Just No Kindle, No….

I make no secret of the fact that I like paper here. I read a fair bit, and I like to hold a book in my hands to do so, an actual book. And I really can’t see that changing.

Now don’t get me wrong, I can see the appeal of a Kindle. The ability to store books in there, try free books and instantly have a new book at my fingertips are all very appealing. But it’s not enough.

I bought the Husband a Kindle for Christmas. He loves it and it is absolutely perfect for him. He never re-reads a book or gets attached to them feeling the need to keep them. He’s moaned in the past about a book being too large, too thick, too weighty, his Kindle never is. On beginning a new book, he always checks the typeset on the inside cover (do you do that? I didn’t even know it was there and I’ve read a lot of books!). Anyway, he has font preferences to read in, yes he does, and his Kindle allows him to select them. So yes, it’s the perfect gift for him and he’s happy with it.

On it’s arrival, I felt a flicker of interest when he was looking at the free and on sale ebooks available. I do love a book, and a bargain book is all the more tempting! But it still lacked that certain something that a paper book has. I struggle to put it into words, so I can only hope that others can understand what I mean. That others walk into book shops and feel excited, eyes flitting everywhere taking in all of the interesting covers and smells, desperate to explore. So, tempting though it was, it failed to sway me.

And then it happened, then came the nail in the e-reader coffin as far as I am concerned. Again, it’s something that’s a huge hit with the Husband, but for me, it’s an absolute no-no.

Just No, Kindle, No!

He cheerfully showed me how many minutes it predicted it would take him until the end of his current chapter, and then how far he now is into the book, as a percentage. He was quite enamoured with this gadgetry. Saw it as a real plus, actually.

Me? Just no, no, no! When I read a book, I sink into it. The stories are woven around me, the words and worlds are there for me to escape into, to curl up with. It’s an art, a tale, and maths and technology have no part in it. I’m comfortable with them, don’t get me wrong – I am a blogger, of course – but they have little place in my reading. You might be thinking, just ignore them, fair point, I could do that. But that’s not quite it. It’s just those final things that killed it for me. Tipped me over the edge where I was already teetering, and so I have contentedly fallen back into my papery world, with no more doubts that I might be missing something. I will hold onto my books, thank you.

So fellow readers, tell me, where do you sit on this one? I suspect that I am archaic and in the minority, so I will await the onslaught of Kindle love as soon as I hit publish…!

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62 thoughts on “Just No Kindle, No….”

  1. I swing both ways where this is concerned, I love the feel of a book, the feeling of getting engrossed in the story, not wanting to put a good one down etc but I have my kindle which offers me the chance to try new authors & cheap reads along with the apps which I have on my iPhone so I’m never really without something to read.

  2. I do have a kindle, and honestly it is great because if am more tempted to carry it around than a book and therefore more likely toread when I have a few spare minutes. It was also brilliant when breastfeeding, one handed reading with no awkwardness turning pages. I could put university PDFs on it when I was studying English lit and get lots of the texts I neede for my course for free, and also avoid lugging a massive bagful around, particularly when I was pregnant and carrying a baby to university too. That said I do love hard copies of books and always will. It will never replace that, and browsing book shops is nothing like shopping the kindle store. Books that I think I am likely to love and re read and have on my shelf for years I buy in hard copies- more intimidating thick ones I have on my kindle and also ones I know I am less likely to miss holding, smelling etc 😉

    1. I can’t see it ever replacing books, and I absolutely do see the point of them, they’re just not for me!

  3. I agree they can be great for some people but for me? Big fat no. Don’t lose the wonderful book! The smell the turning of pages (I hav read a few books on my phone and found the percentage thing got me racing through the book!) not in a good way! I love holding a book and the kindle is all a bit alien to me! Xx

    1. That’s me! I think they’re great and it’s certainly seeing my husband reading more, but they are not for me!xx

  4. I like both 🙂 I have a Kobo – which is the WHSmith equivilant. Cheaper, better made – as far as I was concernered anyway – doesn’t have the Amazon Factor that Kindle does but still plenty of book choices and freebies. I haven’t actually bought a book in ages..
    I like to read in bed at night and because my Kobo has a light on it, I needn’t be disturbing anyone by having a bedroom light on.
    I like paperbooks too. We have hundreds of them.. gathering dust I’m afraid. But I doubt any will get thrown away. Unless they are ones we bought and didn’t like in which case a charity shop will get them.
    I read paperbooks when the battery on my Kobo needs charging! But I do find them heavy now..
    Also and e reader is idea to take on holiday. Takes up no space and weighs nothing.
    Room for both I say 😀

  5. I definitely swing both ways BUT I don’t get the same anticipation I get when I pick up my kindle to start a new book than I do if I’m picking up an actual book. Is that weird??

