3 reading options, one book

I am often an early adapter.  For example, I owned an MP3 player before the iPod was introduced in 2001. Mine was a little gadget from iRiver that held up to 50 songs.

And in 1996, I thought the Palm Pilot was a brilliant invention (because really, it was).  All my contacts in the Palm of my hand. 

But it’s taken me awhile to adapt to a Kindle.  I love the feel of a book. I even like knowing the page I’m on, and not that I’ve read 38%.

Many months ago I bought The Goldfinch.  It’s a big book. 771 pages and small type.  I read the first 200 pages and then lost interest.  I put the book down, and there it sat, on a shelf, for a few months.  In between I read other, less significant books.

A week ago I pick up The Goldfinch again.  If I can read on the bus or when I’m out, I will finish the book sooner.  So for $7.50, I download a copy onto my Kindle.  And quickly I am drawn to the book's exquisitely developed characters.  Its beautiful writing.  And the big, engrossing world of Theo Decker.  It’s no wonder this book won the 2014 Pulitzer for Fiction.

Today I am returning some things I had bought for Alexander, and get to J Crew fifteen minutes before the store opens.  I have nothing to do while waiting.  Until, that is, I remember I have the (never-used) Kindle app on my phone.   I open it up and it queues automatically to the right page. The readability impresses me.

 Later I meet Robyn and a couple of her friends. We hang out on Robyn’s rooftop (the equivalent of a nice back yard if you don’t live in a city).  We sunbathe. Eat. Talk. And read (no glare on the Kindle).  Then I come home, curl up in a chair with my hardcover, and read some more.

By the end of the day, I am on page 587 of the book. 75% done according to Kindle.  4 hours and 44 minutes left to read, according to my iPhone.  

I am not ready to give up the hardcover, but having both (rather all three) is ideal.