A Nook, a Book ... and an Epiphany ...

My beautiful and generous children presented me with this little beauty for my birthday - a Nook. 'Cause I really like to read. And it is very nice. But it has made me ponder the need for a gadget that holds 1500 titles. It is sort of like the Wal-Mart of libraries. Sure, I can go to Wal-Mart and get great prices on things I really do not need ... And that is the part that has me feeling pretty guilty inside.

I do not need 1500 books on an electronic gadget that eats up my time with trying to figure out how to get 1500 books on this little gadget. I have already wasted valuable time playing with the thing. It is cute and there are literally thousands of free titles on the internet - sites such as Ambleside Online, that I reference for extra lit and historical titles throughout our school year, have a plethora of books available for immediate download.

I have decided not to fill this device up unnecessarily like a pantry cupboard that overflows with food no one will ever eat. Rather, I will find a few treasures at a time, and let the children read at their will. I never have to coerce my kids to pick up a book, and we never leave the house without a tome in each person's hands. So this will just be an addendum to an already full, literature-loving life for all of us.

I also need to add that I could never give up the priceless volumes I have acquired during my journey as a home-schooling mom. There are books so integral to my growth as an educator, as a parent, and as a person that I could never not feel the weight of that voluminous manual in my hands again -

The Holy Bible, The Well-Trained Mind, Honey for a Child's Heart, Harp and Laurel Wreath, Trial and Triumph, Home Improvements for Dummies ... the list goes on and on. It is these that leave my shelves to overflowing, to list from side-to-side with an anxiety-provoking creak. They deserve to be read and re-read, in true form, not digital. They represent a growth in character, as they have educated me in a way the public school system did not, and will allow me to educate my children in much better fashion than if I had not read them.

I do not want to imagine a world without books - real books, with dusty, torn covers, pages slightly askew from loosening from the binding, a spine that no longer creaks but rather helps you open to a favorite, much perused passage. No digital device could ever replace that experience, that tangible quality of a well-loved book. So I am grateful to my children for taking their birthday/holiday/tooth-fairy/left-over change-that-Mom-let-them-keep monies and pooling them for this sweet gift. I not only received the Nook, but also a lesson in what is really important to me.