Goodbye, Kindle

Those of you who know me are used to this. I get attached to things—like, REALLY attached.

The time I tried to pretend that I was a real adult, somewhere around the age of 25, I declared to Mr. H that it was time to get rid of Ken the cow.

ken the cow on the road
(If you haven’t met him, this is Ken and he’s awesome.)

I made him put Ken in a duffel bag so I couldn’t see his face as he went out the front door, out of my life forever.

As you can imagine, that made it even worse. It was like my favorite stuffed animal friend was being carried off in a body bag.

Mr. H hesitated by the door, took one look at me, and brought Ken safely back inside. He knew.

I still have Ken the cow to this day. I’m in my thirties, I sleep with a stuffed animal—and dammit—I don’t care.

Today this post is about letting go of another friend, who simply goes by the name of Kindle.

My mom asked me if I wanted the new Kindle for my birthday next week, which is the sweetest gift she could ever offer me. Naturally, I hesitated before saying yes.

Me and Kindle go WAY back. My mom passed him on to me back in 2012 when she got an iPad.

It was a life-changing moment for me, when I finally decided to give ebooks a chance after being such a paperback purist.

But I wanted to read ebooks by other indie authors, to support them in the same way that some of them have supported me.

Kindle was the way to do it.

Me and Kindle got off to a rocky start. I was reluctant to give up real books in any way. Kindle knew our relationship would take some time and he was very patient with me.

But then, tragedy struck.

Hazel the cat murdered him, knocked him right off the top of our built-in cabinet. I found Kindle’s lifeless body on the floor. I pressed his power button repeatedly, trying to resuscitate him…but there was nothing.

Until that moment, I didn’t realize how close I had become to Kindle and I was very sad. I went back to regular books for a while, then months later—for shits and giggles—I tried turning Kindle back on.

And he was alive. Back from the dead!

After that we were inseparable, and I rarely left the house without Kindle by my side.

He showed me many wonderful novels on his little screen. He didn’t mind when I spilled beer on him and he never judged me when I was too tired to spend quality time with him in bed.

Kindle didn’t complain once during our cross-country move from Milwaukee to Portland. He was a real trooper and a stand-up guy.

New Kindle arrived on Thursday. It’s lightweight, tech savvy, and shiny.

The transition has been made. My library is now on New Kindle, but I haven’t read anything just yet. I needed to give Original Kindle a proper goodbye with this tribute.

Though I only captured a few moments, here are some of our fondest memories together…

my very first kindle

Kindle cat

fall of giants kindle

cat kindle stand

Thanks for everything, Kindle. You will be missed!

P.S. In case you missed grabbing the Everything’s Not Bigger freebie last weekend, if you have Amazon prime, you can borrow two of my books completely free from the Owner’s Library—Everything’s Not Bigger and I just added Nola Fran Evie. Enjoy!

42 thoughts on “Goodbye, Kindle”

  1. I always have this problem when I’m transitioning from an old laptop to a new one. My fingers would’ve gotten so used to its keys that I absolutely cannot part with it. One time I avoided my shiny new laptop for a whole month, sticking to my old one, until finally it kicked the bucket and I was forced to face the new.

    I tend to name my belongings too! My current main laptop is Kelsier and my laptop/tablet hybrid is Fiona. xD And I sleep with a stuffed bunny called Paddington!

  2. I must confess – I’m still a paperback purist. I have the kindle app on my ipad and download books, but I much prefer holding paper in my hand. It’s partly because of Bookcrossing, but I think it’s largely the aesthetic of seeing stacks and shelves of books around me, too. I practically drool. I know my heart rate increases whenever I see a shelf of books. I just can’t make the switch.

    BTW- happy birthday coming up! 🙂

    1. Nothing will ever take the place of a real book. I love the Kindle for enhancing my reading experience, checking out Indies I would never have before or classics that are all free on Amazon. I’m a combo gal now.

      Thanks for the birthday wishes, honey! 🙂

  4. For a second there I thought you might be going back to paperback only – that would just be crazy! I’m glad Ken was rescued. The cats must enjoy his company too. I have the old Kindle touch and it’s still going strong. Every once in a while I go back to regular books but then I’ll try to touch a word and nothing happens. 🙂

    1. LOL! There’s no turning back now. I like the combo reading experience.

      That’s awesome about touching the word! I just expect my book to remember where I left off now, then I get mad at it. 🙂

  5. I’m glad you rekindled Kindle. I still have not succumbed to the e-reader craze. But, you’re right, in order to enjoy some indie authors, I have to do it on an e-reader. Unfortunately, that is why I am so far behind on my reading of those types of books. I just really can’t stand reading on an electronic device.

    Love Ken.

    1. Still holding out, eh? 🙂

      I hear ya. I stand firm that nothing will ever beat a real book. But, I personally, have expanded my reading reach with Kindle. And that’s pretty darn cool.

      Ken gets a lot of attention around here. I feel like an exclusive interview is coming in 2015.

  6. Darn, I still live in the age of dinosaurs..till this moment I still don’t have a Kindle. I keep weighing the pros and cons and truly there are good arguments in both camps 😉
    Evolution and the ecological advantages will probably prevail over time I guess..oh well..
    hihi, I saw the ‘catbut stand’ on facebook.

    p.s. when hubby is on business trip I also sleep with a stuffed friend. Of course, I have kitties now to keep me company 😉

    1. Definitely good arguments in both camps, which is why I read ebooks and paperbacks. Then, I can have it all.

      I have the cats, Mr. H., and Ken. Our bed is a bit crowded…with cuddles! 🙂

  7. Tell your mom I say yes to a kindle, too.

    Inanimate objects become our friends and we don’t even realize it. And sometimes it’s time to turn them in for a newer model. This is usually frowned upon when it comes to human companions, but for machines, just part of the game.

    Also, the song “Memories” should have played with your photo montage. It sort of did in my head.

    1. Totally agree! I’ll hang onto this Kindle as long as I can. It’s so nice! Of course, I haven’t used half of the technology on it because I really just like it for reading.

      “Memories” is perfect!

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