Fall into Reading - Question 3

As part of the Fall into Reading challenge, Katrina at Callapidderdays is going to be posting a reading related question each Wednesday. I'm hoping to answer them here each week, partly to keep me motivated for the challenge itself (I find it way too easy to forget about challenges) and partly because there's a great group of people taking part and I'd like to see their answers.

If you're wondering what the whole Fall into Reading thing is about, check out my original post here or Katrina's "The Basics" post here.


This weeks question is: On what devices, if any, do you read books? Or are you strictly a “physical book” reader?

I'm definitely a physical books kinda girl. I've tried ebooks on my computer and my phone, even on a Nintendo DS but I just can't get on with them. Anything beyond a few minutes and I end up with a headache. I've heard Kindle and other e-readers are supposed to be far better because they aren't backlit but I don't want to spend that much money and risk hating it. Also - have you ever heard of someone getting mugged for a paperback?

Seriously though, I like "real" books because they are tangible, often have pretty covers and they smell. It sounds totally bizarre to put that, but I think Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer explained it best when he said:

"Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower or a, a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences... long forgotten. Books smell. Musty and, and, and, and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer, is, uh, it... it has no, no texture, no, no context. It's, it's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then, then the getting of knowledge should be, uh, tangible, it should be, um... smelly."