Nanny Nanny Boo Boo.  I got one for Christmas, not you!

I put the Kindle on my Amazon wish list just because . . . just because I had to put something on the list to enter a contest on their site . . . just because it’s kind of a cool thing . . . just because . . . well, you never know. 

And that’s the thing.  I didn’t know.  My very cool family splurged and bought me this amazing e-reader for a Christmas present.  I was . . . I am blown away by their thoughtfulness and generosity.

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love to read.  Books—or rather the stories in books—are like old friends.  I still have a few Golden books from my preschool days.  I have one book written in ITA (Initial Teaching Alphabet) from when I learned to read in first grade.  There are books all over my house.  In an attempt to economize, I rediscovered the library a few months ago.  The library is definitely part of heaven on earth. I’ve decided that’s where all my tax dollars go; it makes paying taxes much less stressful.

I was a bit shocked by the lack of books in my brand new branch of the library the first few times I ventured into it.  I soon learned how the modern library works and how to order books not on the shelves .  I’ve been a reading maniac the last few months.  I’ve also been enjoying the DVDs and Play Away books.

My biggest problems with the library are two fold.  My life doesn’t always fit neatly into the time frame they allot for borrowing their goods.  I travel a lot and don’t want to have to return something part way through the story.  Neither do I want to take it with to some remote corner of the world to either have to pay overdue fees (best case) or lose it (worse case).  While I love the heft of a book, the smell of the paper and ink, the sight of the type and illustrations, books are bulky things to take around the world.

Enter the Kindle.  It’s slim and sleek and the reading’s cheap.  Kindle books cost significantly less than paper and ink copies.  Currently mine holds over 50 books—50+ free books at that!—and gets the Denver post (minus the comics) every day.  I could never take 50 books on my next trip if I were taking them the old fashioned way.  I’ll not soon run out of novels with my Kindle.

My love for Kindle won’t diminish my fondness for the library.  I’m still economizing.