HARD OR SOFT COPY?

Before Lunch, It suddenly dawned that I had the mantle to represent my thoughts articulately.  Quickly, I put on my thinking hat and creative robe and took a seat on the cushion of inspiration. I crossed my legs and waited on the Mr. to do his thing. As usual, he made a short appearance, and then took flight in a woosh of swirling skirts and exotic scents. I had options but no idea what to do with them. Should I go emotional for my best friend like my Mom did for me on my last birthday? I quickly disregarded that idea when I realised that it had be more fodder for the shotgun wedding y’all are thinking about. I thought about writing something motivational but, mehn! I have three reviews and two chapters from a book to finish. So, I am wrapping up this short article with a lot of goodwill. But Mr. Taiwo decides to dash back in with a flourish. ‘Make a case for e-books over hard copy’, He insists. ‘Some of my office members may criticise me for doing that', I complain, but he has decided to make him a seat on my neck this time. So, here goes. Please, don't come for me; come for Mr. Writer... even though I agree with him. Everybody loves the smell of books, especially when they are new. I used to but as I evolved, I found that I’d rather devour the content of the book than have the scent. Besides, if you’re an avid book lender like I once was, you’d have gotten into trouble for not returning the book as impeccably as it was. So, to avoid this, you cannot read in the toilet, while eating, in the bus, in church, in class, in bed, in the dark. You can only sit as still as a statue, on a chair, while carefully opening the book to avoid stain, wear and tear. What a bother! I remember those days and I’m almost in tears at such discomfort and hindrance. All that vanished at my discovery of e-books on mobile phones. What liberty!!! I could read anywhere, anytime, wherever, anywhere, without fear of being termed a book destroyer. What’s more? It meant I could read more books faster and without fear of my hair catching candlelight fire. It helped me to conquer my never reading lists while I studying in Uni. Give me a hard copy today; I would have read six e-books before finishing i.e. was all the gladder that I was saving the lives of thousands and thousands of trees that would be required to produce a hardcopy. Imagine that! I understand the eye strain of staring at a screen for an extended period, but that is the bane of being a reader. Your eyes would be strained reading anything, anyway. So, there! Wouldn’t you rather go for e-books today? If not, why not?