How Has a Kindle Changed My Reading Habits

I am a proud owner of a Kindle reading device for almost two years now. And truth be told, I haven't changed my reading habits instantly. It took some time, but a few days ago, I finally realized how much having a Kindle has changed me.

I was looking at some fairly expensive copies of James Joyce and right when I was about to buy them I decided I wasn't going to do that because I could buy a Kindle version for much less money. A year ago, I would have definitely bought the books. I always thought that one of the biggest traits of my character was that I was never sorry to pay much money for a good book. And yet, last week I chose the e-book.

To be perfectly honest, I don't consider e-books to be real books, yet. There is just something sad about listing books instead of holding them in your hand and looking at them on a book shelf. I don't get the same feeling of value when I hold a Kindle with a thousand books as when I look at a crowded shelf. Or are books losing their value over all? Maybe I'm too materialistic and can give real value only to something physical.  

Now, I'm not only a reader, I'm also a bibliophile and a book collector. I've always spent a lot of money on books and I think that the only decorating my walls need is a good bookshelf. The most perfect reading experience is a nicely done book, printed on good paper, with nice cover art. But those are rare.

I have a second point of view, the one of an avid reader. I don't care what the book looks like, they can be torn into pieces, it doesn't even have to be bound, the only thing I want is for all the words to be there. For this kind of reader, an e-book reader is perfect. 

I really doubt it that any sort of an e-book reader will ever change the feeling of a real book completely for me, but times change. My father and his sister used to collect LP records. I have never bought one. Most of the music I listen to comes from youtube. I fully comprehend the idea that my hypothetical children might find  the idea of a book store odd and consider that their Kindle filled with e-books is the same thing as my bookshelf.