Book Haul!

A parcel arrived for me the other day! This is what it contained:

I've already read Anna and the French Kiss. Finished it in one all-night sitting, and I'm nearly finished Looking for Alaska. I'll be giving a round up of my thoughts on the books I've read in January at the end of the month! 

Also, I got my Kindle! I wanted to wait until after my exams were over so I didn't get distracted from my exams but now that they're over, I went to the store and bought it! So far the only books I have downloaded are the free classics, like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. I have only read a few of the 'Classics' because I find them difficult to really get into. But hopefully the appeal of the kindle will push me to make a better effort!

My exams were... tough. But I had been warned about this from a friend who finished the same course a year ago. The last exam, which he aptly named the 'bitch' module, was an absolute train wreck. I'm glad it's over but I am worried that I might have failed. If that's the case, I'll have to try again in August. Fingers crossed I won't have to go through the torture of that again!

Sarah xx

To Kindle, or not to Kindle.

So, I'm having a dilemma. 

I've been avoiding the subject of getting an E-reader of any kind for a while now. If someone said they had one, I'd nod my head and smile, but inside I'd be thinking, "I'm never going to get an E-reader... that would be like... betraying books in some kind of way."

I've always stuck by the ideology that holding a book, being able to smell the paper and the print, is a far superior way to read than any electronic device.

Of course this opinion, like all good opinions, was based entirely from one side of the argument. I've never properly read anything on an E-reader, and I've only held one and that was in the store, so me saying that it's a 'far superior' is more than just a little biased.

However, I'm beginning to have second thoughts.

E-gads! Technology!

Pros

1. Price. The first thing that has made me begin to doubt myself is the price of some e-books, more specifically, the Kindle books from Amazon. 77p or to you Americans, about $1.20, was the cost of one of the books that I came across and my mouth hit the floor. Now I know that I'd have to cover the cost of the Kindle first, but with the amount of books that I buy, or better would like to buy, I have no doubt that I'd have saved that in about a year! 

 
2. Ease of transport. I take the train up and down from Uni every weekend, and end up carrying a small suitcase of clothes for washing, a laptop, and a large handbag with weekend work, my normal handbag stuff, and the book I'm currently reading. I know it wouldn't be a huge difference to my load. But every little helps when you're lugging it down the street! 

3. Desirability factor. ITS SHINY TECHNOLOGY AND I KIND OF WANT IT JUST BECAUSE I CAN. Ahem. Yes, quite so. 

4. I have some money lying around after Christmas that I know should go in the bank but it hasn't managed to get that far yet... 

5. Not all publishers have turned to E-books, so for those books that don't have an electronic counterpart I can still purchase in paperback, and get my fix that way!

Cons

1. Pride. I'm still quite stubborn with regard to my feeling of somehow betraying the printed word. Am I just being silly, or is this something someone else has thought about? 

2. I can't share. Me and mum would have a very similar taste in books, and we seem to end up reading the same book at the same time quite often. It makes for great fun, chasing each other around the house calling, "It's my turn to read now!", interspersed with, "I know what happens next!"
If anyone's the adult in our house it's me. Seriously.

3. I've heard they break easily. Especially the new ultra-thin one. Even with a case. And I think my heart would break if I spent that amount of money on something that would expire within two years.

I'm torn. Have any of you got E-readers, and if so, what do you think of them? Comments below please!

Sarah x