Photo: ericdoeringer.com
Our house is filled with books – even in the loos, as I’ve mentioned in the past. My wife still reads the traditional, paper-based books while I usually read on my Kindle.
A while back, I pointed out to her that perhaps we are running out of space and perhaps –hint, hint- she should buy a Kindle for herself and download anything she wants to read. In order to make my offer more enticing, I pointed out that she would have plenty of space left for all the other things she loves, including boxes and flowers – I had really put a lot of thought into my suggestion and even used some nifty marketing tricks to get her to agree with me. All I got was a blank look of mistrust and a few words that sounded like “you don’t understand, you really don’t get it, I want to smell and touch and hold a book …” before she stormed out of the room, huffing and puffing.
Of course, when we go on holidays, she chooses 3 or 4 books to take with her. Unfortunately, last summer she discovered that the books she had chosen did not “match” the mood of the holidays and found herself having nothing to read. I, on the other hand, had a Kindle filled with dozens of books and spent hours by the beach or in the garden reading (while she got bored). Obviously, I did not mention this little incident when I was trying to make her donate – or at least stop buying – new, physical books.
And then, she ran into the Thought Catalog’s Ten reasons why traditional books are still awesome and read it through. She showed it to me with a triumphant “see, that’s what I mean” smile. I read it; it was funny and I understood the feelings and sensations people get from a book. All 10 points were accurate and poignant, in some way. Still, I can think of as many other points that make e-books awesome. I have become so accustomed to not using paper, that its absence doesn’t bother me, but I can also understand why people love holding a “real” book in their hands.
So, I promise not to try to change my wife’s mind: we will just have to wait and see how she manages on our next holiday!
What a delightful post Nicholas. I have also been converted to an ebook reader since becoming an indie author. I do still enjoy the feel and smell of a book……but I didnt know till now what I had been missing. The two most awesome benefits of ebooks to me are a) you get to increase the fonts (I am almost half a century old and my eyes, being the eyes of a bookworm keep complaining they’ve had enough LOL) and b) the kindle app on my tablet even has a dictionary for me to use when I get stuck. We have 3 bookshelves at home and last summer donated dozens and dozens to the local library. I see the shelf contents remaining as they are as far as I am concerned. Not buying any more physical books. Now all that remains is to convince my husband too! Now, that one’s gonna be tricky as Andy is a techno-phobe and a half 🙂
No way model airplane-Andy is a Ludite! 😀
Thanks for bringing up these two points, you’re absolutely right they’re very important ones.
Nothing like the feel of a paperback, except…another paperback!
I’m the kind of guy that will even read the labels on the shampoo bottles if there’s nothing else to read in the loo. As such, I have to expand that to include… well, pretty much any surface that can be written on!
Still, I have to agree that, deep down, I’m also a paperback kind of person. Just don’t tell all those nice people who buy my e-books… 😉
LOL, we’ve turned into a books everywhere, anyhow family. Besides books, there’s always a tablet somewhere, ready to pick up and sync with the last place read. I love a world of books and being able to take them and access them everywhere is a dream come true.
Electra, my wife, frequently jokes about this. She says that, since I became an author, the house has been taken over by books. And you thought it was the machines to be feared… 🙂
I’ve found the project gutenberg online with hundreds of free books out of copyright that can be downloaded. Obviously the books are a patient, biding their time, brooding beneath dust knowing their time was coming…
I have to have the real books, too. But, I try to go to the used bookstore and do trade-ins instead of letting my house be overtaken by too many paperbacks. I only keep the ones that I really have a connection with.
Now, there is a thought! Would you mind terribly explaining how this works to Electra? 😉