Kindle v.s. Spine

My parents got me a Kindle for Christmas and thought my initial excitement was based mostly on a desire to stop carting around the masses and masses of university books which I take everywhere, a fellow book-loving friend was disgusted. I had offended the name of decent book readers everywhere. I was scum, bowing to popular demand. Her disgust was palpable.

Several months have passed since then, and whilst I still feel that her feelings are somewhat unneccessarily vehement, I have come to the following pro and con list for kindle..

Kindle pros

1. Price– when you can get pretty much all the classics completely free, I’d say that is a good deal
2. Speed– you can get books instantly whilst you’re sitting in bed sipping tea.
3. Portability– I travel a lot, and (as previously mentioned) need large university books for studying- the kindle makes this much, much easier and less painful.

Kindle cons

1. Feel-I miss the feel of reading a book, of holding it open and just devouring it’s contents.
2. Smell-I miss the smell- Old book or new, the smell of books is amazing.
3. Magpie-I can’t add the book to my collection.
4. Spines-I  miss looking at spines on my shelf. The lack of books in my room is just sad
5. Pride-I like people admiring my literary prowess when I’m on trains and planes. Like yes, I am reading Dostoyevsky, deal with it.
6. Breaking-I miss breaking in a new book. The moment when you open that first page and the spine makes those thin lines. I miss that.
7. Emotions-If I read a bad book, the bad emotions related to that book means I don’t like even looking at it. So whether I re
8. Availability-Not all books exist on the Kindle. Which is frustrating.
9. Bookshops- Because I have a Kindle, going in to a bookshop and buying an actual book feels a little wasteful-not cool.

The truth is, kindles are practical. They make my rather nomadic lifestyle, my sad bank account, my university work and my reading habits all co-exist in glorious harmony and right now, I have no intention of giving it up. But one day, when I have the money and my own home in which to display my glorious books, I will probably go out and buy the books I most enjoyed on my kindle- just to put them on my shelf. True story.

What are your thoughts?