I love books. I have a lot, maybe 300. And maybe that many craft books, too. I read a lot. I listed all my books (except for some that are in boxes in the attic) on Goodreads. Most of my books are anthologies of science fiction short stories.
I've always read a lot, as soon as I got old enough to get to a library. My dad used to get frustrated with me because he said I always had my nose stuck in a book. I guess I wasn't listening closely enough. When I was in middle school, I kept a list of the books I read one year, and it was about 100. When I was in high school, my mom bought a lot of the Reader's Digest Condensed Book volumes second-hand; and I read all of the them.
I'm compulsive about it. I'll even read books I don't like if there's nothing else around. I miss it when I can't read. When I took the review course for the CPA exam, I spent all my time for 5 months studying for the exam. I had no time between work, kids, and study to read. When I took the exam, I walked out of the Ft Worth Convention Center (where the test was held) and straight to a book store two blocks away.
I'm more computer literate than the average person my age. I've had personal computers since the days of my Commodore 64. I was director of IT for many years. In spite of that, I don't want a Kindle or other e-book reader. It's just not the same. It doesn't feel the same in your hand. It doesn't smell the same. What will there be of them in 10, 25 or more years? Sure, books can deteriorate over time, but I know the e-book won't be there. Heck, I personally have media that is only 10 years old that I can't read. Remember 5 1/4" diskettes? Even the 3 1/2" inch ones aren't very accessible (I don't have a drive that will read them).
For years, books had to be written out by hand. Since the invention of the printing press, books have been increasingly available for regular people. I hope the digital revolution does not make hold-in-your hand paper-based books obsolete for the masses.
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