Digital and Print, No One Can Have Too Many Books

by Kate E Thompson

I take my library to bed. I never leave home without it. Seven hundred books aren’t heavy. They fit in my purse. I started reading e-books the end of 2010. I was resistant in the beginning. I had a paper-book library big enough to wander through and after working on the computer all day, I wanted to pluck books off my shelves and thumb through the pages, not click or swipe on a reading device. 

My reading life changed the day I received notice that a book I put on hold months before was ready for pickup. I dropped whatever I was doing and headed to the library.

I went to bed early that night. I fluffed the pillows and opened the book. I squinted. I brought it closer to my face. I shined the lamp on it. I couldn't read it. The library had sent me a “tiny-print” version! I didn't know they even made tiny-print books, large-print for old people, yes, but who would read this, a flea? 

I showed my husband. “What?” he asked. I pointed out the obvious and he read a paragraph out loud without moving off his side of the bed. I scowled and he shrugged and suggested checking out the large-print version. 

I bought a Kindle instead. When it arrived, I went online to buy ‘the’ book that brought me into the e-book world and it wasn't available. That’s right. I bought a 150 dollar Kindle and the 10 dollar book I wanted to read on it wasn't an e-book. However disappointing, it wasn't long before it became one and I learned the e-book world was far bigger than font size. 

But what would a life be without paperbacks and hardcovers? What would a town be without a library? What would a night out be without a bookstore? We don’t have to choose. We can have it all. Paper books or digital, no one can have too many. 

Originally published in the 5 NW Authors Blog. 03/05/2013

Kate Thompson, a Seattle writer, is the author of Bigfoot Hunters Never Lie. January 21, 2015. Kate lives with her husband, 2 daughters, a cat Mitzi, a Goldendoodle dog Ali and Georgie, a Boston-Beagle. ©2012