Kevin

I have a new man in my life. He is sleek, very clever, and able to retain lots of knowledge simultaneously..... Now, before you go gossiping with the neighbours and branding me an indecent harlot with no shame, I haven't divorced my lovely hubby Graeme; I am merely the proud recipient of a brand new kindle whom I have christened Kevin... (I always call toys by the first initial of what they are i.e. Percy the Penguin, Bertie the Bear. Yes, I am incredibly sad. If we'd ever had kids I would have called a boy something beginning with B and a girl something beginning with G. I suspect you get the drift)....

My kindle love-in has come as something of a surprise; not least of which to me. I am a self confessed bibliophile and a complete book snob. We have reams and reams of bookshelves stuffed with wonderful books, all alphabetical and all in author preference. Julie Burchill mingles cosily with Dostoyevsky (sic); Salman Rushdie and William Boyd co-exist with Ian McEwan & Martin Amis etc.. I think Peter Carey and Bret Easton Ellis have even struck up a bit of a friendship... I adore bookshops; the smell of a fresh, crisp new book. Perhaps the intellectual equivalent of a panty sniffer... (& no, I am NOT before you start; not least of which because gussets frighten me)..... I despise chick lit and actually threw 'Bridget Jones's Diary' in the bin as it affronted my senses so much... I have openly sneered at kindles; why would I want one when I have perfectly beautiful books to read? I will never use a kindle - how pointless.. I was cross with G for buying me one as I didn't really want one.. However, as soon as I started on it, I haven't put it down. Yes, it is a lot easier to carry than a hardback and especially in bed and on holiday this is a real bonus. It can (shock, horror), co exist with actual, tangible books - yay!!! This is PROGRESS peeps....

(I can't sniff it though - maybe I should seek therapy)....