To Kindle or Not to Kindle?

I love my books and unfortunately since we moved in with my in-laws most of mine are in storage. (Not enough room) However, most of my favorites are still stashed around my husband and I's little bedroom. :) Next to the TV there are some old favorites such as my art books on Frida Kahlo. A stack of National Geographics and Anthropology books from school that I haven't had the heart to sell lie on my dresser. By my bed are the necessities, an army bible my friend gave me before he went to fight in Afghanistan, poems by Hafiz, Ishmael, and an old poetry book my mother-in-law gave me that dates back to the late 1800's. Finally, stashed behind a bunch of Cd's are some newer books like The Other Boleyn Girl (which I have to admit I never quite finished), The House on Sugar Beach, and Dan Brown's Angel's & Demons. That does not include my husband's fantasy novels that are scattered all over the damn place and a few of my son's classic fairy tale books that I keep by my bedside for early Saturday mornings. If you can't already tell,our room is a mess. :P

When we did have our own place we had two large bookcases plus more of our favorites displayed on the coffee table such as The Red Tent and The Complete Works and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe. They may cause mess, dust, and clutter, but each of them has a story other than the one the author wrote. I read the Poisonwood Bible when I was nine months pregnant with my baby boy and finished reading it bit by bit while breastfeeding. Now everytime I look at it I think not only about what the words inside the novel meant to me as a new mommy, but that incredible time in my life. In a way, it's like a souvenir.

I read Where the Heart Is when I was in the eighth grade. My friends and I all loved it so much we passed it back and forth between one another for a year before it finally ended up back in my hands. The cover has been completely torn off and the pages are littered with highlighter marks. Every few pages there will be a note such as, "Hey Mimi, I really like this part. <3"

When people see books in your home they see part of your identity.

These are the reasons why I am having a lot of trouble accepting these new fangled iPads and Kindles.

For someone who loves the idea of saving paper and trees I am struggling a lot with the idea of this new technology. Worst of all, I have a feeling that because of this invention, books will become obsolete and one day we're gonna end up like those obese humans in Wall-E that only interact through a screen. Perhaps I am being too dramatic, but I'm at my computer enough dammit!

So I am trying to tell myself these new reading screen thingamabobs can be a very positive thing. There is less wasted paper, they are less expensive, and they don't end up taking over your house. Perhaps they are not the devil after all.

I try to comfort myself by thinking that no matter what people may use their Kindle but they would still end up finding comfort in a real book, the same way I get my news from cnn.com everyday, but still like to read the newspaper on Sundays. I hope this ends up happening, and that this does not simply spell the end of my hanging out at a bookstore with a cup of coffee all Sunday afternoon. Because if my local Barnes & Noble starts looking more like an internet cafe' then a book store, I might become depressed.

Am I being an old fart or do you agree? Let me know!

XO,

MIMI