I remember when I told people I would NEVER EVER EVER stop reading solid real books with actual pages.  I was old school and it just wasn’t going to happen.  “I liked the feel of the book in my hands,” I would exclaim.  In my head and heart I just knew that no real true literature lover would dare to read through something as cold and mechanical as an e-reader.  Blah!  NEVER!

Then everyone I knew who had a Kindle or similar device would tell me they thought the same exact thing and now they LOVE their cold mechanical e-reader more than life itself.

One day my folks came over to see me and brought an early birthday present.  At the time I was traveling a lot (A TON) for work and they felt that I needed to open this specific gift ASAP.  It was a Kindle.  I wasn’t overly impressed but now that I had it I would give it a shot.  It took about 5 minutes before I was hooked.  E-READERS ARE THE BEST!!!!!!!  Seriously if you don’t have one you need one STAT.  I have issues with light and headaches so I really love my low scale, non fancy, least expensive, Kindle with no back light.  Although those folks who have the fancier version swear by them too so I’m sure they are just as, if not more, brilliant.  

Here is why e-readers rock:

* They are light.  I’m currently reading the 5 Game of Thrones novels.  In real book form I’d need a body builder to follow me around to carry them but on the e-reader I can lift it with just a couple of fingers.  This is great for someone like me who reads in bed and tends to drop books on her face a lot.  Recently I noticed I had a bruise behind my ear.  I could not for the life of me figure out how I got that.  Last night I curled up in bed on my side to see what silly Tyrion was up to and realized the bruise was from laying on the side of my face and having my glasses hit mush between my ear and face.  I’m very fragile.

* You can purchase books so easily it is actually dangerous.  One, maybe two clicks, of a button and your new book is loading on your device faster than you can say, “May the odds be ever in your favor.”

* You can easily slip your e-reader into a carry on or purse to take it anywhere and everywhere.  It’s genius in its portability.

* No dust.  If you are like me you’ve had issues with old dusty books.  There actually could be dust on your e-reader but a good swipe across your shirt and you are good to go!

* Built in dictionary.  I tend not to care when I don’t know a word and just power through it.  I remember in elementary school when the teacher realized I was doing this and was horrified.  Tough toddles.  I’m still at it!  If you are like my friend Anna though you care enough to look up the words you don’t know.  That is super easy to do with an e-reader.

* Built in “top” lists so you can see what you should be reading.

* Cheaper than you think books and, in some cases, even free books and/or books you can “borrow.”

Of course there are a few downsides.  If you are reading a dense book with a zillion

characters like the Game of Thrones or the Girl with a Dragon Tattoo series it is difficult to flip back and verify who is who.  You can bookmark and such on an e-reader but it’s just not something I have done consistently.  You can’t see how many pages you have left but you can see the % of what you have read.  I now say things like, “I could only get through 30% of 50 Shades of Grey before I gave up and deleted it.” vs “I was about 1/4 way through and just tossed the thing in the garbage where it belongs.”  It’s dangerous to read in the bathtub since you could destroy your precious e-reader.  Although I still do it.  Finally you can’t pass books around your friends and all get hooked on the same exact copy of the same book … which is just fun!

Even with the few downsides I’m all in on the e-reader.  Seriously if you don’t have one … get one!