Bookworms, hear me out...

There is nothing better than a physical copy of a book. Hardcover or paperback, there is just something special about it.
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​Is it the smell of the pages or sound of when you turn them? The weight of the novel in your hands? Spine-cracking (how dare you!)? Able to dog-ear (you monster!)? Using bookmarks? Never having to worry about low battery?

When we went to Japan in 2019, I lugged three books with me, one being a hardcover.

They took up space and added weight to my already full bag. It meant shifting things around and remembering to pack it somewhere I could easily access it if we were going to be on the train or airplane.

When we went to my father-in-law's for Christmas in 2021, I lugged a few books with me, only having carry-on. It wasn't too bad since we weren't hotel hopping and my suitcase stayed put in their guest room, but I knew I had to figure something out before our next big trip.

When Covid restrictions were lifted and we anxiously began the rush to plan our second trip to Japan, deciding on only travelling with a carry on for three weeks, I knew physical copies weren't going to make it into my strategically packed suitcase.

So, it left me three choices:

1. Read or listen to books on my phone
2. Not read
3. Use an eReader

​It would be unimaginable to not be able to read, especially while waiting for our flights or on a train to our next destination.

I had bought a Kindle during the pandemic, Amazon had a great deal and GoodReads always had giveaways for free eBooks, so I wasn't stuck.

You know when you enter an Instagram giveaway and think nothing of it and then months later you open your messages and see notifications that you were a winner? For once that happened and I found myself the lucky bookworm waiting for a Kobo.

Then came the research of which to keep and which to sell. Perhaps it was because it was new, and I won it that made me decide on the Kobo Libra 2. In the end I sold my kindle to another travelling bookworm who was excited for their upcoming trip, so I was happy with my decision.

The only downside to the Kobo is now I can't read my GoodReads wins on it, Amazon has really cracked down on being able to unlock them to read elsewhere.

So, if you have Prime and want to give a Kindle a try, it's a good place to start and see if you enjoy using one. And through the link below, you can get three months of free Kindle Unlimited, which also helps indie authors out, like myself!

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What book will you be reading while travelling? I'd love to hear about them!

Make sure to check out my list of books here.