I blogged about reading The Stand several weeks ago. To think I would’ve finished it by now, but I am not. I keep on having love affairs with other books while I am reading it. Not that I don’t like The Stand, but it is just so hard for me to not start reading a new book because of its captivating plot. And when I actually start reading another book, I’ll still be in the same situation again where I’ll want to start reading yet another new book. Is anyone in the same boat as me here?
Nevertheless, I actually would want to start reading another lighter book while I am reading books like The Stand though. It’s going to give you some serious arm muscle training if you carry The Stand with you all the time. It has 1168 pages in total and it is the first book I’ve read which is over 1000 pages. Since it is my very first “big book,” it’s very special to me. Here is a side view shot of this beauty:
It is in times like this when I wish I have a Kindle (or any brand of e-reader in general ). I am considering buying it, but since everything is going electronic these days, I think that we need to be reminded of that feeling of holding an actual tangible object in our hands again. This is why I decided to spend last Saturday taking out my old photo albums and looking through them. I have most of my photos on the computer nowadays, but it’s quite a different experience looking through an actual photo album. It gave me that sense of comfort knowing that these photos will always be there forever.
I guess that’s the thing about actually owning the object rather than having it on an electronic device. My point is this: What if one day companies like Amazon shuts down? What will happen to the e-books? If you have the actual book, you know it will always be there and you can go back and reread it whenever you want.
As long as you can read the words, it doesn’t matter if it’s electronic or print, right？ Wrong! Real books come in real handy in the most unexpected situations. For instance, I find that The Stand makes a great laptop riser because of its size. It was placed in front of a door to serve as a door stopper one time. It was also used to raise a tripod when I had to take some photos for school. Of course, you can just buy a laptop riser, a door stopper, and a bigger tripod, but I value the fact that when you need something, books will always be around to help you out when you need them.
And where would beautiful art like these be if it weren’t for printed books? These two are my favorite:
So for people who say real books will go extinct: Take that! Kindles may be light and convenient, but it can never replace the true value of a real book!
Day I Started Reading 
I have a Kindle and I am glad that I have one and I totally love it! My Kindle will never replace all books in my life, same as my iPad will never replace all my photos either, there are some books that I would prefer to read the “old fashion” way, but when it comes to monster size books, ala King, I’m grateful for the Kindle.
Yeah! I’ve never thought of getting a Kindle until I started reading a big book like this. ^_^
I’m so with you! I’ve just been given a Kobo for my library and I do like it. I can see the myriad advantages…but I too love books as objects. I also think about the unknown future – could all recent thought be wiped out with a single catastrophic flick of the switch?
My Mum is in love with her kindle! I’m still not sure but I’m starting to see the benefits..,
I’m just like you, I can never read just one book at a time, so I understand what you mean.
I dont have a Kindle either but I am thinking of getting one too. But you are right, nothing beats the feel of a good book, plus the big books(in terms of area surface) makes a great bed for my cat. If there’s a book on my bed or on the couch, he will make a point of sleeping on the book. Dont think a Kindle would provide the same comfort… 😉
I’m still awaiting the day when Kindle or Nook have decent subscription services. That way I can read something once and return it — like a library book. I’d still have plenty of physical books around, of course, but I do like reading on my Nook! It’s hard to justify $9.99 for something I only want to read once, and the public library selection is very limited.
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