An Ode To My Favorite Screen

Writer Laura Pitcher blogs from heart about her glittery Kindle.

I spend most days trying to escape screens. I slam my laptop shut the moment I finish work, set and (mostly) stick to those strange, self-imposed timer notifications on all my social apps, and return long messages from family members on Facebook Messenger with a phone call. If you had asked me this time last year if I needed to become beholden to another screen, I would have said, “Fuck no.” But that was before I bought my Kindle.

Last February, one of my many screens (my phone) became filled with romanticized Kindle content. Girls decorated their Kindles with Sonny Angel stickers and customized cases; they posted videos reading under fluffy blankets while soft music played in the background. Cutesy decorations aside, I was actually drawn in by the device’s features: multiple books in one place, highlighting your favorite quotes, and switching to warm light for reading at night. It wasn’t the first time TikTok inevitably convinced me of a purchase, and it wouldn’t be the last.

Before getting a Kindle, I was part of the group of (fairly) avid readers who swore nothing could beat turning an actual paper page. I fill up my bookshelves with physical books from my favorite bookstore, The Word Is Change, and read a lot for work and fun. I also travel often (sometimes on 30-hour trips home to New Zealand) and have always found it difficult to narrow down to only one or two books each time I leave. I figured my Kindle would solve that issue, but I still wasn’t convinced a screen could emulate the real thing.

When I tell you I bring my Kindle everywhere, I’m not exaggerating. It fits in almost every handbag, and I don’t have to decide what book to venture into the world with — I can whip it out and dive into whatever I choose. I read on the train; I read on the plane; I read at the park; I read when it’s dark. I read while waiting for late friends; I read when a movie ends. (You get the idea.) I’m not here to say a Kindle will change your life: You’ll read about the same amount as you did before, but it sure is convenient.

Every day, I look forward to the chance to swap my big, bad, scary screens for my favorite one. It glistens under the bright lights of the New York City transit system (I have a glittery case because I am, in fact, just like other girls). There are no text messages, emails, or notifications to attend to — only some black-and-white words that adjust to any text size I wish.