My Life Has Been Changed. . .

. . . by the Kindle 2. I've been on the fence about the device since its inception. You see I love books. The knowledge they behold, the worlds they open doors into, the feel and smell of the paper, the crispness of a book's spine in my hand, the way they look on my bookshelf*, the ability to reread a book and look at it in an entirely new way. I felt that electronic versions of the tomes I loved would never feel like books to me. I feared that reading on an electronic device would give me the type of cross-eyed pain I received after staring too long at a computer screen, or drinking far too many mojitos.

Holy crap, was I wrong. The Kindle is amazing. A-MAZ-ING! The screen really does look and read just like paper. I felt not even the tiniest ounce of eyestrain after reading for hours. So much like paper, that one point, I raised my hand as if to turn a page. Since I've been Kindled, I've read more than ever. It's so incredibly easy to browse and buy books. Of the twentyish books I've downloaded, I've only paid for three or four.

Yes, you heard right. . . there are FREE books out there! Mostly very old books, of the Jane Austen/ William Shakespeare variety (which fall under Public Domain-- yippee!) and the trashtastic romance novel ilk (which normally, I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole, but since several were free, I've discovered they're not nearly as bad or as cliched as I first thought).

Now, the Kindle is clearly something I would never have bought for myself. Obvs, my three hundred buckaroos would have been spent on dresses I don't need, shoes I'll rarely wear, or high-end accessories I already have too many of (via online sample sales, of course). Which is why I must thank the Mamma, for providing such an awesometastic birthday present, as well as the sister who suggested it to the generous mamma. I now wonder how I ever lived without a device I had no idea I needed.

Now, don't get me wrong, I still do (and always will) love books. Not just the ideas they hold, but also the physical presence of paper and ink. While the Kindle is defs enabling me to read more books than ever before, and more easily, there are just some volumes that I will still have to buy actual physical copies of. Kindle-worthy and bookshelf-worthy are two different issues in my mind, with the latter being held to a much higher standard than the former.

Long story short? (Is there such a thing with me? I think not.) If you're on the fence about the Kindle as I was, fear no more. Give in. It's worth it.

*With the exception of my chick lit collection, which lies hidden behind more pretentious and intellectual titles.