an ode to reading

Let the e-reader versus bound books battle begin. 

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I held out so long on getting an e-reader because I love the feel of sitting down with a good book and turning the pages myself. 


There are no clicks, no slides, just me and my book. 


I love the smell of a good book, too; an e-reader doesn't smell like old, cracked leather, or slightly worn pages. 


I can't dog-ear my favorite passages, or physically highlight and make notations in the margins. 


I can't pass an e-book around to my friends, giddily exclaiming, "Here! Read this. It's sooo good." 

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But, I've found that I can reader faster on my e-reader. 

I can multitask with the best of them, reading pages, flying through the story, checking my Google Reader and other blog posts and Twitter at the same time. 

I can look up incredibly underused words that I'm sure I'm supposed to know what they mean. 

per • ni• cious ~ having a harmful effect, especially in a slow, or gradual way. 

synonyms include malign, noxious, baneful

I can look up other people's thoughts on new and upcoming books on Goodreads.

I can (shh! don't tell) look up spoilers for the book that I'm reading to make sure that heartbreak doesn't come for the heroine. 

I can jump on Twitter, and like the book nerd that I am, complain that I don't have another story from the same realm that I just finished reading. And I can have others agree with me.

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In the end, I can't really say that I prefer bound books over e-readers and vice versa. Give me a good book, a cup of mint tea and a blanket any day, and I'll be happy. 

Now to you. How do you prefer to read?