Rather, Denny did it. He ordered me a Kindle.
I've been talking about a Kindle for some time. Early on I could never imagine reading a book, magazine article or newspaper on a hand held, light weight device and scrolling through page after page. "I prefer holding my reading material the old fashioned way.", I'd say.
What made me change my mind was a bit of time and the opportunity to play around with one of these fascinating word storage machines outside of a high pressure sales environment. Thanks, Brenda.
This is a very cool device.
I've been practicing my reading and now it feels almost normal (but still novel; no pun intended).
There's a definite role for old time books with pages turned by hand. The Kindle will never be a permanent substitute. I love holding a book, its weight in my hands, the cover, the subtle scent of the pages.....ahhhh.
The benefits of a Kindle?
-- a great way to tote a lot of books on a trip on a device weighing 8.5 ounces
-- a fine solution to overflowing bookshelves (although I do like the look of overflowing bookshelves)
-- great deals on books; less expensive than "hard copy"
-- satisfies the "gotta have it now" syndrome
-- extremely portable; fits in a purse, always ready to go
-- font size flexible; I can (occasionally) get by with no reading glasses!
-- rapid downloads, huge inventory of books, long battery life
-- cool option to read a sample before purchasing
The drawbacks of a Kindle?
-- no old school, familiar feel and look of a book, no bookshelf with all those favorites
-- tough to share a good book; e books can't be transferred to anyone else
-- if it gets stolen, you've lost more than a book
As you can see, the benefits win out. Can't wait to take my Kindle to Hawaii and in the meantime, I'm reading A Visit from the Goon Squad and have two other good reads in the queue. I'm happy.
Yes, but isn't it bad on the eyes, especially if, like me, you already spend all day in front of a computer screen? If all books become electronic one day, what will happen to libraries? (Tina)
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about getting an IPad, for kind of the same reason.
ReplyDeleteKate, you get lots of points for your forward thinking;) I think a Kindle works well for someone who travels a lot or has another need for portability. I'm not there yet. My husband has been after me to try one, but I LOVE books. I like to see them piled up, and there's still room on my bookshelves. And there's no better deal than a used book in good condition.
ReplyDeleteKindles are great! And, they are not hard on the eyes-they have no back light. It is just like reading on paper. Get the cover with the embedded booklight like mine! Absolutely they are great on trips. I have to admit, I still like regular books, too, so they're not quite the same!
ReplyDeleteYay Kate! I love mine.
ReplyDeleteMitch just got me one! I have this bad habit - I download a book sample, read it, get nervous there's a better book out there, download another sample... you can see where this is going! I like real books, too, but they just take up so much space. We're getting ready to move, so the idea of the Kindle (and less "stuff") is very appealing to me. I really like it so far!
ReplyDelete