Bet you thought that was going to say basics, huh? Well in the last few weeks, I’ve been conducting a little experiment.
I’ve been reading ebooks on my iphone. I know, after the last time I spoke about ebooks and confessed I wasn’t particularly fond of them, I went and did a little trial run. I read a few books, just to get a feel for it. I read a bunch of sample chapters, which is currently my favorite feature of the ebook/kindle format.
But what I don’t have is hard copies of the books I enjoyed in my library. Oh, they’re on my to buy list, but to date, they have not yet been purchased. Between us girls? I doubt they ever will be purchased, even though I enjoyed them and they probably would have made it to my keeper shelf.
The other thing I’ve discovered is that I retain more of the book when I read the physical book. I couldn’t recall the character names of one I’d read on ebook but the physical book I had waiting for me in time for my morning workout, I simply could not put down. Whether format had something to do with it or not, I can’t say but I do know there was a difference.
So I’m not sure whether the ebook thing is for me. I just ordered physical copies of 2 books I’m dying to read: Allison Brennan’s Cardinal Sin and Laura Griffin’s Unspeakable. Both are auto buys for me, as is Sherry Thomas. And Sherry’s latest: His At Night nearly had me in tears this morning while I was working out. I loved it, I loved that I had my hand on the physical copy more. I also love that I can look at my shelf and see all of Sherry and Laura’s books, sitting neatly in order of publication. I can’t do that with a file. The files are too easy to lose.
This is just me. I know there have been times I wished I had a digital copy of a book, like when I was in Iraq. But just like it would be easier for me to have carried a hard drive full of books (I had a full disk of just music) instead I hauled a tat box full of books. The only place I felt even remotely normal in Iraq was at the CAC where all the free books were.
So while I won’t say I’ll never have an ebook reader (or an iPad) I will say that I’m going to encourage my kids to read physical books and I will do the same. The experience, for me, is different and one that is too integral to who I am to be ignored.