A Big Technological Leap

I've never been the most tech savvy person. I'm always a little bit behind the newest and hottest things. When most of my friends were buying CD players in junior high, I finally bought a big boom box. You know the kind- you could carry it on your shoulder (well, if you wanted... it was a bit heavy). It had detachable speakers so you could cover a wider area. And it had the neatest thing- wait for it- a dual tape deck! I could play a tape in one slot and record it in the other! Oooh! Aren't you envious? If it was all hooked together, the boom box took up most of the length of my dresser, leaving me very little room for the necessities like hair spray and makeup.

Somewhere in high school I bought my first CD. Then I bought a discman with a special hookup for my car so I could listen to CDs in my old car. I know by the time I went to college I had upgraded my boom box to one that also played CDs. My freshman roommate had a stereo system that held 5 or 6 Cds at once. (I have since upgraded to MP3s, but only because my Rav had an MP3 hookup, so five years ago, Erich bought me an MP3 player for Christmas.)

When we moved to digital cameras, I held onto my 35mm. In fact, I bought a newer, nicer 35mm. Erich bought a digital camera about 9 years ago. I bought my first digital camera a little over 3 years ago. I didn't see the point to buy a digital camera just because they were the new thing. I had a great camera. So I waited, and when I finally did join the digital revolution, I loved it. I like that I can grab the camera and take a picture, and if I don't like the picture, I know instantly. I can delete it and try again. I like being able to easily share pictures with family members far away. It's so much nicer than my old film camera.

You won't be surprised to learn my cell phone is just a basic phone. It is a flip phone that fits in my palm and is over two years old. I even turned off the Internet capabilities on the phone. For me, the cell phone is something to use when I'm not near a traditional phone and need to call someone. It is rarely on. It can go a few months on a charge, because I don't have the phone on that often. There may be one or two nights a week that I turn it on to call Erich and ask if I can pull in the garage (sometimes we take the dogs in and out through the garage, so I always like to make sure no one's in transit before I open the door). If I'm traveling, I use it to call my parents from the airports to advise of flight delays or problems. When I finish the call, I turn off the phone. My phone doesn't tell me I have voicemail until after it's been on for a few minutes, so there are times that I get voicemail several weeks later. I tell everyone, if you want to reach me, don't call the cell!

I am possibly the oldest 35 year old out there. Most people my age are permanently attached to their phones. They can't function without it. I guess I kind of live in the dark ages.

So when e-readers came out a couple of years ago, I didn't pay any attention to them. As more friends bought them and loved them, I debated. I love books. Holding a book, turning the pages, skimming ahead to the end. I like going to stores to shop for books, and the feeling that my arms are going to fall off if I add one more book to my basket. I have two book shelves in my room that are stuffed, yet I want to put more books on them. Then, while packing for one of my many trips, it hit me- perhaps there was room for both an e-reader and actual books in my life! I always take books with me on a trip. The number of books I take is determined by the length of the trip, the length of layovers in airports, the purpose of the trip (ie work or pleasure), and the destination. I tend to take fewer books to my Mom & Dad's for example, because I know that every day is jam-packed. If it's a business trip and I know I will have a lot of alone time, I throw in a few more books.

All of these books take up a lot of room in a suitcase. I'm an expert at packing, but there are still times that I've had to sit on the suitcase to zip it. My sister says the suitcase isn't full until you have to sit on it. This isn't usually a problem when I leave for the trip- I can always take out something and leave it home or upgrade to a bigger suitcase. The problem is usually the return journey, especially if I've done any shopping on the trip. I have left quite a few books at Mom's house, because I read the book but didn't have room to bring it back. When she came to visit in April, she brought back all of those books (they drove, so she practically had unlimited room). The stack was much bigger than I anticipated! I knew I had to figure out something else.

I decided to buy an e-reader for traveling. It would take up much less space in my bag, could hold a lot of books, and if I finished the books I had, I could download more instead of being stuck with nothing to read. Then the question became, which e-reader to buy? I did my research and compared all the options. I settled on The Nook Color, by Barnes and Noble. I felt it filled my needs and desires the best. I asked my sister to give me a gift card to Barnes & Noble for my birthday. I also received money from some family members, and all of it went towards my Nook Color. Yet, I still hadn't ordered it. Last night, I checked my email and had a special offer from Barnes & Noble: buy the Nook Color and get 100 free books! They had my attention. I went to the website and checked the book list. 100 free books means nothing if it's books I would never read. In this case, the 100 free books were classics: books by Mark Twain, Moby Dick, Jane Eyre, and others that are recognized as 'classics'. I've read some of them, but many I have been meaning to read and haven't gotten around to it.

This was all the incentive I needed. I pulled the trigger last night and finally clicked 'submit' on my order. I feel that I got a good deal. And I like that! I renewed our B&N membership, and saved $25 on the Nook Color. The whole order qualified for free shipping, and as a B&N member, I also received free expedited shipping. 100 books free. I also bought a cover for it, and knowing my klutz tendencies, I bought the extended protection plan which covers accidents such as dropping it. It was Amy insurance! :)

Now, I am really excited. It should be here in a couple of days. I know I won't be able to wait until my next trip in August to use it. No doubt I will love it as much as I love my digital camera, and will wonder what took me so long.