Old Fashioned Girl

Thursday, July 26, 2012

I have been holding off on buying a Kindle (or any kind of e-reader) for months. I understand the appeal - takes up less space, download books instantly - but holding a book, smelling it, feeling the pages, is just part of the experience of reading that I love. Same goes for magazines and newspapers. I could subscribe to my favourite magazines on my iPod or read the news online, but it's just not as much fun if you can't cut out articles, sniff perfume ads or get newsprint all over your fingers. You can curl up in bed on a stormy evening with an electronic device instead of a book, but for me it's just not the same. I can't imagine reading The Night Before Christmas with Eli on an e-reader.

In some cases, I looove the new-fangled versions of things. Online banking, buying movie tickets, ordering clothes, Google Maps - all lifesavers. Other times, I like doing stuff the old-fashioned way.

I don't like Keurigs. I understand why people like them...in theory. Hundreds of yummy flavoured coffees that are ready to drink instantly. What's not to like? I'm by no means a coffee snob or purist. I will drink Maxwell House out of the giant can if that's what's available. But a Keurig is essentially just hot water poured through a plastic cup. It doesn't really brew. We had one at a previous workplace and I didn't like it at all. The coffee never seemed HOT and there was no happy little caffeine buzz. We have a Cuisinart coffee maker and it takes a few minutes for the pot to brew, but it's worth the wait.

I don't like electronic calendars. Google Calendar, iCal...don't like 'em. Don't trust 'em. Seeing my calendar with back-to-back meetings for a week in advance gives me the willies and it wouldn't matter if it were an emailed meeting request to go shopping with Kate Middleton, I HATE clicking "accept". I will always have a day planner and I will always write my appointments in it, same as I will forever and ever write my daily to-do lists in blue ink and cross things off with red.

I have a love-hate relationship with online recipes. When I cook or bake something I've usually found it here or here or here or through a random Google search that generates a gazillion recipes that all look amazing. I lug my dying laptop into the kitchen, set it up on the counter, and get to work. As a result, my computer is a shitshow. There's batter splatters all over the monitor and between the keys. I'm pretty sure cookie dough and cake batter has fallen into my keyboard and baked in there. Cookbooks and handwritten recipes are the way to go and I'm trying to amass a collection of tried-and-true favourite recipes on my trusty little 4x6" cards.

E-invitations give me the willies a little. Remember when you were small and your friends would give you invitations to their birthday parties? Or you'd receive an invitation to a wedding shower or a housewarming party? That never happens anymore thanks to Evite and Facebook Events. Which, again, I get it. It's convenient, it's free, it's the easiest way to get in touch with people (sadly) and it makes it effortless for even the slackerest of slackers to RSVP. I kind of miss getting formal invitations to things and sending them out as well. This leads me to birthday wishes in general. Getting 200 Facebook "happy birthday" wall posts from people you don't hear from 364 days of the year isn't as nice as getting just one birthday card, phone call, or face-to-face wish from a friend.

What about you - any old-fashioned things you can't bear to part with?



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12 comments

  1. I personally was very aprehensive of getting an e-reader but I have recently purchased one and am loving it way more than I expected to! I still read old fashioned books so I guess you could say I'm an inbetween girl!

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    1. I think they'd be great for traveling, commuting and stuff. I'm sure I'll have one eventually, just holding out in the meantime!

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  2. I'm with you on the books. I refuse to read any sort of electronic book. I like collecting them and seeing them all on my shelves. lol. I'm also not into electronic calendars either. I have a cheap dollar store planner that does me good!!

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    1. I get a yearly planner every Christmas and it's always one of my favourite gifts! It makes me excited to go back to work after the holidays.

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  3. I still love my Moleskin agenda, but after flying back (carry-on only)from California with 3 heavy books in my purse (I finished read and finished one book while there, had one for the plane but wasn't into it so I purchased another at the airport)I broke down and got a Kindle.

    I love it! Easy one handed reading, and because I commute by metro transit and have to have all my belongings for the day stuffed into my purse, it really lightens my load, especially when I'm reading a giant book like Game of Thrones. That being said I'm not happy that E-book prices have been creeping up, what used to be $9.99 is now $15.00

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    1. Ohh I thought e-books were really cheap. Is $15.00 for newly released books?

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  4. I’m with you on the e-calendar thing. I will not be parted with my day planner. I have it with me at all times. I love to look back at old ones because they’re like a little diary. I have more consistently updated that than any other form of record-keeping (blog, journal, etc.) and when I occasionally misplace it, I feel a little lost until it’s back in my hands.

    As far as e-readers go, I was firmly against them until I learned you can download books from your local library on them. Finally a way to transport my beloved library books on all my travels! Since purchasing a Nook, I haven’t bought a single book, but I wasn’t a huge book buyer previously anyway. But nothing will replace the smell and feel of a new book. And I still buy a pile of magazines whenever I travel by plane. It’s my guilty pleasure. :)

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    1. I love getting magazines in the mail too. Gives me something to look forward to other than bills in the mailbox!

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  5. I love the look and feel and smell of books too. I also have tried using electronic planners - paper is the way to go.

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    1. It's just so much more satisfying to cross things off a written list!

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  6. I got a Kobo for my birthday last year, but in no way have e-book replaced paper books for me. The Kobo is great for commuting, travelling & reading books that are embarrassing, three things I do often enough.

    Keurigs are gross & in my tree-hugging mind, totally wasteful. I have a crappy drip coffeemaker and it produces real, kick-you-in-the-arse coffee & only one biodegradable filter per pot.

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    1. Oh yeah, the waste from Keurigs drives me nuts. We used to have bags and bags of garbage every day at the office from the Keurigs alone, not cool!

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