Why You Should Probably Buy a Kobo

The internet really is a magical place isn't it?

I mean, in no other context would a simple tweet about e-readers turn into a day spent at a Harlequin book cover photoshoot.

A few weeks ago I was contemplating the purchase of an e-reader. Since I am much more of a researcher than an impulse buyer, I took to all my forms of social media to ask for advice—Facebook, Twitter, blogs—about which one to get. A got a lot of response, which was really unsurprising to me, since my friends and loved ones and readers have opinions that they love to share, and I love to read them! The only problem: I ended up more confused than I was before I asked.

And then, a lovely purple Kobo showed up at my door. I unwrapped it like it was a Christmas present, immediately plugged it in and started reading. It was the 50 Shades of Grey series, if you really wanted to know. Honestly, I really have zero love for the three books, but greatly appreciated the ability to pull the book out at my daughter's hip hop class without the other mothers knowing how I was spending my Sunday.

I am absolutely in love with this little machine. It holds almost too many books (...and my wallet and I are currently in a lover's spat), I can buy books whilst still in pajams, it's so small, and I can change the font size to be EXTRA BIG for my almost-mid-thirty-year-old eyes. The only thing missing is a backlight for those nights that I have insomnia and old episodes of Good Times are no longer cutting it.

Recently, Kobo and Harlequin held a contest. The winner would get to come to Toronto and watch a Harlequin book cover shoot, complete with half-nude models, oil, and a wind blowing machine. When I was asked if I'd like to join, I was pretty much sitting on the front steps of the studio before the folks at Kobo even received my YES! YES! YES! response. Harlequin churns out many, many, many books a month, which means that they need a tremendous amount of covers, and, you know, a tremendous amount of good-looking models who stand around doing push-ups and sit-ups while they wait for make-shifts boats to be built.

No. Really.

They took about 500 photos of Ross the model in various poses with Jen the model. It seemed like they were playing a game of how close can my face get to this other person's face before we are touching? And they get paid to play this game. And I thought that I had the very best job in the world.

And then, you guys, before I knew it, it was MY TURN. It was all sort of a blur at this point, but that may have been due to the WIND BLOWING MACHINE or the fact that Ross the model, who was still shirtless, swept me off of my feet, over-the-threshold style. One thing is certainly clear here: I will never be a model. While I was up close and personal with Ross the model's personal space, I was all..

"I'm so sorry if I have coffee breath. If I knew I was going to do this, I would have had some Tic Tacs. And I probably would have worn some lip gloss. And maybe some pants."

"Hey! That's cool. We have the same exact color eyes. Did you know that my eyes used to be blue?"

'So, do I look at you? At the camera? How does one get rid of waddle?"

"So...tell me about your teaching job."

"Wow. You have, like, perfect teeth."

You know, pillow talk.

So, while we wait to find out if they will use Ali the model's shots on the cover of Some Like It Wicked, I'll leave you with these: