book It!

There aren't many things I'm competitive about...watching TV, marathon shopping sprees, and reading books. my love for reading books again and very early age. I was always trying to see how many 5 page books I could read on the subject of dick and jane. whethet they were playing ball, playing with dogs, or running, I was hooked. my fascination with book blossomed in third grade with the contest called Book It. combining my love of pizza with my love of books was a sure fire way to keep my interest. Over the years I read every book the came my way, though admittedly some assigned books in school took a while to love...never did read Return of the Native.

I tried to balance my obsession for books by getting giant stacks from my local library. I had a strategy-visit bookstores, browse shelves, take photos of book covers to remember them, then search for books on Amazon, add to my wish list, then in batches of 10-15, request them to be sent to library. Whew! What a work out book pick- up day would be!

Then everything changed....last year I bought the most recent Kindle and I LOVE IT BEYOND MEASURE. It fulfilled my need for instant gratification and allows me a nearly limitless set of book @ my disposal. The joy of sitting in my airplane seat and downloading a new book mere seconds before the plane takes off is AWESOME. So my love affair with my Kindle continues, but the other night something happened.

With too much time before a dinner reservation P and I went into a bookstore. After flipping through magazines of trash, I wandered to the " recommended" section and an actress' biography caught my eye. I plopped down, heard the beloved found of the spine cracking open and began to read the prologue. I inhaled the new book smell, brushed my fingers over the lightly textured ivory pages, the black ink dark as ebony, and realized with a nostalgic sigh, that I missed books. I missed turning pages and mentally marking my progress by seeing how much of the book is left marked by inches. I also really liked the biography too!

I downloaded the book as soon as I got home and began to read it on my Kindle. A crazy thing happened...I dint like the book anywhere near as much as I did in paper, and I actually felt like I betrayed my beloved Kindle :(

What I learned is that once in a while its good to look backwards and allow ourselves extra indulgence. Maybe a bookstore CAN still be a great escape and darn it, I shall not feel guilty! LOL