For a long time now I've toyed with the idea of getting a Kindle. Indeed the world seems to be moving more and more towards on-screen reading and away from the humble paperback. I myself like the idea of being able to easily carry books around with me on a screen that should be less tiring to read than my phone and having instant access to purchase a book whenever I feel like it. I don't very often buy books, I never have done, despite enjoying reading. Partly this is down to me having very little time to read, yes I know I should find the time but I just don't! It also comes down to me never getting around to actually buying the books I casually put in my Amazon basket when the whim takes me. So a Kindle sounds like it would be good for me.

Yet the other day I was reminded why electronic books aren't all they are cracked up to be. My nephew is now in his reading years. Like I was at his age, he spends hours with his nose in a book and seems to be getting through everything we can chuck at him at the moment. This includes quite a few of my books from when I was younger. The other day my sister gave to me a large yellow book of fairy tales that he's been reading to himself at night (apparently boys like Cinderella too, go figure!). It's a book that looked very familiar to me yet one I had totally forgotten about. Inside the front cover was the inscription:

"To our darling daughter Amy on her First Christmas love Mummy and Daddy"

The book is 29 years old! This made me think. If we go the way of electronic books will this tradition of passing down be lost? Yes we will save money in the short term, we won't break our backs lugging around books nore have to find the space to store them but does this come at a larger price. We loose the memories that come from receiving or purchasing a book, we loose the smell, the feel the sense of accomplishment when we turn the last page on that book we thought we'd never read. The books I read come as gifts from friends and family, they are attached to occasions such as birthdays and Christmases, they hold memories more than those contained within the stories.

There is also a practical reason for having hard copies. I've lost count of the times I've sat around the large desk in the library, a smattering of books open around me, comparing views, facts, information from various sources in a vain attemtpt to complete an essay. I can't see this being very easy with a Kindle (or even a PDF on my laptop!). Yes you can print out pages but is it really the same? With talk of library closures I wonder how the "youth" of today (I'm getting old!) will tackle such assignments.

I'm sure one day I will get a Kindle, or something like it, once the technology has progressed just a little more - I still believe an electronic book should be readable in the dark for example - but I would like the option of a "proper" book. I do hope this isn't taken away from us in the name of progress and the 21st century.