I read a book this week....it was weird.

I picked up and read a book this week, perhaps for the first time in several years - it was weird.

 I should clarify that statement - when I say I picked up a book, I mean a physical book (a paperback to be precise) and yes it was the first time I've done this in a long long time.  I felt as if I'd fallen down the rabbit hole, as I turned the pages on what felt like an ancient artefact. As I say it was weird.

That's not to say I've not read a book in years. Far from it, I've always got a book on the go, but I think that the only fiction I've read for at the very least four years, likely even longer, has been on my Kindle. It is now my preferred method for reading - fiction, that is. I still prefer physical books for research, non-fiction and all that, but fiction is so much more convenient when done electronically. With the latest eReaders having built in screen lights you don't need a lamp, you don't need to fold a page to create a bookmark, or stuff an old envelope

between the pages to mark your place, and my ever so slim eReader easily fits well into the pocket on my ever so macho man-bag. It goes everywhere with me. I've replaced my eReader several times - upgrades mostly though recently a can of Monster energy drink burst in that macho man-bag and ruined my beloved Kindle Paperwhite. I almost cried but quickly got another Paperwhite.  I couldn't live without the device.

Strange when initially I scoffed at the idea of eBooks - I'm a lifelong book lover, I have thousands of books taking up space in my home, but I suppose that like most bookish people I initially took the plunge into eReaders out of curiosity. My first eReader was an elonex from Borders (remember them) - that was around 2010, I think. And although I quite liked it I didn't fall in love with it, and maybe after a year I upgraded to one of the Sony eReaders. I resisted the Kindle at the time because back then the Kindle wouldn't allow ePub files and only used Amazon's own coding system - was this

Mobi? I'm not sure, to be honest. I don't think it was - I think in the early days the Kindle used its own unique coding system before adopting Mobi as the standard. Perhaps someone reading this post will be able to clarify in the comments section. Anyway back then I didn't want to be tied into one place to buy my eBooks.

Now the Sony was an improvement on the Elonex - the page turns were faster, eBook availability was far superior and for a good few years I was happy with the device. I would estimate that by this point I was reading digitally quite regularly, but I think physical books still came out top in the reading stakes.

I only moved to the Kindle when Amazon launched the Paperwhite - and to be honest since then I've not looked back. I read around 50 novels last year, and all these were on my Paperwhite. And as I say it's now got to the point where a physical book feels awkward in my hands. I also like the easy availability of books on the Amazon Kindle Store, and how I can press a button and have the book on my device in seconds. And these days a lot of books, the kind I like anyway, are only available in digital editions. And of course I can get eBooks elsewhere and simply slide load them onto my device via the USB cable and the free Calibre software.

Of course Amazon's flagship eReader is now the Oasis - and I am thinking of getting one, but at the moment I'm happy with my Paperwhite. I see no reason to upgrade. Perhaps another Monster Assault somewhere down the road, will prompt me to do so but for the moment I think I'll stick with the Paperwhite. Those Oasis devices are bloody expensive, you know.

Of course my home is still full of books and whenever an author I follow launches a new book, I get the hard-cover which sits unread in my collection - I then buy the eBook where available and read that. Are other book lovers like this, I wonder! Has digital reading taken over your reading life?