Sometimes people like to try and convince me that I should get a Kindle. I see the merits of e-readers and why people like them; I feel like I should have one in order to reduce clutter, have more books on me at a given time, have easier access to self-published works, etc, etc..
But since my resolution for this year was to be sincere, I’m embracing certain truths about myself: I don’t like asparagus, I don’t understand free verse poetry, and I’m probably not going to get a Kindle, at least anytime soon.
Objection 1) “But you’ll save so much space! You’ll be free of all this clutter!”
Reply: I will buy another bookshelf. In the past, I have kept books in the trunk of my car. Also, books are not clutter. Books are beautiful.
Objection 2) “But you can take notes and highlight passages and search the text!”
Reply: I will build a visual, tactile map instead. If I adequately mark up a book, I can find any quote I need off the top of my head. If I don’t mark it and it’s not narrative in flow, it will honestly be like I never read it. I’ll remember nothing.
Objection 3) “But you can have a bunch of different books with you at the same time!”
Reply: I will carry a large bag. Lucky for me, I love leather briefcases like most women love designer clutches. For now I’m happy to fill my bags to the brim with my laptop and all the books I need.
Objection 4) “But it remembers where you left off!”
Reply: So do I, friends. And as is clear from item #2, I have no reservations about physically marking up my books, and none about dog-earing the pages either.
Objection 5) But what about all the self-published works and articles you’ll be missing?
Reply: I can read them on my laptop, which also doubles as a word processer should I desire to type up my notes. And I can download PDFs from academic journals using whatever search function I like.
So there you have it. I’ll probably cave at some point and then I’ll be eating my words, but for now, I’ll revel in my own stubborn desire for the smell and feel of well-worn books, lugging around heavy packs and getting ink all over my fingers. If I change my mind, I’ll let you know!
Stories & Soliloquies 
17 thoughts on “If You Tell Me I Should Get a Kindle…”
Steve Morris
I’m the same. I do buy Kindle books from time to time, and I read them on my smartphone. This is less than ideal, but it means that I always have a book with me, and I can buy books cheaply (or even for free!) Mostly I still buy and read paperbacks.
Michelle Joelle
I’ve read a few kindle books on my laptop, which I’m sure is less ideal than the a “real” e-reader, but it works just fine for me. Never thought about trying them on my smart-phone, though – sounds like a good plan for those moments I get caught without a book!
SelfAwarePatterns
I don’t think anyone should feel obligated to read Kindle books (or any other kind of e-books). You should read them if you find them convenient. Not everyone who tries it likes it.
That said, if you haven’t already, I do think you owe it to yourself to try it with at least one book. If you have a smartphone, you’d only be in for the price of the book. (I don’t recommend trying it first with a free book. They don’t tend to be formatted nearly as well as the paid versions.)
As someone who spends about 90 minutes a day commuting, I’ve also started listening to a lot of my books. It’s enabling me to get through them much faster. Unfortunately, that comes with an extra cost, but it is big time convenient.
Michelle Joelle
I love books on tape! I don’t recommend trying something like The Dubliners while you drive though (you’ll spend more time rewinding than anything else because Joyce needs constant attention). I do recommend looking up LibriVox though. My husband and I are going through the Grimm Fairy Tales, and there’s also a solid collection of Norse Sagas for children that are a great way into that genre!
https://librivox.org
SelfAwarePatterns
Thanks for the recommendation! The Audible app actually has a button to jump the narrative back 30 seconds. I’ve been surprised by how often I end up using it.
Tienzen (Jeh-Tween) Gong
“If I adequately mark up a book, I can find any quote I need off the top of my head. If I don’t mark it and it’s not narrative in flow, it will honestly be like I never read it. I’ll remember nothing.”
You are not alone with this experience. With a marked book, I know the exact place of every ‘marked sentence’ with my fingers, reading and searching need no more.
Besides eat and sleep, I do only four things (read, write, think, and relax). As my time is very limited, I will not allow any book getting in front of my face until I am very sure about that I want to invest my precious time in it. A kindle might make this firewall collapsing. I write with computer and do some reading with computer for those writings. At airport of any kind of travelling, it is the great time for thinking, not reading nor writing, and never take any book with me. Then, most important part of my life is relaxing, and nothing is allowed to interfere with it.
I do not have a kindle now and will never want one. Books and computer are enough.
“I can read them on my laptop, which also doubles as a word processer should I desire to type up my notes. And I can download PDFs from academic journals using whatever search function I like.”
Amen!
Michelle Joelle
That’s an interesting thought. Ever since I got Amazon Prime, I feel like my firewall has broken and I’ve just completely indulged in books on a whim. I don’t quite regret it, but I do seem to be replenishing books faster than I can read and annotate them, but that just might be the curse of academia…
Cait S.
i just fell in love with this post. thank you.
Michelle Joelle
And this post just fell in love with you in return! Glad you enjoyed my stubbornness! 🙂
Nimue Brown
I’m generally a physical book person but for review and research, for things I won’t want to keep especially, it comes in handy and is a break from reading from the computer (I have a desktop, which is not god to take to bed). Holiday reads and disposable fiction can be well served by ereaders, but if those are not your reading habits, you probably have a lot less use for one.,
Michelle Joelle
I think if I had a desktop computer, I’d definitely cave on an e-reader or tablet/iPad! Yeah, I don’t go through too much fiction, actually, but I wouldn’t mind an e-reader laden with the complete works of some of my go-to philosophers. It would be so handy to have a huge collection at my fingertips during office hours, or while working at a coffee shop.
heatherbcosta
I’m with you on all of those points! 🙂
Michelle Joelle
Good to know I’m not alone in my stubborn refusal to modernize! 🙂
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James Pailly
I have a Kindle, and I rarely use it. There’s nothing wrong with the machine, but if I’m reading something I love, I want it on paper. So I won’t argue with you about how you need a Kindle, because you don’t. I am kind of disappointed you don’t like asparagus, though.
Michelle Joelle
A lot of people are disappointed that I don’t like asparagus, including me. It’s makes me feel like I’m standing outside the window of a fancy restaurant watching people eat. Everyone oohs and has over the stalks and I just. don’t. get. it. I feel like I’m missing out!
robstroud
Don’t get it if you don’t want it. I seldom use the one I purchased, but I buy almost all of my new books on Kindle so I can read and “work” with them on my mac. I love books (and have the largest personal library of any person I know, which is saying a lot, since I’m a pastor and I know many clergy with sizable collections). However, since I use most books for research (as opposed to normal “reading”) I find the search and copy functions invaluable.