e-Reader Dilemma

I've been debating for a month or two now about buying an e-Reader. I really like reading. I've been an avid reader for as long as I can remember. When I was little my parents used to let me walk to the public library every weekend to return the eight books I had borrowed (yes you read that correctly, I used to read eight books a week) and pick out eight more. If only educational texts were as interesting!


I love the smell of new books, new pages, a clean, unbent cover. I like the smell of old classics, yellowed with age, read so many times the pages might fall apart under the next fingertip to brush the page. I think using your imagination whilst reading a book is priceless. I think television has diminished this, which is so sad. My kids will definitely have a reading time equal to, if not more, than TV and game time. I don't want to replace the experience of reading a book to be lost. 


I have refused to acknowledge e-Readers for a long time. I used to think that they were no replacement for a book. I like pages. There are no pages to turn if it is electronic. Hopefully no smells, because I doubt that's a good sign for an e-reader. But I have found myself researching the Nook, Kindle and iPad more and more. They ARE handy. Access to millions of books at the touch of an app. Less bulk, convenient for traveling (I could read at work and people wouldn't be able to tell!!). If I was to consider an e-reader, I would have to go for the e-Ink kind. That pretty much eliminates the iPad and Kindle Fire. I don't want something backlit like a computer, something that doesn't give your eyes or brain a rest. I would want it to be as close to an actual book as possible. I don't remember the last time I got a headache from reading a book because it was too bright. 


I'm not sure what I'll do just yet. I do think I'll take the plunge soon, but it will never completely replace some of my favorite books. All my Harry Potters, some childhood favorites, just books that I really love to curl up in a corner and read (and smell. Does that make me weird?)