Going digital

I didn't want to do it, but the decision was kind of made for me.

I'm a bit of a mimimalist, but I have a friend who is a gadget fiend.(I won't mention her name, so I'll just call her Mom) She laughed at my desire to turn pages, while she quickly jumped on the eBook bandwagon. She tried to move me into the digital world, but I couldn't be swayed. My home library is a source of pride for me and doing any electronic reading just seemed like infidelitely.

Well, you know how gadget junkies are. They constantly have to upgrade. So when Mom upgraded hers and asked me if I wanted her old nook, I got custody of the darn thing. It can be good for people like myself, who read 89374387538 books at once and can lighten the vacation load of suitcases filled with 45748797 books and 975485795903 magazines. But it is not the same. I can't underline or put stars on my favorite quotes in an eReader. When I meet Toni Morrison, she won't want to sign my Nook. I don't have wifi at home, so I my only entertainment is the crossword puzzle and the one book I've purchased.

And don't get me started on the return policy. I'm a big fan of David Anthony Durham, so I tried to download his first book Gabriel's Story. However, I got the titles confused in my mind and I bought A Walk through Darkness (which I read some time ago) instead. When I realized my mistake, I quickly downloaded Gabriel's Story. I expected that just like a real book, Barnes & Noble wouldn't mind refunding my purchase of Walk Through Darkness. Right? Nah, guess again. Digital books can't be refunded for any reason at all. Bah humbug.

That being said . . . I REALLY LIKE MY NOOK!!! Sure I'm not going to buy every book this way, but for the ones I do get I'm happy that they'll be cheaper, I won't lose my page and I can take them with me anywhere I go without being weighed down. I only have one Nook friend at the moment (Mom again) but I'm hoping to build up my contact list. Who knows, maybe one day I'll actually live in the 21^st century!