I've always been a reader. My favorite thing to do on a Saturday night is wander around the bookstore with a cup of coffee and check out the new releases or the cooking or humor section (yes, I am quite the social butterfly). On my trips lately though, my reverie is usually broken by an overenthusiastic store employee determined to show me the awe-inspiring wonders of some tablet-y e-reader thingy. Yes, that's the technical term for it. Some Barnes and Nobles have even remodeled their stores to where the whole center is taken up by a Nook display area. Be sure and check out the covers for sale, some cost more than the device.  I sure can't log onto Amazon without the word "Kindle" showing up in big letters on the main page.

Now I'm not blind to their popularity, don't get me wrong. I also see their advantages. I do stop to look at them. Mainly to play Angry Birds or that one with the frog and the string. It's much easier to haul around a Kindle or a Nook if you're going somewhere and you think you might need entertainment for a wait of some sort (Bonefish Grill for Mother's Day would have been good). Although a book fits in your purse too, just saying. If you're packing, it's a lot less space than packing several books. But I don't understand the people who seem to think these devices should cause the death of books altogether. I'm also not naive, I know it will probably happen eventually, but not for a long time. In the meantime, they can coexist just fine. I see plenty of people in the store actually buying books, so it does still happen.

When I'm home by myself or just want to do nothing, I don't want to curl up on the couch with coffee and a flat piece of metal and plastic. Especially as prone as I am to spillng coffee on myself. I want to turn pages, not constantly wipe fingerprints off the screen. I sure don't want to be in the middle of a good part and have a battery die.

So I think I'll hold off for a while. I'll still stop by the Nook display and play Angry Birds, though. Hopefully I won't spill my mocha.