Pigging out on Books

Bless me Father for I have committed the sin of gluttony -- twice. With food. And with books.

Gluttony is my favorite capital sin -- ranks right up at the top of my list. Okay, so it's a toss up between sloth and gluttony but gluttony always wins.

I am as fond (okay, obsessed is more like it) of books -- buying them, reading them, acquiring them, coveting them, keeping them, hoarding them -- as I am of food. I have a house that has been overrun with books. There are books on the bookshelves, books in boxes, books in boxes under the bed, books on top of chairs, books on top of the coffee table -- you get the picture.

When amazon.com introduced the Kindle a few years ago, I thought that it would be the last thing I would ever buy. Who wanted to exchange the pleasure of a freshly bought book, stiff, crisp pages still unread, the heft of it feeling just right in your hand...

But this year, I took a look at the Kindle again and decided that it was time to buy -- the second generation Kindle was specially attractive, slimmer, lighter and cheaper! With the iPad breathing down its neck, amazon.com severely slashed the Kindle's price. For just $189 -- a whole wide world of book buying would be open to me. And it combined my two favorite sins : gluttony (for buying books) and sloth (for being able to do so without even leaving my room).

I am very happy with my Kindle. It arrived just a few days after I ordered it and it worked the minute I turned it on.

Ordering books has become almost instantaneous -- the one-click function through amazon.com delivers the book to my Kindle in just 15 seconds. Of course I have tried not to order a book (or two or three) a day but it is becoming a temptation that is harder and harder to resist.

Now let me curl up with my Kindle and a bag of chips ... and please hang that 

Do Not Disturb sign on my door.