Kindle is the Devil

A few friends, relatives and aquaintances have been singing the praises of Kindle. I will not be singing along. I don't care how many books can fit on it, or how light weight and portable it is or the fact that you can read in the dark. Here is why. Books have soul.

Have you ever purchased a used book and found a note, a receipt or something stuck in the middle that was maybe used as a bookmark and forgotten? It's like a little clue to the mystery of the previous owner. Have you read the inscription in a used book and wondered about the person that gave it and the person that received it?

There are books that I took on vacations, books that I read while nursing my baby, books that I wet with my tears and books that made me giggle out loud. I can look at them on my shelf and remember that. A file on a machine would not evoke those memories.

I love the weight of a book in my hands, the smell of the paper and ink, watching my progress as the bookmark moves through the pages. I even love the irritation of a dust jacket that won't stay in place. I enjoy the process of selecting two or three light weight books to take on a trip.

A book store is like a crack den for me. It's hard to go in without buying something, and once I'm there, I don't want to leave. Being there lifts my mood. I'll pick up book that I never would have considered reading just because the cover or title is eye catching. I can read two or three pages to see if it grabs me without committing to a purchase. If book stores go out of business because everyone is reading electronically, it will be a great loss to me.

I know, Kindle might be greener than paper books, but I do my part to recycle. I keep a few books and the rest are resold or given to the thrift store or donated to the library. I've read that paper production is not a cause of deforestation because of aggressive replanting.

So lets make a deal... I'll try not to sneer at your Kindle if you don't try to sell me on it.

Here's a leather bound, 1905 edition of The Works of Edgar Allen Poe, Vol. II, that I bought at a book sale near Rockport Massachusettes for $2. This book has so much soul, it nearly has a heartbeat. Or maybe it's just a "Tell-Tale Heart".