    I do however LOVE my kindle for hols because otherwise I’d have to take 10 books with me and I just can’t be doing with the extra luggage on top of all the kids and the masses quantities of STUFF they seem to need whenever we go anywhere!
    Loving #brilliantblogposts!

    1. It’s interesting, I wonder why? I take a book with me on holiday, and then mooch around charity shops for more when I’m there! x

  6. Kindles bother me. I can see that for people who may jet off here there and everywhere it would be handy rather than lugging 10 books in their suitcase. I get that.
    But for me, I like to hold an actual book. I like to see the books I have read on my book shelf.
    What bothers me most though is the fact that people refer to the fact they are reading a book on their kindle. No, you are reading a novel (or whatever it is you are reading) on your kindle. A book is a physical object! As soon as you turn it into a piece of date on a gadget it is no longer a book. That is why I cannot bring myself to buy one. Never say never I suppose but if everyone converted to kindles then books as we know them would be lost. And what if all the electricity is lost? So are your ‘books’. #BrillBlogPosts

    1. I can see why people like them, but I have to hold that actual book. And yes, see them, too, that’s true. Thanks for commenting x

  7. Now you know how much I love a good book-you’ve seen some of my shelves! But I do like my Kindle too. I just ignore the little numbers at the bottom. All the gadgetry has been useful for me in other ways-I like being able to highlight words and phrases-reading as a writer (if you understand what I mean), I find this really useful. And I have had to look up a word which was confusing me-and dissevered that it was a derivative of something else. That works for me 🙂

    1. The Husband likes looking up the words, too, another brilliant plus point for him. I do see their benefits, really I do, but I cannot do it! x

  8. I do much prefer the feel of a book in my hand but I do also have a kindle. It’s easier for me when commuting but also in between two house moves it became apparent I had a LOT of books and it was causing storage issues (I would need 3 bookcases to house them all), so I gave a lot to charity and downloaded them for free mostly (they were uni books so the classics which are usually free on Amazon). And now we have space.

    I was very against it – for the same reasons as you – but it does serve a practical role for me too. Plus often the kindle versions can be much much cheaper than the paperbacks.

    I still have many books but streamlined to the ones I love most and will keep and re-read forever xx

    1. They are cheaper, which is a temptation, but then I tend to buy second hand books anyway, so it doesn’t make much difference. Space, though, I’ll simply have to find more…! x

  9. I too was bought a kindle for Christmas. I love books especially the feel of them, but must admit I’m growing very find of my kindle too. It’s more convenient to slip into your bag when out and about and as it’s a kindle fire too I can use it for other things. If I’m honest books will always have the edge over the kindle. It’s more for convenience here!

  10. I also use both. Proper, paper books are wonderful & there’s noting to beat the joy of wandering around a bookshop browsing for the next favourite read. But I do love my Kindle for holiday reading. It’s stuffed with lovely classics which I can choose from & change what I’m reading several times to get the one which I feel like reading at the time. I only get free books though, if it’s going to coat me anything I want a physical book to hold! However, it will never replace my love for real books.

    1. A lot of people are quoting holiday reading as great for Kindles-I’m thinking I don’t go on enough relaxing holidays then! x

  11. I agree with you, BUT I did get (and asked for) a kindle for Christmas! I love, love, love proper books and I always will and I do prefer them to reading on a kindle. I love having a proper book in my hand and if I’ve really enjoyed a book I want it on my bookshelf. But after having my daughter I found that I was never getting chance to read an actual book. If I was stuck somewhere breastfeeding or she had fallen asleep on me then I couldn’t get up and get my book, but I usually had my phone on me and so could read on that with the kindle app. Also at night when she was in our room I couldn’t put the light on to read but I could read on my phone or now on the kindle. Same when I am out – I always have my phone and because it syncs across all devices I can pick up where I left off and read a few pages when I get a minute.

