After Andrea’s wonderful post on Go Green Method to Save Money: eBooks, and the ensuing conversation that started in the comments, I though it might be nice to share my story in regards to ebooks and ereaders.
Where it begins.
I’ve been a reader for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories of reading are of reading the Chronicles of Narnia series and the Hardy Boys series. All through my school years, I read voraciously. I made my way from shorter books up through goliath undertakings like just about anything by James Michener. Sadly, when I moved to college, I drifted away from reading. Most of my reading time was taken up by schoolwork and socialization. Later, while taking a break from college to pursue more nefarious things, I had a job which usually entailed a whole lot of doing nothing. To pass the time, I began reading again. The spark was back. Heck, I even read the 5th Harry Potter book in a day.
I eventually got a real job, finished my degree, and then got married and started having children. And, as I was pretty busy doing those things, my reading habits slipped off again. It wasn’t until we cancelled cable shortly after our first born came along that I got back into it. And, even then, it was not nearly with the same pace as I had before. Throughout all of this, I’ve carted around my books. Each time I wanted to read something new, I bought it rather than borrow it. Why? Call it OCD collecting. I’ve always fantasized about having this huge library in my house with wall-to-wall books. In short, I had an infatuation with books.
But, here’s the thing. Of all the hundreds of books I had (have), I’ve only reread less than 10 of them. So, I came to the realization that I was carting around all these books that I would never (probably) read again. Moreover, they were slowly taking over every bookshelf in the house, and even some of the floor space. When I came to this realization, I went through them all, and posed a large majority of them on PaperBackSwap. But, all that did, really, was to swap the clutter of books I had read with a clutter of books I hadn’t read. I’ve currently got well over 50 books on my “to read” shelf. For reference sake, I only read about 35-40 books a year. So, I’ve got close to a year and a half worth of books sitting, waiting to be read.
Through all of this, my desire to have less clutter in my space has led me to try to remove as much of it as possible. I had downloaded the kindle reader app for my blackberry phone, but I found it absolutely terrible to try and read anything on the little, itty-bitty screen. At that point, I decided that ereading just wasn’t for me. At the time, I would rather have the physical book in my hands than try and read on a little screen. Then, I upgraded my phone.
I traded in my blackberry for a new android based phone. It’s got a screen that’s roughly twice the size as the old blackberry had. A couple of books that I wanted to read were available only as ebooks. So, I gave the cell phone reading another try. On the larger screen, not only was it bearable, but I found that I liked it. And, now, several ebooks later, I’m a convert. An ereader has rocketed to the top of my wish list, although I haven’t decided whether it will be a kindle or a nook, or something else entirely.
photo credit: anieto2k
Shane Ede is a business teacher and personal finance blogger. He holds dual Bachelors degrees in education and computer sciences, as well as a Masters Degree in educational technology. Shane is passionate about personal finance, literacy and helping others master their money. When he isn’t enjoying live music, Shane likes spending time with family, barbeque and meteorology.
