How the Nook Hooked Me

My DD and DH gave me  a Nook for Mother's Day. Me. The technologically challenged gal received a GIZMO. Don't get me wrong. I am glad I got the Nook. I wanted one. But I did not jump onto the E-reader wagon willingly. 


No. I was seduced over a long period of time. 


I resisted anything E-reader for a long time because the reason I am technologically challenged is I am impatient. I loathe taking the time to learn about new gadgets. Why don't they just turn on and WORK? Why do I have to read a manual? Yuck. Why does anything electronic need me to understand its inner workings? I don't have time to learn inner workings. Really. I'm quite busy as it is and any spare time I have should be spent reading or, if I ever get off my duff, exercising. 


The evidence of my impatience with learning technology is clear to those who know me well. Here are some facts:


*DD and DH were going to give me a special food scale from Williams Sonoma, but they decided against it because my DD said, "Mommy will NEVER read the manual."


*I bought a new iPhone. My DD had to teach me how to use it. I learn by doing and am very visual. 


*I bought a MAC and DD was very excited when I told her I signed up for the classes at the APPLE store. I went to enough classes to learn how to use the computer competently and then stopped going. 


*I told my CP about the SCRIVENER writing program. I'd been using it for about 6 months. She is writing a weekly blog about the program and knows how to use it far better than I. Now I call her up for advice about the program.


*online contests and forms baffle me. I manage to muddle through them, but I don't trust the electronic sphere.


As you can see, my desire to avoid reading a manual or learn how to understand a gadget far outweighs my desire for the gadget and all it can offer me.


And then the Nook began to sneak up on me. Oh, I was intrigued, but hey, a book in the hand is so tactile. So me. Why do I need a Nook? And the cost. Hmmm. Then my brother came here from Canada and he wanted to look at the Nook. So off we went to Barnes & Noble and we all played with the "toy." Hmmm. Interesting, thought I. I learned I can use the Nook to read my CP's MS/WIPs by converting them to a PDF file and I could comment on them on the Nook. Well, but no tracking, so not sold. And I learned I could eventually "self-publish" my own stuff should I never beat down the publishing doors or get past the gargoyles at the gates. 


Ah, a little more interested now. But nope. Not going there. Not ready. Not yet. Just focus on the writing, I said. But oh, I was enchanted by the possibilities. I circled the Nook. Wary. I used the fact that we had other expenses to stop myself from buying it. I knew the Nook was teasing me with its possibilities, but I wasn't biting. No way.


Then my brother from Canada bought the Nook--an uncharacteristically spontaneous move for him. And off we went carrying the Nook to my home. Now he was showing me by example how easy it was to use for the average Jill. I stepped a little closer to the precipice. Almost got me there, that sneaky little Nook. But I was safe from tumbling over the edge. After a few days of fiddling with it, my brother realized he couldn't use the Nook in Canada because of having a Canadian address. Shame. I thought we'd take it back. I'd be free of the Nook's charming ways.


No. He gave the Nook to my DD. She instantly became an expert, downloading books and more. Ah, the ease she had in learning how to use it. The cool factor was there. Oh, the Nook had it all. But still, I resisted getting my own Nook. No amount of bells, whistles, coolness could suck me into the Nook's vortex. I knew I'd have a long learning curve, and I am in revision mode. 


No time to .... but.... wait... what is this? My DD is sitting at the breakfast counter, eating her breakfast cereal and next to the bowl lies her Nook. Flat, straight, easy to look at... OMG! I leaned in and said, "Wow, that's a lot easier than trying to hold a paperback while shoveling a spoon of Wheaties into my mouth." 


DD looked at me, her glasses askew from sleeping in them, and said, "A lot easier than a hardback, too."


OMG, I can read with out trying to prop open a book with a plate or a cup while I am eating? The joy! The freedom! The happiness! I confess that other than dinner time, we three read during meals all the time. After all, we're busy. We don't always have time to sit and read in a chair with the sun our faces or a comfy blanket keeping us warm. Nope. But during breakfast and lunch? Oh yah. That's maximizing our time. (Some diet guru might tell us we're not eating with meaning or focus, but who cares? We're just filling a hole, right? Might as well fill our minds, too!).


So now you know why I succumbed to the lure of the Nook. No, the Nook's fancy gadgetry and instantaneous delivery of books to my world didn't snag me. But the Nook's amazing ability to lie flat next to a plate was the final yank of the fishing line that set the hook.


*Confession: DD and DH gave me the Nook on Friday so I could have two days to learn how to use it.
*Confession: DD had to help me set up my Nook. 
*Confession: I am madly in love with my Nook and have downloaded two of the four new BRIDES books written by Nora Roberts.