I'd always been adamant about not getting an e-reader. I like my books hardbound and heavy, thank you very much. That doesn't really moving easy, though! Below is a picture of just two of my 4 bookcases after I did a book purge recently. (I'm taking books I'll never read again to Half-Price Books in hopes of getting some money back to buy new books!)

But as the years have passed, I've watched most of my friends jump aboard the e-reader train. They raved about the convenience factor - the ability to carry hundreds of books with you in itself is incredible. Though if I had Hermoine's Undetectable Extension charm, I would so do that. But there were also the Kindle Daily Deals. Incredible books on sale for less than a cup of coffee! I found myself snatching some of those deals up, even though I didn't actually have a Kindle.

I tried to get by with the Kindle app on my iPhone, but it is rather difficult to really relax and read on the iPhone. There are too many other things going on - Candy Crush levels to be beat, Facebook notifications coming in, emails to check. I couldn't stay focused.

So for Christmas this past year, I finally broke down and asked for a Kindle Paperwhite. (I actually got the exact same version that's shown below.)

I went with the Paperwhite because it is exclusively for reading. The Kindle Fire does a lot more (games, web, movies, etc) and I could see if you had kids it may be a better option. But for me, I wanted something that was a plain and simple e-reader. I didn't want to be able to check my email or play games. I just wanted to read.

Christmas came and I excitedly opened my Kindle. Unfortunately, my parents' internet connection was down, so all I could do with the Kindle was plug it in and let it charge. When you have the Wi-Fi only version, you have to rely on the Internet to update it. However, you only need WiFi to load new books or if you are reading books on different devices and want to sync your progress. Internet was finally restored later that day, and I was able to log in and start downloading all the books I already owned in my Kindle library.

Since then I've built up quite a collection of books. I love all the daily deals the Kindle offers (and if you want to find out what the best ones are, follow Modern Mrs Darcy on social media - she is always sharing her finds!), but I've also started buying e-book bundles like I told you about last week. It's nice having so many books at my fingertips, but I gotta say, it isn't quite as good as reading a physical book. It's easy to highlight and bookmark in the Kindle, but it is much less satisfying!

At the end of the day, I do love my Kindle. The convenience is unbeatable. I carry it in my purse, so it's always nearby when I have a few free moments to read. I can read it in the dark so I don't have to bother my husband with a reading lamp. And on vacation it is wonderful to have because it did away with my need for a separate bag just for my books!

Ok, the Kindle will never fully replace physical books for me. I will always have bookcases filled with the works of Dickens, Austen, and Rowling. But the Kindle is a wonderful supplement to my book collection!

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