I was wrong.
I’m not afraid to admit it. I was.
I said there was no way in hell that you’d catch me with an e-reader. I said I would never give up my physical books with paper and ink and colorful cover art. I said it. And I was wrong.
How’d it happen? How’d I go from NEVER to Can’t Leave The House Without It?
It started when I won a PDF copy of Andrew Wolter’s novel, Nightfall. I sat on it for months, maybe even over a year, because no matter how I tried, I couldn’t read fiction on a computer monitor. Heck, I don’t even read many blogs because the glare of a monitor inspires low-level migraines when doing anything more than skimming emails and tweets. I save that pain for reading manuscripts and edits, so sadly, Nightfall wasn’t being read more than a page at a time.
This was around the same time that I was discovering the wonderful world of M/M romance. I had been buying paperbacks of Price’s PsyCop series and Mykles' Heaven Sent boys, but some of the great M/M stories out there weren’t in paperback or, as you probably know, they were priced noticeably higher than the mass market books and releasing well after the e-book versions. So, after I managed to win a couple of more e-books, I started to cave. (No, please don’t ask why I was entering contests for e-books in the first place. I don’t have a good answer. The book sounded good, after that, I just couldn’t say.)
Long story short, I studied the Kindle, and other readers, for months – MONTHS – before finally breaking down and buying one. My first download was a book part way through a paranormal series by the lovely Ally Blue. From there, I fell in love. Oh, I already adored Ally’s characters. I meant I fell in love with my Kindle, and I never looked back. There are still paperbacks sitting on the shelf unread because I can tuck the Kindle in my messenger bag and read M/M at work discreetly. (Plus it has a copy of Alice in Wonderland, so when people ask to see it, I can switch from a hot and heavy threeway to something more office friendly for a demonstration.)
I’ll get to those paperbacks eventually, and I’ll still buy horror paperbacks to grip the pages white-knuckeld (until I decide I’m wrong about that too). I must say, however, I’m glad I was wrong, because it tickles me pink to put my very own books on my Kindle. I can stare at them and convince myself it’s not just a dream without looking like a narcissistic maniac to passersby. I’m crazy, after all, just not that kind of crazy.
Have a great April, dear Readers!
Ciao,
Pia Veleno
http://piaveleno.com
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3 comments:
hi Pia! i understand what you went through. i myself was horrified at the thought of reading stories on a screen. i told myself i would never ever consider getting an ereader but like you - i was wrong. last year i just had this urge to have one and that's what i got for Christmas from my aunts. now i can't leave home without it as well. lol. i still won't trade it for the real thing - weight, feel and smell and all that but it sure beats carrying two to three books in my bag! plus the fact that i can load it with "forbidden stuff" *winks*
thanks for sharing your story. you are NOT ALONE! c",)
Ah yes, the weight too. My work bag is much lighter nowadays. Especially since I always have been one to read several different books at once.
I love my e-reader. As a matter of fact I was the first to have one and haven't regretted it. I read both--electronic and print. I just love to read but I cannot read on a computer. My neck's at an unnatural angle for comfort.
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