I’ve always been a reader. In second grade, I got in trouble for reading books hidden under my desk. There is always a book in my purse for whenever I have a few free minutes. And when I travel, my carry-on luggage is usually half-filled with books.
I never thought I’d be an e-reader fan. How could an e-book ever compare to the feel of a physical book in my hands? And what would I do without the beloved “new book” smell, or the musty “old book” smell, for that matter?
But then Dan got me a Nook Simple Touch for my birthday, and I’m a little bit in love. Here’s why:
1. It is so much easier to read 2 or 3 books at a time when you have them all in a little 5×7″ tablet.
2. I realized yesterday morning that I can upload any PDF to my Nook. So I copied and pasted my favorite blog posts from Joy, Cheryl and Jess into a Word document and saved it as a PDF. Now I have instantly accessible writing inspiration, even when I need to unplug from the internet!
3. I’ve been really pushing myself on the trainer lately. My cycling rides often end with my sprawled on the living room rug, exhausted. With the Nook, I can make the font of whatever I’m reading as large as I need, so I can still read as I push myself past 17 mph at high resistance.
4. Free books! Turns out, public domain books can be downloaded for free. I now have a collection of classics I’ve always meant to read, but haven’t yet: Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, The Time Machine, Vanity Fair. Maybe now I’ll actually get through Les Miserables– it is so much easier to read a few pages at a time when you don’t have to carry a 3-inch book around. I’ve also downloaded some of my favorite classics: Jane Eyre, Little Women and Phantom of the Opera.
Of course, e-books will never fully replace “real” books, especially when it comes to beautiful cookbooks and books that I know I’ll want to lend to friends and read again and again. But the Nook is still one of my new favorite things.
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