Kindle

I have always loved books. Throughout my life, they have been dear friends and sources of comfort, transporting me from my real life to everything from life: in a concentration camp, during the Cultural Revolution in China, as a hermaphrodite, as a black slaveowner, as a daughter abandoned by her mother, as a thirteen year old white girl in a babysitting club, as a newly divorced thirty-something year old woman looking for meaning in food and prayer, as a time traveler (and his wife), as a teen detective, as a girl caught between her love for a vampire and a werewolf, etc.

I love the magic of words. But I also love the physical shape, feel and smell of books. I love the spines of the occasional hardcover book I will allow myself to splurge on every once in awhile, I love the glossy print covers of paperbacks, I love turning the thick paper pages, I love flipping to the back to read the climax first, I love the rows and rows of books lined up on my bookshelves. Which is why I never really saw the appeal of Kindle. Because to me, the physical shape and form of a book is very much a part of the appeal - not just the words. But El Hombre gave me a Kindle for my bday and I am absolutely enamored with it. The screen really is easy to read and doesn't fatigue your eyes. It can hold so many books in its lightweight form. And I don't miss turning pages as I thought I would - it's quite nice to just press the "next page" button.

And living in Tokyo, having a Kindle is especially a lifesaver because ever since I have moved here and finished reading the three books I brought, I've virtually stopped reading because I refuse to pay 3 X the cover price for a paperback book when I am used to paying only 3/5 of the cover price normally. Having a Kindle, which you can download books to for $0-10 per book, is a dream. I can read again! I'm already making a list of all the books I plan to download for my upcoming trip to Bali and my trip home for Christmas.