the latter is a high-performing computer, with all its attendant distractions and eye-dazzling glare, rather than an easy, relatively affordable way of reading books. "Try checking your email," my husband said, just as I was cooing at my Kindle's inky screen. But I didn't want to. I know that the Kindle has a web browser and that it offers all kinds of "functionality", such as annotating passages or sharing recommendations using social media. None of that appeals in the slightest. For me -- and I suspect many other Luddites -- the joy of the Kindle is its simplicity. The romantic appeal of physical books will never fade: I will continue to buy them, as presents for others, and to line my own bookshelves with the sort of works that I will want to keep admiring and revisiting. Everything else will be on the Kindle. It's light, convenient, aesthetically pleasing and the best thing is that, so far, I have even managed to read it in the bath without dropping it.