To Kindle or not to Kindle...the great debate

For the last couple of years one question has been weighing on my mind.  Should I buy a Kindle?

Then I thought, but I love my books. Not just the stories but the actual books themselves. I have a bookcase just for the favorites. I also love going into book stores. Being surrounded by all those books gives me warm fuzzy' s.  I wander the aisles with a couple of books in hand, buy a white chocolate mocha, then scope out the books I want  to buy next.   

I am a sucker for advertising, now team that up with my love for electronics and it was just a matter of time before I would cave. Lucky for me Christmas was just around the corner and Santa (aka Mom and Dad) just happen to give me a brand new wifi+3g Kindle. I was one of the cool kids now. But would I love it as much as my paper book? Could I get use to a device that did not have a touch screen? The answer is, yes. A great big huge yes.

Now don't get me wrong, I still love paper books and I will still continue to buy them, but the Kindle is so easy to use. All you have to do is pick up your reader and the book will be downloaded in less than a minute.

I am currently rereading "The Hunger Games" and a book on how to write better dialogue. Yes I reread my favorites all the time and I am always on the quest to improve my craft. They are both paper versions. Then a friend brought in a book for me to borrow from her (another paper one). The next thing I know when I am trying leave work, or actually it was more like the sprint out the door on Friday afternoon to start my weekend, I am trying to juggle my purse, water bottle and 3 books. The first thing I thought was, man, I wish these were all on my Kindle. I could carry 3500 books in one hand and now, if enable by the publisher, you can lend a digital copy to a friend on the Kindle platform.

I use to print and use every Borders coupon they emailed me. Now I find myself deleting them without even seeing if it's a 40% off one.  What does all this mean? Have I sold out? Am I contributing to the fall of the brick and mortar bookstore?  The thought of that makes me a little sad. I don't want to go the rest of my life without those bookstore warm fuzzy' s.  I realized I actually miss going to the store.

Now you're probably thinking, enough already which is it, the ereader or the paper book. The answer is both. There will always be a place for both. They both have benefits and now I do not think I could live without either one.

Then there is Audible. Don't even get me started on how much I love that.