Books, Sweet Books

I know I’ve touched on this before but I just have to talk about it again today.  Maybe because bookstores are becoming a thing of the past and it has become the norm to have your nose buried in an electronic device now but…

In a time long ago, in a land far away.  Long before Kindles and Nooks and even Barnes and Nobles…there was The Library.

You go in and you tell them a little about yourself and they give you this little card.  It doesn’t seem like much but this little card is the gateway to a world of fun, knowledge and amazement.

We recently joined Amazon Prime.  With the subscription comes some perks and one of them is streaming video like Netflix.  Using that perk, I watched the movie Hunger Games and really fell in love with it.  Learning there was a sequel in the making I discovered that using Amazon Prime you could get one free Kindle download a month so I downloaded the second book Catching Fire and ate it up within a week.

I finished the book last night and since I’m not ready to download another book to my kindle yet, I thought about the library I had visited so often in the past.  Before I got caught up with theater and marathons.  I called them today and they had the third and final book in stock.  Given that the Library is a mile from my house and the closest bookstore is probably more like fifty, it was really convenient to stop on the way home and pick up the copy of Mockingjay.

When I got home, I held the book in my hands and marveled at it.

I truly appreciate technology.  I love that I can contact my best friend at a moments notice while on the road in another state.  I love that social networks can keep me in touch with family that lives 3000 miles away.  And I adore the fact that no matter where I am I can download a movie or book to my phone or Kindle.

Having said that, there is nothing quite like holding an actual book in your hand.  Turning the pages and reading off the thick creamy paper.  Reading through sickness or insomnia without ever having to worry about the battery dying or anything malfunctioning.  And maybe just falling asleep with your head near the book and never having to worry about radioactive activity leeching into your brain.