As January comes to a close.

If I can keep this reading tempo it will be more like 365 Days-120 Books. :)

Working in a coffee shop you see the same people day after day. A lot of the time this isn't a good thing. Some of the time it is. I have about eight customers who are my favorites. Three of these favorites are women who come in almost everyday. To me, these women are the epitome of grandmotherly-ness. Sometimes together, sometimes separately, they come in, order their respective drinks, then sit around reading different novels. I imagine this is the perfect kind if book club, where you meet often in a favorite place and read whatever suits you. I always ask what they are reading and if they would recommend it.

One of these women reads her books on a Kindle. So I asked her how she liked it. She told me she enjoys many of the features. One of her sons lives in France, so when she visits she only has to carry her kindle, not five or six heavy books. She can also download new books easily. I asked her if she missed the feel of holding a book, turning the pages, and seeing your progress with a book mark. She told me yes, it is a bit different of an experience but she has found that being able to change font sizes and page brightness makes the swap worthwhile for her.

When I was in Elementary school our reading generally came out of a giant book that contained short stories. I have forgotten many of these stories, but one that will always stick with me begins with a girl sitting in a room filled with books and papers. She doesn't know what they are for. They don't use books and paper anymore. Everything is digital. She finds the books fascinating. I was probably nine when I read this. In the time before Ipods and Kindles, when everyone had CD players and only a few parents carried cell phones. I couldn't imagine what it would be like not to have books and CDs. To be honest, It was kind of a scary thought.

Well the time has apparently come. We are making the switch. Now the question is: what will I do? Kindle, Nook, Sony reader, or the Ipad. Yes it would be convenient. Yes it will save some trees. Yes it will make my luggage much lighter. But am I ready to leave behind the feel of an actual book in my hands? Mostly I am afraid that all my favorite book stores will close. All of my book browsing will be confined to online bookstores. One of my favorite escapes, will be lost forever. For the moment I am not sure what I will do. I'm not ruling out the possibility that I will switch, now can only wait for them to perfect the reading devices before I make any such decision.

Update Book Ten: Fire by Kristin Cashore

The prequel/ companion to my ninth book of the year "Graceling." When I read more than one novel by an author some of the magic always wears off. I enjoyed this book, but I found many faults with it. Sometimes a story becomes too complicated when you have to fit details from another book into it. I still enjoyed the story and will read the third installment, but found it less enchanting.