Books

I love books - all books. I love books with content I love and books with content I hate. I find beauty in the written word. I love the imagination that it evokes. I love the feel of books. I love the way the pages sound when I turn them. I love the way a library book who has been read by many fans smells. There is something intoxicating to me when I pick up a library copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird" and I flip through the well-worn pages and inhale that musty smell of the stacks.

Which brings me to my purpose for this post. I recently saw a product on Oprah which at first I was really excited about and close to adding it to my Christmas Wish List. It is an electronic book reader called the Amazon Kindle. It can hold up to 4,000 books and even will tell you the definition of word you may not know. Since Oprah is a fan, I am sure millions will be sold this holiday season. Many will buy them and decide they could never live without them. Well... not me. In researching this product, I realized that an important part of the wonder of books for me is in the physical book itself.

Which brings me to my final purpose. Don't stop reading books. I fear J. Hogan will grow up never having the joy of sitting in a library for hours scouring the stacks for the perfect read. I love technology, but come on Amazon, does this particular device not take out the joy of one of the simplicities of life. I just can't imagine curling up to my Kindle for a nice relaxing evening. I am boycotting this product and Oprah, just in case you read my blog (wink, wink), retract your statement of admiration for this product and urge all who watch your show to go to their local libraries and check one out!