Earlier this evening I read
this post by one of my
favorite people ever about his first time downloading an ebook and it totally got the wheels turning.
I remember the exact day I bought and downloaded my very first ebook. It was Saturday, November 28, 2009. The book was
Glitter Baby by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I had read
Kiss an Angel back in October while stuck in bed with the flu and it became one of my favorite books of all time. After that, I read everything by SEP that I could get my hands on.
On that day in November, we were in Utah, having just spent Thanksgiving with my sister and her family. We were preparing to leave and I was in desperate need of a book for the long drive home. Glitter Baby was the book I wanted and no other book would do. I made a quick trip to Walmart. They didn't have it. I was about to go in search of a book store, but was quickly running out of time. That's when I decided to try downloading it.
Had you asked me even a day prior, I would have told you with a resounding
no, ebooks are
not for me. I like books.
Real books. With
pages. That I can hold and smell and look at. I shuddered in disgust at the thought of
electronic books.
The very first thing that caused my tumble into love with ebooks? The fact that I was able to keep reading the entire 8-hour drive home from Utah. In the dark. And later, the fact that I didn't have to keep a light on while reading in bed.
Real books aren't backlit.
Then it was the fact that I could lay in any position and still read comfortably. Turning the page required nothing more than the gentle tap of my thumb.
(Um, have you tried reading a hardback book while curled up on your side? DOESN'T WORK.)
And I only had to use
one hand to hold my iPod. (These days, my phone.) And my fingers didn't ache from holding said device.
It was the fact that I no longer had piles of books stacking up around the apartment. And therefore I didn't have to listen to a husband who threatened to donate them. (Get rid of my books?! Why don't you just
stab me in the heart while you're at it!)
And I could read while walking the dog.
And while I was supposed to be working. ('Cause, apparently, being on my phone is fine, but reading a
book is frowned upon.)
And then, the kicker, knowing I had
all of my books with me
wherever I went. (To date, I have 200+ books right in the palm of my hand.)
And, most recently, discovering amazing authors and stories that I wouldn't have found in a bookstore. Since I gave myself over to the ebook way of life, there hasn't been a single book I haven't been able to find and download. However, many of the books I've read
and loved in the last (nearly) two years wouldn't have been available at my local Barnes & Noble.
And, well, let's face it. It's a lot easier to carry around my
phone than it is a book with one of
those covers.
