Reading. Its fundamental

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to read.  I have had the bittersweet priviledge of finishing the beloved Dark Tower series.  I started reading this monster in high school.  Well, if it gives you any inclination as to how long it has taken me, I graduated nearly 20 years ago and I was in early highschool when I started The Gunslinger.

I am so amazed at the story that I want to go back and start over!  I have also found that, along the years, our clever author Stephen King, has intertwined other stories and related them all to the Dark Tower series.  One such stark reminder is The Stand.  One of the main characters there is Randall Flagg.  For those loyal readers of his, you know this to be the Dark Tower main character as well. However, it is like a Yin/Yang thing.

Ah, stories, they take us places.  Who remembers the Reading Rainbow series.

Butterfly in the sky,
I can go twice as high,
Take a look,
Its in a book,
Reading Rainbow!

Good times. Gooooood times!  Now, I have found myself in a digital age and you can read books on your computer (done it,) on your phone (doing it,) and on this nifty digital device called a kindle (have one.)  But it feels so empty reading a book in digital format.  I rememember when I would find audio books in the library.  I told myself I would NEVER deface a true book by "listening to it."  That was only for people who loved a good story and were no longer able to see to read or who were not with the abililty to access full version braille books because they were physically blind.  Not for people like me who enjoyed the feeeling of finishing a great book.

Also, when you are reading a true book. Nothing feels like turning the page or flipping a corner down to mark your spot when you go to make coffee.  Even better, the images a great story will invoke in your mind as you are reading about the plight of the main character.  To the dismay of movie makers, each person who reads the book first, has a different opinion of what the scene is and the main character looks like.  I believe that those who are gifted with the skill of great comprehension while reading are able to create such an image in their mind and fully enjoy reading for what it is.  Best yet, the feeling of finishing a novel or long book when you turn that last page and take a moment to reflect upon the story as a whole.  Ah, better than a runner's high.

I wonder these days if there will be a time when there will not be any people who can do such a thing or that they will achieve the abovementioned feelings when they finish their digital copy of a great book.  With the advent of the digital format, I have (however) found it easier to obtain and read classic.  Currently I am in the middle of Bram Stoker's Dracula.  I love it and it is easy to get on my kindle as most of the classics are free and you do not have to pay for them.  Another reason I love my digital formats is because they take up a great deal less space in my suitecase when we travel. 

What is your feelings about reading a real book versus a digital format of any kind?