The Devil Has my Soul

I feel as though I've sold my soul to the devil.  I was never going to abandon real books;  I love libraries and the feel of a proper book but I've done it.  I have sold my soul to the devil and am the owner of a Kindle.

In my defence, I didn't buy it for myself.  The Long Suffering Husband has wanted to buy me one for years, thinking of all the suitcase room when we go on holiday (at least 6 books a week, depending on size, take up quite a lot of space) but he hasn't dared because of my usual rants on the subject of real books and libraries.  He was very nervous about his purchase and paced the floor watching me, while biting his bottom lip as I unwrapped it.  The fact that they now have a back light so that you can read under the covers at night without waking anyone else up was the thing that had made me mention considering getting one.

I have become one of those middle-aged women who doesn't sleep.  Like most of my friends, I wake at 3 or 4am with 'stuff' running through my brain.  I hear the birds start their dawn chorus, noisily and excitedly chirruping about the start of their day, which is too early for most humans and then I hear them go suddenly silent as though the most enormous bird predator has just entered the garden before a  brave robin tweets, first once then twice, encouraging the rest to decide that they are safe and the day can really begin.  I've never been that worried about not sleeping, I was always quite happy to lie there and mull things over, make notes on my bedside 'brain-dump' book with a too blunt pencil.  I have a little book light but I don't always turn it on, so I can never properly read the rubbish I write at 3am. I threw many all-nighters at college (sitting up talking - not studying - we were much less conscientious in the eighties) and read all night many times when I was still at school (The first I remember was Anne Frank's Diary), while still coping the next day.  But recently, I've been waking with nothing to think about and it has been quite difficult to read under the covers without waking the LSH.

It was a lovely surprise and a very thoughtful present.  He needn't have looked so nervous.

If I didn't like it quite as much as I do then I wouldn't feel quite so guilty but I love it.  It's light and easy to use, apart from one moment when it nearly flew across the room as I tried to work the technology.  Yes, I do miss turning pages, it doesn't smell nearly as good as a book and I'm quite worried about what I'll do when I want a bath (I think it might be dangerous to read a Kindle in the bath).  But I like that it remembers where you are.  I like to be able to download a sample of a book to read before you decide if you want to buy it and I like that you can read books that are not yet in paperback for a reasonable price.  I agree with the LSH that I will have an amazing amount of space in my luggage and may be able to go away with more than a spare pair of knickers and a toothbrush in future.

The first book I have on my Kindle is Miranda Road by Heather Reyes.  It was a bargain at £1.75 and I was hooked from the free sample.  I'm really enjoying it so far, it's a story told from a mother and child's perspective and it's the first book I've read in a long time where the characters are truly believable.  They feel like people I could actually know.

Having sold my soul to the Devil you would imagine that there would be a price to pay.  I never imagined that the price would be three full night's sleep in a row.  I was so looking forward to waking in the night and reading easily, under the covers;  I couldn't wait for the next page but on the first night I slept all night, the second night I slept for a solid 12 hours.  Last night I did wake up, briefly.  I thought, "Great,  I'll just get my book," and the next thing I knew was that it was 8.30 and the dog was whining for a walk.