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Book vs. Nook

When I was younger (okay, okay... even today as a 23 year old), my favorite birthday present was when my mom would drive me an hour to the nearest Barnes and Noble bookstore and allow me to spend the entire day and my birthday money in the store. One year I bought the Chronicles of Narnia complete collection (the one where it's all 7 books as one book) and another year I bought my much loved and used copy of Little Women. My mom always went with and just sat in a corner while I roamed to my heart's delight. My last birthday happened to fall on a great sale weekend at Barnes and Noble and I got The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Vanity Fair and Leaves of Grass (a collection of Walt Whitman's poetry) for one awesome low price. I was one happy birthday girl.

I have always been one of those readers who loves to go to a store and browse for hours the same shelves over and over again. I usually find myself in the classic, biography, travel or children's sections. Every time. Guaranteed. I seriously rarely ever venture into other sections. Sections like sci-fi or romance or teen fiction just don't attract me and so I stay far away from them. I am also one of those readers who loves to stick my nose into the pages and breathe in deeply. I just love the smell of old and new books. The fresh ink. The old and faded pages. I know it's strange. But it is seriously one of my favorite things to do and it's just another part of my reading experience and journey. 

But here's the thing... last year I caved and bought a Nook e-reader. At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. If it would still be the same experience reading-wise. I bought one just before heading to South America for my 6 month internship. I knew I wanted to have books to read on the plane, as well as on my days off. And I knew that I would have to pack a ton of books for 6 months. So, I looked into both the Kindle and the Nook. My parents had bought Nooks a few months before. And had nothing but good things to say about them. So, I went for it. I now have over 85 titles or collections on my Nook and a good percentage of those have been read. And I can honestly say that I LOVE IT. I seriously love my Nook. I love the fact that it is so light weight and fits in just about any purse or bag I carry. And while I was worried about how different it would be from holding and turning actual pages, I was surprised by how little I actually noticed or worried about it. I love the fact that I can lay in bed at night (I lay on my side) and read without having a bulky book to try and balance or adjust every time I turn the page or switch sides. I also love my Nook because I have so many books to choose from at my fingertips. I can order books online, borrow books from a library or swap books with other Nook owners. It's just like a real hard copy of a book. And just as simple to use or access.

Lately, I have been reading some of my hard copy books that have been sitting on my bookshelves for who knows how long. I have quite a stack of unread hard copies that I felt were extremely neglected. It has been nice to have the book smell and the feel of pages under my fingertips after 6+ months of reading solely from my Nook. But I am also getting excited to read off my Nook again starting in June while I'm on my honeymoon. My fiance and I share the Nook account and he reads off of his Ipad and plans to do so on our honeymoon as well. And it's nice to not have to worry about the weight limit while packing. I am excited because I have quite a few titles on my Nook that I am aching to read that I don't have hard copy.


So, while I love (and always will) the feel of pages and the smell of an old book, I love my Nook. And would recommend an e-reader (not one of the fancy tablets... they are too much like a laptop or Ipad... just a simple e-reader) to anyone. It's not hard to get used to and at times is a lot easier to read from and carry around. But for some it can never replace the feel of a hard copy book. And that's totally okay. It's part of the reading experience and each experience is specific to each reader. I just happen to love both!

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