To e-read or not to e-read?

I wasn’t sure I would like e-reading. Give up on paper and ink books? As if it were an all or nothing decision.

It isn’t. Really, it’s just another way to read.

But anyway, I had run out of bookshelves*, and also, I read a lot**, and when I travel, I don’t want to check my suitcase because when you do that you risk it being lost and showing up a day late when you are staying on an island and then you don’t have a bathing suit***. And so I could either pack clothes or books in the carry-on suitcase…

I would have mostly chosen books, but I’ve noticed that people object if you wear the same clothes over and over and over.

I still prefer real paper and ink books, but my e-reader works out great when I’m traveling. Right now I’m in Los Angeles, having flown out to see my daughter direct the musical “Little Shop of Horrors” at Caltech.****

After months of testing and reading Consumer Reports, I bought a Nook Simple Touch, which was also the cheapest e-reader. I called it the Nook Complicated Touch for awhile, because it seemed like it was idiot proof, but it wasn’t. I had to go back to the store to get it to take my email and password. And then, my husband had to find and download a software patch so that I could use it with our home WiFi. It took him almost three hours to figure out, and believe me, he is no idiot.

All the Nook Simple Touch does is let me read books on a black and white screen. No checking email, no playing games (not that I do that anymore). I check out some of the books from the library, but the library doesn’t have enough e-copies of books, in my opinion. So I judiciously buy some books before I go on a trip, preloading it. And I can always buy more, as long as I’m not in the Australian outback.****

I wish the Nook Simple Touch had a built-in English/Spanish dictionary. When I was reading The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Urrea, I wanted to look up the Spanish words. I could guess at their meaning, but I wanted to know for sure. They seemed like useful insults.

You know what? Maybe I should buy an English/Spanish dictionary for my Nook Simple Touch.

Sometimes I amaze myself with my ingenuity.

* Seriously, and my husband says I can’t have more bookshelves. Meanie.

** I have six (6!) library cards

*** Always pack the essentials in your carry-on. This message brought to you by United. Motto: “We always lose your luggage!”

**** It shows next weekend, too, Friday at 8:00 pm and Saturday at 2:30 pm in Ramo Auditorium. Please call the Caltech Ticket Office at 626 395-4652 to purchase tickets. Wonderful creepy fun!

*****Actually, you can buy books in the Australian outback. You just need an internet connection.