All I want for an e-Christmas

All I want for Christmas -- is an e-book reader.  I'm not that much of a gadget person, but this is one piece of kit I do covet.  The idea of all those books (the voice drops and eyes glisten manically) stored on something the size of one paperback.

I'm a compulsive reader – I read anything from the back of the cornflakes packet to the heavy scholastic tomes.  You know, the ones that break your knee trying to keep them on your lap.  Quite a few of those around the house these days, although I don't always claim to understand what's in them.  This compulsion to read is inherited.  My mother and my grandmother are/were the same.  Is this in the genes or is it learned behaviour?  I've no idea, but whatever it is, I know I get close to panic if I'm stuck somewhere with nothing to read. Or if I think that my stack of books To Be Read is going down.  Now that one is just plain daft, because like any academic /writer/reader, the house is groaning at the seams with books -- but somehow those are  'best' books -- for special purposes or occasions, like going on holiday.  But when the pile of everyday books -- the ones from the library -- starts to go down, that's when the terror starts to mount.  And an e-book reader -- books, just a click away, and no need to buy yet another bookcase to put the little blighters in -- bliss. 

I already have my electronic TBR pile -- a number of my fellow American Title contestants are e-book published -- Savannah and Pat, Edie from ATV who is proving very successful at self publishing, Barbara who has recently debuted with Harlequin’s e-book imprint Carina.  Then there are other writers who have careers based almost solely on e-books, like Lynn Connolly.  One of her latest, Bloody Crystal, features vampires in Llandudno.  I used to visit Llandudno quite regularly when I was working on things involving the Welsh Assembly; it's a favourite Welsh conference centre. When I was there I never encountered any sexy vampires -- clearly I was missing something.

All those books, just waiting. So - an e-book reader is definitely on my list for Santa Claus.