Off the wagon.

Or so to speak. For a couple of years, I was the champion of electronic books.  I loved the fact that I could download books at any time, could have thousands of books at my disposal, could adjust the font to compensate for my aging eyes, and would never need to search around for a bookmark every again.  All good things for someone who is a little bit more disciplined and more motivated than I.
However, I found that I didn't read as many books without the three week deadline to complete before having to pay a fine.  I found myself missing the feel of worn pages, of having something to hold, and even having my favorite bookmark to fiddle with and do a little toothpicking (yuk, I know).  I missed everything about reading books.  I missed going to the library and never realized how much I missed it until our local library closed for a week last year due to funding cuts.  What a shame.  Sure it is easy to browse electronic books - just click on a link to read a little blurb about it - or read reviews online - or to have a newly released book magically download to your reading device overnight.  But I've decided that I am fine with sacrificing the speed and ease in accessing reading material.  I worry a lot about the loss of our library system.  In this age of instantaneous satisfaction, I'm not so sure that our youngest generation has any idea of the pleasure of waiting in anticipation for an event or for the climax of a good book. On my strolls around town, I've noticed more and more of these little libraries popping up.  And seeing these makes me very happy.  There is no doubt that electronic communication and information is important to me - I love being able to catch up with friends through social media and I love the ease of being able to write without worrying too much about mistakes.  But being able to hold, smell, and read an actual book is like comfort food. Without the calories.