But.
Deep in my heart, I know I will never be able to give up my physical books. Never. And I am not ashamed to admit that the opportunity to buy digital books hasn't curbed by appetite for new books, as my bank account can attest. Nothing can replicate the smell of an antique book or the feel of the pages when you flip through them for me. It's almost a spiritual experience, a common thread running from my earliest days until now.
I'm the kind of girl that will swoon at the sight of built-in bookshelves and oak-paneled libraries. A girl who loves a comfy chair with a book draped over the arm. And as I begin my adult life, I realize that those childhood memories of reading about girl detectives and life on the prairie represent something that is bigger than a novel that fits in your backpack and has a snug place on a crammed shelf. To me, it represents safety. and happiness. and tradition. and peace. When the world is crazy, I find consistency in my reading nook, the place where I can curl up with a cup of coffee and a book and cast my anchor against life's ups-and-downs. And you can bet that whenever I find a house to call my own, one of my first projects will be to create the perfect reading nook, where the tradition can continue.
