I am an avid reader.  I read every night before I go to bed without fail.  Sometimes I only make it through a couple of pages before my eyelids begin to get heavy, but I still pick up my Kindle and read.  In the years before my Kindle, I frequented the bookstore, the library and friends’ bookshelves constantly.  I have always loved books and for years my nightstand was cluttered with them.  I can’t remember a time, other than maybe college, when I didn’t have a book, or two, to read for pleasure.  When my kids were babies reading was one of my only outlets some days.  I would read during nap time, while I rocked them or while I cooked dinner.  I just needed that little escape and reading provided that.

I will admit, vacations were tough.  Books are heavy and I usually needed more than one to get me through.  Sometimes I had to take one, buy another one, and leave the other behind.  I will admit, I don’t like to leave any book behind. I have a tendency to collect them and it was becoming a wee bit of a problem as we don’t have a library in our home.  Ahhh, but wouldn’t that be a dream?

For my 40th birthday, G bought me a Kindle.  It was one of the best gifts I have ever received.  Books at my fingertips.  I no longer had to make time to go to the bookstore, be on a wait-list at the library, or wait a few days for one to arrive in my mailbox.  All I had to do was pick out the book I wanted, click on it and voila!  I had a new book to read. And for those of you worrying about how much money I spend on books don’t stress.  I try to read the free selections as much as possible as to make it look like a reasonable addiction rather than a cause for an intervention.  I mean, even if it were an addiction, and I’m not saying that it is, would that be so bad?  I’m reading, people;  I am expanding my mind and learning about…well, the list is endless.

Sure, NOT adding to my book collection has been a little difficult at times, but I do purchase a real book from time to time.  There are some books that I just know I am going to need to hold, write in, refer back to and a device just doesn’t fulfill that need.  G and I have both been known to say, “this is a book we are going to need to hold in our hands” when referring to a book that we know is going to be so good that a device cannot possibly do it justice.  Okay, yes, it’s usually a self-help book of some kind and we are slow learners so we need to keep referring back to certain pages and chapters.

Honestly, the Kindle changed my life 8 years ago.  I no longer stressed about getting a book before I left on a trip or had to sit in a waiting room for hours.  I just grabbed my Kindle and threw it in my bag.  There was that one time we had to go to town on a camping trip so I could get service long enough to download a book, but other than that, it’s been my constant companion.

Over the last year, though, my Kindle began to crack and chip.  It still worked so I kept reading it.  The last piece that fell off exposed some of the inner workings of the Kindle.  It had definitely seen better days. It had gotten to the point that other people were noticing and commenting on my “well-loved” Kindle.  Sure, the battery didn’t stay charged for very long anymore and sometimes I had to be very gentle with it in order to get it to the correct page, but overall it still did the trick.  I mean a junkie will do anything to get her fix.

Last week, while I was packing for my trip I pulled out the Kindle and thought to myself, “maybe I should just buy a real book for this trip.”  Maybe it was beginning to look a little embarrassing to read in public.  The next day was my birthday.  When I walked downstairs there was a card on the table from my hubby.  He had ordered me a new Kindle because apparently he could no longer stand to be seen with me while I read my old one. Unfortunately,  it was back-ordered and wouldn’t arrive for another 10 days.

This week my new Kindle Oasis was delivered and it is so small and sleek and beautiful.  When my hubby arrived home and saw that it had been delivered he began telling me about its features and how I would have to register it, etc…Was he serious?  I had that thing registered, subscribed to Kindle Unlimited, my old stuff downloaded, and a new book purchased within the first 10 minutes of opening the box!

I’m not sure what to do with my old Kindle.  It’s been good to me and I feel like it needs to rest in a place of honor, respect and gratitude.  I think I’ll put it on my bookshelf with all the other books that “needed to be held.”