Hypocrite me

My husband called me a hypocrite! And you know what, he's right.

The whole issue came up when we started talking about paper books vs. e-books.

You see, I am a greenpeacer, environmentalist, and recycler of most everything not edible. So his question to me was: "If you're such a tree hugger, why do you buy paper books instead of using an e-reader?"

WELL!  mumble, mumble, mumble.

The reason I have my own library and the reason I buy books printed on paper were obvious to me, but kind of hard to explain.

First of all, I don't particularly like computers. They are difficult to get along with.

Secondly, a book smells like a book and just about tastes of the adventure put forth by the writer.

There's something about the smell of ink print on paper in a book that's enticing, inviting you into a new world. When you hear the crackle of the spine and the feel of paper as you flip the pages stopping at a random place to read a passage, or flip back to a page you previously marked that has the most amazing sentence, it's just somehow, well, more real.

I've been in love with books since I was a child. My first book, Black Beauty, was given to me by my grandma when I was seven. It took forever to get through that book, but I cherished every world. I still have that book and the ink print on paper still smells like a book. In fact, I still have most of my childhood books, right up there, on the shelf, in my library. I can pick them up on a whim to gaze over the cover, read them again, or just flip through the pictures and smile. The feel of a book and what it holds inside makes me feel like. . . well, like I'm soon to be wrapped in a warm, comforting blanket.

We were recently on a plane to Maui, and everywhere I looked, I saw people with some kind of e-reader--even really old people. And there I was with my 22 pound Terry Goodkind book and not about to give it up for the world. I had papers sticking out of a hundred different pages to mark the magical passages that I would read and re-read later. I thought about purchasing an e-reader for a moment--uh. . .No. I would live as a dinasour and savour the printed word, and that's that.

People say change is good. And for the most part, I keep up with change. But some things will forever stay the same.

So, yes, I am sorry to say that I am a hypocrite. You're absolutely right, my dear husband, I have been responsible for killing a tree. This is why I have to hug the trees still standing tighter.
Diane M. Robinson