We have come to a decision.

We are bibliophiles in this place. All of us who can read, anyway, which leaves out the pets and Lou (but only temporarily). We do the best we can at the library but that whole "giving the books back" part we have trouble with.

And when I say "We have books," I'm not kidding. His alone would fill this thrice or four times over; I could probably fill that once. The kids, even though there are more of them, haven't had nearly as long nor do they know the intricacies of Amazon, though I'm guessing it's a matter of months before Madeleine gets the "one-click ordering" concept.

What is our decision? I'm getting a Kindle. That may seem backward, as he's the one with the real collection, but trust me. We've discussed this. His preferences lean toward the old and out of print. He has the whole of the translated works of Giuseppe Riccioti, and his recent favorite is Paul Heinisch. Try to find those at your local B. Dalton.
I, on the other hand, lean more toward stuff that is still in print--either because it's so new (Why GM Matters, by William J. Holstein) or because it's considered classic. I'm reading those to be prepared for the kids' curriculum. To drive home this point, Kolbe has literature courses for both upper elementary and middle school, to the tune of roughly 3 dozen books each. Nobody is expected to read all of them, but by the time all of the kids go through, I might have. There's no guarantee that all of the kids will choose the same ones from the list. Where are we supposed to store all of these books, as well as ones we choose to bring home? And don't say "library," since we can only renew once.

So, if I get a Kindle, I'll be loading it up with the classics I already have on the shelf that I've accumulated in preparation for the kids. I realize that I'll have to share the Kindle with the kids but I'm used to sharing just about everything else except my shower time. This will also leave him room for more of his obscure stuff he finds wandering the dusty shelves of used book stores, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.