The Unthinkable

For the longest time, I swore that I would never get an ereader.  I loved books too much and would not be corrupted by the digital world. 

Well the joke is on me now.

In the light of recent events (which are partially responsible for my silence on ATUA in February,) I have decided to get rid of my books and buy a kobo ereader.  This wasn't an easy decision to make. Some of the books I owned I had purchased when I was a high school student (mostly French literature classics.)  But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.  The only things these books did were taking up space, collecting dust and making each of my moves a pain in the ass.  So I purchased the ereader and started dismantling my collection.

This proved to be harder than I thought.

First of all, there was the whole emotional attachment to my books.  However, more importantly, I discovered that most used bookstores already have too many books and won't take anything older than a year.  So when I sought to sell about 30 books, I ended up selling 1 for 1$ and had to give the others away for their cheap bin; I didn't feel like lugging them back to my place.  Then a clerk at one of the stores I called to inquire about sales was a total jerk to me.  All in all, the whole experience of selling my books was turning out to be tedious and downright unnerving.

That's when I decided to donate my books to the local library.

I could immediately tell this was the right choice when I saw the staffs' faces lit up at the sight of my well-kept books.  But what truly warmed my heart is when they informed me that whatever book didn't make it to the library's collection would be given to a charitable organism which sells the books to finance summer camps for disadvantaged children.  What's not to like about this?

So there you have it.  I, the hardcore printed word advocate, am left with an empty bookshelf and an electronic device.  Strangely, it doesn't feel that bad...