    So I think the kindle is great and perfect for me now, but I still will always prefer an actual book. I especially find it hard when it’s a beautiful book to buy it on my kindle rather than the actual book x #brillblogposts

    1. Yes, I can imagine some books are just too pretty to not have in hand! I can see that it’s a convenient thing, too x

  12. I use both, when certain authors release a new book I will buy it in hardback, yet for regular reading I’m a sucker for an ebook. A big issue I had with paper books is the storage, having amassed over 500 books just for me room quickly ran out and charity shops are at times loath to take new batches as they can’t always shift them.
    I love to escape in to my little world of reading whenever possible, I frequently have 3 or 4 books on the go, and thankfully my ereader and tablet allow me to do just that.

    1. Ah yes. I often have a few too, and it’s fortunate that I have many bookmarks! I like to then pass them round to friends, as you’re right, there are only so many you can store!

  13. My husband loves his Kindle but I’m a real book fan. While I can see the point of taking a Kindle on holiday instead of several books I can’t imagine reading on one. For me the real book experience is wonderful and comforting and takes me away from the technology that already takes up a lot of my time. I like the fact that a real book has nothing to do with technology (plus it would be much more expensive to replace if I dropped a Kindle in the bath!).

    I’m with you Jocelyn 🙂

    1. It is each to their own, isn’t it? My husband loves his and will probably read more because of it, which can only be a good thing in my book (see what I did there?!) but for me, it just has to be a book. Nice to know you’re with me 😉 x

  14. Love your article…I love the feel of a book and to have a moment when all the electrical gadgets are OFF…. at some point we have to learn how to turn off, even the phone…lol…

    1. Thank you! That’s just it, I think. I always have my phone with me, and am on blogs, social media so much, so I like to turn it off and just immerse myself in the peace of a book. Thanks or commenting.

  15. I have a kobo which i like reading on, an an ipad mini with the kindle app that i hate reading on. The reason being that i love a matt screen and hate a gasss/reflective screen. My kobo doesnt have a backlight and is pretty much the same as reading paper.

    I find the percentage thing really handy for if I’m reading in a short time frame and don’t want to stop mid-chapter. I love being able to change font size.

    I still love borrowing books from the library though. As long as they don’t stink of cigarettes!

  16. I love books, but I love my Kindle too. For example, on holiday I’ll get through loads of books, meaning a Kindle is really handy. The feel of a real book cannot be beaten, though. When we moved house, we had so many books…it’s handy to have them in one device. xxx

  17. Oh I love my kindle. Love it. I prefer to read books on it now if I have the choice. Much more comfortable. Also as a mum of a newish baby, it means you can read one handed, so you can therefore breastfeed and read. Then the magic of downloading a book there and then when you realise you need to read the previous book in the series first, and as you’ve said the deals are fab. But for me, the biggest thing is storage my husband and I are avid readers and books (as well as toys) have a way of taking over our house. I couldn’t tell you how many books we have, maybe 1000 books?! Kindle takes away storage stresses. I have about 100 books on my kindle and I haven’t had to find a place on my bookshelves for them! However, mine hasn’t got that X mins until the next chapter on it as it’s an older model, I would have to find a way of turning it off!

  18. Hi Jocelyn, we got our daughter a Kindle keyboard a few years back and like you I was tempted, but swore blind (back then) that I preferred ‘real’ books. My daughter actually prefers ‘real’ books and will always opt for paper of Kindle if she has the choice, but a Kindle allows us to get books for her in English without waiting and paying a fair bit in postage.

    Well, this Christmas I was given a Kindle and I love, love, love it! I find reading much more pleasurable now, even though I hadn’t thought that I wasn’t finding it pleasurable. I no longer have to check the font out ( I was like your husband and have refused to read books I didn’t like the text in).

    I also love the fact I can read exactly what I want to read, whereas before most of the books we had (this time last year we had over 400 books in the house, but had to rehome over half of them due to lack of space and a grumpy husband!) were left by tourists, so weren’t always necessarily what I would buy to read.

    Now with the Kindle I can snuggle in a dim room, without straining my eyes, beside the fire and read whatever book I feel like reading and I can enjoy browsing Amazon for new books (love the daily deals and monthly deals!).

    It is also so light to hold and the page lights up evenly so there are no dark areas like in the crease of a book.

    I have no doubt that I will read more ‘real books’, but it’s going to be difficult after reading on My Pretty Pink Kindle….Another plus is that I can just pop it in my bag and it’s a lot less bulky than a ‘real’ book.

