just skip over words I do not understand. Even if I can gather the meaning due to the context, I find that I want to test myself and see if I'm correct. I found myself tapping a word in the book before realizing that it doesn't work like that with a hardback. I did it three times before I finally got it through my head that I can't get a definition that way.

Another feature I like is the highlighting for notes. I need that to remind myself of things I want to discuss at book club. Plus, I need a refresher of the book prior to our meeting.

The jury is definitely in for me. There's no going back. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Kindle!! And, just in time, my library book arrived today. I was about a third of the way in the hardback. I'm done with that. Plus, I love the feature of being able to use my Kindle app on my phone. Now I have my book with me everywhere.

One thing I do not like about my Kindle--or I should say this Kindle. The latest way to page turn is to swipe or tap. I don't like that. My hands aren't big enough to be able to do that while holding the Kindle. My old Kindle had buttons on either side you just pressed. It was very simple. In fact, my fingers rested on them while I held the book. Someone, decided that tapping or swiping was a better way. Just like my complaints about my car and other things---they need to let short people be the testers. And by that I'm saying that because I'm short, I must have littler hands too!

What about you? Have you tried going back? Or have you never left? Still, I can't believe I love the Kindle better. I always loved the tactile experience of a book---and the smell. Now, I don't miss either. There's no going back for me.