• by laura.r , March 2, 2011

When life gets stressful, or I need an extra dose of inspiration, there's a little place I like to go to called a bookstore. Sometimes it's Barnes and Noble. Sometimes it's Books a Million. I'm not sure if Borders is still around, but if they are, well that works too. Doesn't really matter. Giant corporation or small and family-owned, as long as it is a bookstore, it usually does the trick.

Well, why a bookstore? Is it for the quiet, relaxing atmosphere? Is it for the smell of coffee brewing? Is it for the comfy chairs and couches that you could easily fall asleep in? While all of these assets do help, the answer to all of them is no.

My goal in life is to be a writer. That is what I am doing here at Ball State University. I am majoring in magazine journalism, in hopes that someday I'll be living in New York City as a freelancer. I'd also like to write a book. So when I feel as though I am failing in life, that I'll never be the writer I long to be, I go to a bookstore, I look at the thousand of books around me, and I think, "Someday I'll come in here and there will be a book with my name on it." And then I leave, feeling inspired and refreshed, with a reminder that if all of those thousands of writers could do it, I can do it too.

I share this story with you because I have had a major change of heart when it comes to the subject of books. Recently I have fallen in love with the Kindle. I have never used one before and to be honest the idea never appealed to me. But now it seems like a good idea. One small, light-weight device that can carry my whole collection of books. A screen that has no glare, a battery life that can last for a month. You can download older books, like Pride and Prejudice, for free. You can buy newer books at a much cheaper price. The Kindle seems so convenient. As someone who's career will be spent reading as much, if not more, as writing, owning a Kindle would be a good investment.

But then I got thinking about it.

There is something really appealing in going to a bookstore or a library. The quiet atmosphere. The feeling of being surrounded by thousands of books. To be able to stumble upon a gem by accident. Do those things happen when you have a Kindle?

There was a cartoon in the New Yorker recently that depicted this. A father refuses to buy a Kindle, even though all of his friends and acquaintances are encouraging him to buy one. He talks about his daughter, who he wants to take to the bookstore and watch her find books on her own. Of course, the ironic thing is he finds her playing games on someone's iPad. The world is changing. Technology is changing. And the way we discover things is changing.

I love the feel of a book in my hands. I love wandering in a library and checking out whatever book they offer for free. I love the smell of an old book, the look of a brand new one. I love putting a bookmark in between the pages and seeing how many I've read and how many I have to go. There's something special when it comes to reading books. Something a Kindle cannot replace.

So I will wait. I have nothing against the Kindle, in fact, I still want one. But I love the act of finding and reading a book even more. Until the day the Kindle can replicate that feeling, I will be sticking with my old ways. Only libraries and bookstores can kindle my love for books.