I bought Kindle Paperwhite and I love it!

 

The best decision I made last month was buying a Kindle Paperwhite. 

It is one of my most prized possessions to date, and I love it more than my phone now.

Since it came, I had already finished the first four books of the Harry Potter series. Yes, I re-read the HP books because they are my favorite. Plan to finish reading all JK Rowling's books this time. I had downloaded a lot more books in different genres. I also plan to read famous classics like How to Kill a Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice, The Count of Monte Cristo, and Shakespeare's masterpieces.

 It's great that I work from home now. I got extra time to read. I remember how much I loved reading since I was younger. It started when my grandma owned a rental shop for comics and pocketbooks. Every summer, after helping with house chores, there's nothing to do at my grandma's house but read the whole day. There is no smartphone back then, and people had time to answer crosswords in newspapers, listen to drama on the radio or watch TV, and read books. Whenever I go to a mall, I would always go to the bookstore. Being in a place surrounded by books made me so happy as a kid. I love Science and literature. I also enjoyed reading from local authors like Bob Ong. My favorite of his was entitled ABNKKBSNPLAko?! It's an excellent book that I read at a young age. I still had a copy with me until now.

When I had my first paycheck from my first job nine years ago, the first things I bought with my money were books. I can still recall one of those was Para kay B (O Kung Paano Dinevastate ng Pag-ibig ang 4 out of 5 sa Atin) by a Filipino writer, Ricky Lee. I felt that I was so lucky to have the opportunity to earn money so I could buy more books. 

But then life happens, I get so busy adulting. Work took a big chunk of my time, my life. I read less and less. And then, the already growing technology has skyrocketed. Smart devices and the internet made people change their lifestyles and behaviors. Information became easily accessible, and people (like me) had to cope with the speed of life. Most people's activities can now be done online. That includes reading books, magazines, news and etc. 

Getting used to reading ebooks and blogs using my phone and laptop was easy. But I get easily distracted by social media, always ending up scrolling Facebook instead of finishing a novel. 

Aside from too many distractions, my eyes get tired fast. My head would hurt from looking at the screen for a longer time. So I decided to own a Kindle, and amazingly, this device didn't hurt my eyes or my head by reading for long hours. It is like reading on paper, like the real thing. With it, you can adjust the lighting and font size. Plus, there is an added dictionary feature where you can just tap on the word you don't understand, and instantly the meaning of that word will pop out of the screen. How convenient, isn't it? I wished I bought it sooner before the start of the COVID 19 pandemic. I might have freed my mind from stressing over the virus during the first months of quarantine by immersing myself in an excellent fantasy fiction book. 

It really helps that I need not buy books as there are lots of free books available online (money saved!). I might no longer own a physical book to touch, sniff, flip its pages, and keep on the shelf. But it is okay because I want to live with minimal possessions now that I'm an adult. My dream of having a library in my home might have gone, but my love for reading books will be forever. I also noticed that Kindle increased my reading speed. And the best thing is, I can bring all my books with me everywhere I go, and that's perfect because I value my freedom!