If you know me in person, you've probably seen me reading a book pretty frequently. I like to sit down and read at least a little bit every day. I have multiple bookcases full of books and I've been collecting them since I was a kid. In fact, I still have a stash of children's books in my cedar chest in case I have kids or nieces and nephews some day. I have fond memories of reading those books as a kid and I want some future children to get the opportunity to read the same books.
When the Kindle first came out, my brother had to get one because he's the early adopter type. He always has to have the newest gadgets and electronic toys. I've never been extremely interested in gadgets. I was late in getting a cellphone, my first one wasn't until 6 or 7 years ago, and my first smart phone was less than two years ago. So when my brother got me a Kindle for my birthday a few years back, I wasn't convinced I'd enjoy the thing.
I downloaded some books and started reading on the device. It took me a while to really feel great about the e-book reader. There was just something about having a physical book to hold in my hands that I could literally turn the pages of that was more appealing to me. I finally realized that one benefit of having the e-book reader was that I could carry dozens of books with me in a small package. Sometimes books are thick or hard back books are too big to carry around in my purse. Plus, Kindle versions of books are generally cheaper than the physical copies.
If I had a day where I had tons of time to read, I could finish up one book and there was the next one waiting for me. I got to really enjoy my Kindle and then last year my mom accidentally broke the screen on it. I was really disappointed, but bought some books so that I'd have plenty to read. It was late fall and too close to Christmas for me to buy myself a new Kindle. I put it on my wishlist for Christmas, but didn't get one. So when I got an Amazon gift card for Christmas and a cash bonus at work, it was enough to purchase myself a new e-book reader.
A few months ago, when I was Kindle-free, I got an Amazon local offer to try out three months of Audible for $1.95 a month, so I signed up for that. Audiobooks just don't do it for me though, regardless of how good of a job they do in producing the books. I think that maybe I just absorb the stories better and have more of a chance to imagine the characters in my mind if I'm reading them myself. It's weird because I love listening to podcasts, which is similar because it's spoken word storytelling. Maybe I like them better because it's more of a conversation than one person reading a story to you.
I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who prefer audiobooks to any form of reading because they can listen to a story while they're doing other things. I like to listen to podcasts when I can at work and while I do chores or walk the dogs. I think when I read, I like to devote my full attention and imagination to the story, whereas with podcasts, I can just split part of my focus onto the stories being told.
I've just always been very fond of reading. It maybe stems from having taught myself to read when I was a little kid. I don't remember this, but apparently I did teach myself to read. I do remember always being in the advanced reading groups in elementary school. At any rate, I'm going to wrap this up so that I can get back into reading. I'm in the middle of two books right now, so I'd like to get back to them!
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