    1. Oh, the love you have for your pink Kindle is palpable! Glad that you’re enjoying it so much, but I am sticking with my books! x

  19. Oh I totally agree. I bought a Kindle a few years ago as thought it would be handy but I hated it. I hated staring at the screen, after staring at a computer screen all day. I hated the typos (I’m a proofreader by trade) and I hated the pages. I gave mine to my mum. I adore books in paper, and like you I keep them! Great post #brilliantblogposts

    1. It is about being away from the screen that I love, too. Switching everything off and snuggling up with a book 🙂 Thank you x

  20. I LOVE my Kindle, although mostly because my bedroom is quite chilly so minimal part of me had to be above the duvet for reading and I don’t get one achy cold hand as it’s so light or have to turn pages.

    That said, I will never replace my bookcases full of proper books with e-versions. When I go back and re-read proper books I spend a lot of time sniffing them – a Kindle will never have that.

    Also, I HATE the percentage read bar at the bottom. It’s not a task, it’s a joy.

    And finally all the free Kindle books in the world will never stop me buying books for 20p at a car boot sale.

    So both have a place in my affections.

    1. That’s it, it does make it seem ‘task’ doesn’t it? Glad that you love it, though, in spite of that! Each to their own!

  21. I am definitely a bit of both. I love my Kindle but despise the percentage and time – I too like to get involved with the story whether in paper or ebook form and I don’t want silly numbers attempting to distract and challenge me #brillblogposts

  22. I used to be vocal about how I would never enjoy a Kindle. I got one and pottered through a couple of books – Slowly but surely, I’ve grown to love it. I now read 90% of my books on it (just wish my battery life was better!) I sometimes have a quick feel of a real book just to keep in touch with that feel x

  23. I love real books. Something about it that brings me back somewhere where I feel safe before. Every night when I was a kid, teenager (my whole life actualy) my father would always be drunk at night. Noisy, shouty. I would read my book and it would bring me to places and I can escape. Now Kindle just dont bring me somewhere. So I still go for the real kind. #brillblogposts

    1. So sad that that’s your association with them, but then if they made you feel safe and escape, that’s good x

  24. I love both and I have to admit the Kindle wins for me as it appeals to my efficiency loving side. The ability to store so many books in one tiny container means you can keep and re-read them without worrying about space (we have boxes of books under the bed as well as numerous shelves covered in them and nowehere to put any more new ones, but I hate throwing them away as you never know when you may want to read them again!) I do love knowing how much is left in a book and mine doesn’t tell me how long I have left to read a chapter but I love that idea. If I am short on time I would know if I was able to finish the chapter before I have to go and do X or not. Plus I do like competing against myslef so I know I would enjoy that! 🙂 I do find choosing books less fun with a kindle than browsing in a bookshop but swings and roundabouts I guess! 🙂 xx

    1. It would definitely be less fun than browsing a book shop! I can see how the efficiency appeals to you. I like to be pretty efficient, too, but not with my reading, no. Books are about escaping not being organised to me! x

  25. I’m afraid I’m with your husband on this one. I LOVE my Kindle and this feature is fabulous. My reading is done either at night when I’m in bed, or in the little bits of time while cooking. It’s brilliant to be able to glance down and see that the next chapter will only take me 8 minutes to read. It helps me decide whether or not to start on that chapter. I have read so many more books since getting my Kindle than I would’ve without it. For me it’s the best thing ever!

  26. Ah well now, I sit firmly on the fence here. While I do love to read the paper versions (allow me to enter the world of Jane Austen while snuggled up with a hot chocolate and the actual book any day!), I also love the ebook. Aside from having published 3 ebooks (please don’t hold it against me Jocelyn…!), I do like to be able to get a book at my finger tips. That said, nothing beats having a book land on your doorstep all packaged up pristinely or popping to the library. Interestingly, I was only talking today about the declined of the book at my local library which is going down to reduced hours due to funding. Very sad… and still on the fence 😉

    1. I can see how both can appeal, I just cannot bring myself to add more screen time to my day, I have to have paper! x

  27. I’m with you on this.

    Having said that I do have the kindle app on my ipad as Amazon sometimes send me free ebook vouchers and it would just be rude not to use them!

    I’m also loathe to part with my books! 🙂 x

  28. I have to say I really like the percentage thing. I’m a slow reader and it spurs me on a bit knowing I only have so many percent still to read. I’ve already decided that once I’ve got through my mountain of paperbacks I will exclusively buy ebooks, just because books take up so much space. Although saying this, I don’t think I’d ever buy recipe books or children’s books in that format x

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