to read or not to read

While I am not necessarily the most dedicated reader out there, I enjoy it, and have a real love for books. There is something so intriguing about the act of finding a book and making that decision to take it home. I don’t have a huge library, but what I do have, I feel, is a perfect representation of who I am. I believe most people’s collection of books are, and always enjoy observing others’ shelves when I am in their home. I have hauled my modest group around with me for years and can’t imagine my rooms without them. Being a designer I am drawn to the book covers. Unless I already know it is something I want to read, I absolutely judge a book by its cover. I lean this way with wine labels too. If I see one that stands out to me, I tend to pick it up. I also love to peruse the rows of books to look at all of the illustrations and fonts being used. It is a great source of inspiration. And then there is the smell. I love the smell of a new book—all crisp and freshly printed. I also love the smell of an old book, especially from a library or an antique store.

With all of this being said, I bought myself a Kindle recently. And to be honest, I could not love it more!

This is such a surprise to me because it is the opposite of all of the above, but a few months ago I downloaded the Kindle app for my phone and found myself reading a lot. A LOT. I am the kind of reader who usually has a few books going at once, but the problem is I tend to not finish any of them. Having the majority of those books in one place that is as portable as it is, seems to be the key factor that is making the difference for me right now. So I decided that I would jump on this change and not question it too much, because at the end of the day I am reading more. I am still not sure how I will manage to grow my collection, but I expect that I will. I see this as an opportunity to walk into more used books stores to find those that are keepers, and make more room on my Kindle!