Back in February 2013, after nearly a year of blogging, I discovered NetGalley. I thought this was an absolutely fantastic feature for a relatively new blogger with little to no connection with publishers/authors and I immediately signed up. Little did I realise that reading from a computer screen would kill my eyes, making me blind and unable to read ever again (okay, that's a bit of an overstatement, considering I'm still here two years later, but you get the gist). It was torture! Here I was, with nearly unlimited access to some of the hottest new releases, and my eyes were slowly dying whilst reading them. I was heartbroken.
And then I got an email from Amazon, highlighting their cheapest electronic products of the day, and lo and behold, the Kindle was on sale for a mere £60 (reduced from £90 at the time). Despite having always been a big advocate of actual books in the whole physical vs. electronic debate, I couldn't resist that offer, and thus I bought myself a Kindle.
Immediately after receiving my newest toy, I headed over to Amazon and downloaded as many free stories that sounded remotely interesting as I could. Believe me, there was a lot on there. And even more so after I requested - and was approved - for multiple books from NetGalley, too. So, with my Kindle fully stocked, I began my ereader journey.
Of the initial 14 titles I received via NetGalley, I read only three of them in six months. And of the dozens of free books I downloaded, I read a grand total of zero. Not exactly the best start, really. For some reason, I just didn't like reading on my Kindle. I had the fleeting thought that it could have been the books I was reading that weren't holding my interest, but all three of them were absolutely fantastic novels. Just to be sure, though, I decided to purchase The Fault In Our Stars, a book I knew I was going to love (there are some things you just know, right?) In the end, it took me nearly a week to read the novel. Warning bells went off in my head. How could a book that gripped me so thoroughly and broke me so completely have taken me that long to read? (For info, I've since bought the book in paperback and have read it in less than a day on two separate occasions).
Despite reading several NetGalley titles earlier this year, I can't make it a regular thing. I don't know what it is that I don't like about my Kindle, but there is definitely something preventing me from enjoying the experience. I took to the device itself like a moth to a flame - no awkward page turning from me - but the actual reading itself definitely didn't feel right. Do you think some people are just programmed to be unable to read on an ereader? Either way, I'll definitely be sticking with physical copies from here on out. I like browsing my shelves, looking for my next read, but the convenience of having a Kindle is something I wish I could incorporate into my life. Who knows, perhaps I'll be able to read books on my ereader one day.
So, tell me, do you have an ereader? If so, what is your relationship with it? And if not, what's stopping you from purchasing one? Let me know in the comments!
