Why Books?

When I was a little girl I wouldn't go near a book with words to save my life. I remember my mom trying to get me to read in school but for the life of me I would not do it. Reading was stupid, reading was boring and there was no point in reading a book that didn't have any pictures. The day I started reading books I was forever hooked. Hooked in a world where fantasies are brought to life and my dream lover is with me. The very first book I remember reading for pleasure and not for school is Harry Potter. JK Rowling started the love I have for books.

It's honestly why I'm obsessed with Harry Potter and why I plan eventually to get a tattoo revolving around the wizarding world. I grew up with it and it will forever remain in my life.

My grandmother had asked my mom if I wanted a Kindle or a Nook one year for Christmas. The first words out of my mother's mouth was No. I don't want a Kindle. One of my future dreams has been wanting a library in my future home where it'll be covered, wall to wall in books. Kinda like Beauty and the Beast, the library Beast gifts to Bell.

When I go look for books to buy whether at the book store or a hand-me down garage sale I'm very particular in what I buy. I love the paperback and hardback, mostly paperback. When I'm in an actual bookstore it's almost like a kid in a toy store. They want everything. Well I want everything. Feeling the pages full of words that somebody took probably a year to write. For their fans or even to survive the world.

I want to become an author. I feel more connected with the author knowing that the finished project in my hand is something they spend hours upon hours on. I have the finished product that they had pictured in their head. When you're writing a novel, for me anyway, I don't picture the final project being a website or without a binding. I picture holding the three hundred page novel in my hand where I've spent probably hours trying to pick out the novel cover, making sure my picture looks right on the back. It's just not the same when you read it on a Kindle or a Nook.

Another benefit that I love about actually purchasing the book is the look on your bookshelf. If you follow an author's books and you keep them in order on your shelf it just looks cool. I mean I have graphic novels and those would not work on a Kindle.

Another example to why having the real thing is awesome. I don't know what a Kindle or Nook does so I can't say I do. But one thing that I love about having the book there with me is that you can exchange them. My best friend and I swap books all the time. He wanted to read a book I owned and I wanted a book of his. If you wanted to do this on Kindle would you just have to exchange Kindle's?

I don't know if this explains why I would rather have the real book or not, this might just be rambling in my head but I know deep down in my heart I would want to have the binding in my hands, the smell of a new book just bought. I didn't grow up with an electronic book in my hand and neither will my kids. History has always been found in book and my imagination will forever be fueled by the feel of the pages and the smell of a new book just printed.