(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Colin Firth views his books as "old acquaintances."

The 51-year-old The King's Speech actor is an avid reader.

Colin loves his book collection and felt disinclined to purchase a digital e-book reader initially.

Although Colin is fond of his new Kindle, the star admits that he'll have an eternal soft spot for the paper tomes in his library.

"[I bought] a Kindle. I was a skepticwhat about the feel of a book, the smell? But I found it surprising how unimportant that became," he told People magazine.

"No [I haven't switched over completely], if I love a novel, part of me just wants the book. The picture on the cover. And I like glancing up at books on my shelves. They're rather like old acquaintances."

Colin feels transformed by the works he's read that were penned by his favourite authors.

"William Faulkner would be on the listThe Sound and the Fury. John Cheever's stories, Richard Ford," he shared. "I'd never read Jane Austen before I [played Mr Darcy] in Pride and Prejudice; she was a revelation. I went through every book and wished there were more." (C) Cover Media