Book or Nook?

Super Hubs loves his Nook, and he’s been trying to get me to change teams. But I won’t budge. Reading the Nook makes me feel like I’m cheating on the library. I understand all the benefits. It’s light and portable and can fit in my purse. I can upload it with e-books and take it on our annual beach vaca, instead of packing the usual eleven hardcovers that weight down our car. It’s current and trendy. I get all that. I really do. But can you read it in the bathtub? I think not.

The Nook reminds me of Rosie, The Jetson’s robotic housekeeper. She was able-bodied and efficient, and got the job done. But Rosie had no soul. That’s what an E-reader lacks for me.

Real books have souls. They have artful covers which attract me, and a comfortable, musty smell like a grandmother’s attic. They become soft and and worn with time and love. They exude a sense of history; the gift inscription from a mentor, the pencil scribbling on p.36 from my eighteen-month old, the water stains from an accidental dunking. They fill my book shelves, adding a colorful, homey coziness to my house and giving people a sense of who we are by what we read. They are friendly for a snuggle under the covers.

My first book collection ever was my Nancy Drew mysteries. I shelved with pride every new yellow-spined addition to my collection from the time I was eight years old. I still have that collection sitting on the top shelf of my current bookcase. It’s “priceless” to me. I feel an an emotional connection to a real book, and that’s the key difference.I feel no emotional connection whatsoever to the Nook. We can’t ever be friends.

Don’t get me wrong. I think Kindles and Nooks are incredible inventions. If only I’d thought of them first I’d be blogging their praises from my beach house in Maui. They have their place in current culture for sure. I will use one when I travel. But there’s no contest between a Nook and a Book. It’s like choosing between a digital pet and my sweet cat, Peppermint.

I’d love to pontificate some more, but I’m off. I have a yummy hard-covered mystery I’m dying to finish. Pardon me while I grab a cup of Earl Grey and dive in.