Unfaithful

Friends, you can’t throw a virtual rock without hearing about how eReaders are taking over the universe. I resisted my own questionable desires as if I was cheating on my paperbacks, the manifestation of my guilt resembling the warning signs you might see in an unfaithful spouse. Looking at my dusty paperbacks evoked a sense of guilt and longing because I hadn't wanted to touch them in awhile. If you're like me, you too have struggled with the moral dilemma of switching from the comfortable folds of familiar book to the forbidden pleasure of an electronic device. As the (purely made-up) list below indicates, you are not alone.

You know you're falling in love with your eReader when...

1. You're confronted about how much time you’re spending with your Kindle/iPad/Nook and you respond, "We're just friends."
2. You find yourself withdrawing from your “real books”.
3. You’re preoccupied and daydreaming about the feel of hard plastic more and more.
4. You're no longer interested in taking your “real books” to bed.
5. The amount of time you and your “real books” spend together is dwindling.
6. You find yourself anticipating when you can hold your eReader again.
7. You find reasons to touch your eReader when no one's looking.
8. Your eReader seems to understand you better than any old paperback ever did.
9. You find reasons to give your eReader personal gifts, like a new title every two days.
10. You’re keeping your eReader a secret from your “real books”.

I've heard it's a rare thing to stay with the one you cheated with, but my eReader is a most alluring device. I do wonder, though, how long it will be before I'm stealing glances at "real books" again, longing for the touch and smell and comfort of familiar paper.

So, dear friends, are you a “cheater” like me or do you remain faithful to your bound darlings?