“You are basically a hashbrown!”
December 20, 2011
In honor of the first day of Hanukkah we are reading this book tonight for Advent.
I found this book at a used bookstore this past year and it has been cracking my kids up.
We have a Kindle, but I am not a convert. Sure it came in handy when my son forgot his novel at school and needed to write an essay for
his AP English class and failed to mention it until 9pm on a Sunday night. A Kindle can never replace the smell of a bookstore. Or the crack the binding makes in your hands when you open it for the first time. Or the texture of the pages and the look of the typesetting But mostly it can never replace the experience of browsing and finding unexpected treasures at a used bookstore, feeling the weight of each individual book as you turn it over in your hand. It seems like so much of the experience is lost when you read on an electronic device.
RSS feed for comments on this post.



Amen, sister!
December 21st, 2011 at 12:44 pmNot to mention that a Kindle hurts more when it falls down over your face when you fall asleep with it.
December 21st, 2011 at 2:31 pmI’m not a convert either - I borrow books at the library, but I try to stay away from buying more books. If I do, I also need more shelving…
I have a Kindle and still go to the library and book store all the time. And I need another book shelf (Santa?) My Kindle tends to be back up reading but I’m glad to have it when I can’t get to the library or book store (ice/snow storms).
December 21st, 2011 at 5:10 pmMy son also used my Kindle to read his AP Lit assignment. Me, I prefer bboks. I am a law librarian and there is nothing I like better than researching an issue in the bookstacks. While I don’t consider myself old by any stretch of the imagination, I will leave the computer research to the younger attorneys/paralegals and continue to spread my law books out as I draft my memo’s and pleadings.
December 21st, 2011 at 5:30 pmI too have a Kindle, since not long after they came out. I too rarely use it, but did find it really useful when I was in the hospital for a week three years ago during a blizzard. It enabled me to order books from my bed and insist that my husband stay safely at home after bringing it to me the first day.
Other than those rare occasions, I prefer books, I read a lot of books, I LOVE used bookstores, I love Amazon, I say “amen” to all the reasons you gave for preferring books over electronic reading devices.
December 21st, 2011 at 5:32 pmMy children’s school presented this as a play at school two Christmases ago and it was absolutely hilarious. The boy playing the latke had such a blast (and was very well cast for a latke!). Couldn’t agree more about real books.
December 21st, 2011 at 11:34 pmOh my! We just read that book after checking it out from our local library. I loved it and want to own it. Apparently he has a similar book featuring a lump of coal!
December 22nd, 2011 at 12:32 ammy son that reads constantly brought home a kindle last night from his fathers house, it was his chanuaka present. I can not for the life of me understand why he gave the child this except he himself is not a reader. the boy has an ipod that can read books, and carries 4 inch thick books wherever he goes, the kindle just looks wimpy by comparison, I give it a week before it’s lost or broken. And that book looks really good, anyway you could post the story with pictures?
December 22nd, 2011 at 8:49 amoh chris! i so agree with you on this. jim (husband) got me a nook color last Christmas and i love it. but the poor guy doesn’t understand why i still go to the library… still purchase ‘real’ books. you’ve put it so succinctly, i think i’ll have him read your post.
Happy Holidays!!
December 22nd, 2011 at 10:10 amthe perfect thing for a kindle would be if schools could load all their books on it so their backpacks did not weigh 50 or so pounds. and since that makes perfect sense it will be years before it happens.
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:45 pmI too have a Kindle. I received it last year as a Christmas present. I told my family that I absolutely did NOT WANT an e-reader. It was the best present I never wanted. I like it for many reasons, but I absolutely REFUSE to give up paper. I enjoy going to the bookstore (when it is not overrun by kids) and the library. I enjoy the weight of a book, turning the pages, etc. I do not mind the monochrome look of the Kindle - at least for now
December 23rd, 2011 at 6:39 pmI love it. I have to find this one!!!
December 23rd, 2011 at 6:51 pmI totally agree! I haven’t touched my nook in at least 6 months. I refuse to buy books and only download the free ones. On another note, I remembered your tradition of wrapping all of your Christmas books and letting the children open one each night. I started it with my 2 year old this year and she loved it!
December 27th, 2011 at 1:57 pm