Photo by Tina Franklin
My husband is a “collector” and I’m a “tosser.” We share a running joke: I swear I’m going to die first because I don’t want to clean out the garage!
But…we both love to read and are both guilty of filling any available empty space with books.
His huge collection makes our bookshelves sag–World War II history, automobiles, firearms, electronics, etc. He can answer questions like: which battleships were moored adjacent to the USS Tennessee during the attack on Pearl Harbor? What kind of carburetor came standard in a 1953 Ford pickup? How many amps does a 5000 BTU air conditioner draw…? You get the idea.
Our coffee table is stacked high with my writing reference books–Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, several dictionaries and thesauruses (thesauri?), Chicago Manual of Style, craft guides by James Scott Bell, and autographed editions by favorite authors. Writing buddies often call me with odd grammar and punctuation questions.
Between us, we’re veritable fountains of obscure information. More boxes of books fill our basement, a storage shed, and the garage–that garage I don’t want to clean out.
When Kindles were introduced, I was absolutely thrilled at the thought of five hundred-plus books stored inside a device measuring 8″ by 5″ by 3/4″. My husband still prefers print books, but has gradually warmed to the Kindle. Almost all the fiction we buy now is on Kindle.
It’s a great time to be a reader, whether you love the feel of turning actual pages, or prefer reading on a device that fits in your pocket, or listening as you drive. In the great debate of print books vs. ebooks vs. audio books, everyone who loves to read is a winner.
Dear Readers, what is your favorite way to enjoy books? Print, digital, audio, or ???
My thriller Instrument of the Devil was originally published in e-format, but many people kept asking when it would be available in print form. I’m happy to announce the paper edition is now available on Amazon.
P.S. The audio edition will have to wait until James Earl Jones has time in his schedule…LOL!