Morrow Planet

I may be about to cross a threshold.

Now, you know me: I’m a lifelong reader with a passion for technology. My lust for gadgetry and tech stuff is rivaled only by the length of my Amazon wishlist and the size of my to-be-read pile on my nightstand. So why haven’t I ever been interested in e-book readers?

It’s not that I mind reading on a screen. Indeed, a fairly significant part of my day involves reading text on a screen—whether its email and copy at work, feeds and news at home, or tweets and email on my iPhone, I’m reading digital text near constantly.

Ah! Right there, perhaps, is an answer. When 98% of the words I read or write to make a living, stay informed, or manage our household affairs happen on-screen, there is an additional layer of escapism to holding a book, feeling the paper, and laying down in bed to read. I’m protecting that childlike part of me that loves to read for the mere wonder of it all from the part of me that is just another Internet-addicted infovore surrounded by black text on a white screen. Perhaps.

To get everything out in the open, I’m right now very close to buying an Amazon Kindle. I got a little closer when Sony came out with theirs a few years back, but the Kindle is the first device that has really captured my attention. As someone who always has at least two books on his person at almost all times and who agonizes about which books to bring along on a trip, I really like the idea of a smallish device with an entire library on-board, ready for any reading whim that may strike. I love the idea of decreasing the amount of physical clutter in our home that my book addiction creates (and I know my wife will appreciate this too!). I even like the idea that reading a book on-screen may even be helpful to the environment. I like the idea of searchable, easily retrievable notes and annotations, and the promise of instant, wireless delivery of a passing fancy. And the cost doesn’t bother too badly. I recently discovered some savings bonds I was given as a child that could easily pay for the Kindle without dipping into our budget, and the Kindle books themselves cost less than their treeware counterparts.

So could I be afraid that I’ll like an e-book reader too much? I think that may be closer to the truth. As a bibliophile, what does it mean if I prefer this new experience to the more tactile act of reading a paper book?

No answers now, but I’m leaning closer and closer to trying. If I take the plunge, I will keep you posted here on what happens, and how it feels along the way.