Friday, May 11, 2012

Covered By Kindle Tingles



I'm a sneak. I will admit. I poked around my birthday presents, while no one was in the room, and my packages sat all beribboned on the breakfast table.

I had to. They needed moving, about 10 centimetres that way, for me to set my boys' breakfast bowls down. Nothing wrong with that, right? I only shifted them a little. I was, after all, juggling hot porridge. And when the hungry ones were fed, and others, more bleary-eyed emerged for birthday songs and kisses, I hardly drew breath before ripping into my goodies.

I won't lie. I knew the contents of some. I'd squirrelled away a few treasured have to have books, and told my Beloved they would be perfect for my birthday. My clever ones took other bait I casually left around, and fished for me that perfect birthday morning smell.

New books, sigh. How they adorned my table with May bliss. Books and more books. Fresh pages and news stories and endless hours of promise.

Last to delight, but by no means puny or least, a secret parcel beckoned from the mess of ribbons. Lighter than the others. As light as a book-mark, and boxed like a ticket to somewhere fancy, it required layers of tissue, and ceremony to unfold.

And ticket, it was. My pass to a reading wonderland people call Kindles. Outer cardboard sleeves were removed, and there it nestled, in its groove in the box. Ready to thrill me.

I weighed it in the palm of my hand, and smiled at the thought of all my unread e-books on the laptop, about to wing their way to my new gadget. That glorious feeling of title after title at my fingertips.

And like a sneak, I scrambled to convince myself, it's only a little bit different. Isn't it?

That new book smell won't emerge from Kindle tingles, but the thrill of the story will always grip me, right? My bookmark might flash muted grey, not poke out its red velvet tongue, but I will drift in and out of the adventure and hardly notice how I remembered where I left off. Won't I?

Of course I will.

But here's one thing I must sort out for good. And you might have an answer to my newest reading dilemma. How shall I cover this new friend from the impact soft paper books never face?



Plastic rarely inspires me. Leather is more in keeping with the guts of what will live in my Kindle. Fabric? Maybe. Clever people who thread needles with their eyes closed, sell works of art designed to protect the Kindle. Do you want your cover to blend in on the shelf, or catch your eye with its winking good looks? There are so many choices.

So, Kindle family, what do you say? Have you forgiven yourself for leaving paper pages behind? And how do you keep your Kindle safe?

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Ironic Twist - For the last 6 weeks, I've announced the winner of the Ink Dots Book Giveaway each Friday. So far each book has been an e-book. Not this time. 

This week's book is a hard copy of Nancy Herriman's The Irish Healer. And the winner is.... Marg. Congratulations to you!  I know you will enjoy the adventure, with or without the paper. :)