I gotta tell you, I love my Kindle. I bought it about the middle of September and I read 28 books on it before the end of 2010. This year I'm off to a good start. I've read five books in January and I might finish another one before the end of the month. Over near the end of the sidebar I've added a link for the books I've read in 2011. Not that I think you readers are that interested but I did it because I'm like a school kid keeping track of how many books she reads for a grand prize at the end of the year. But it really isn't so much the number of books I read as it is looking at the list and remembering the stories and the pleasure they brought me.
Being able to get a book in less than a minute is mind boggling to me. If I hear about a book I want to read, I can get it. Click! Click! BAM! It is in the Kindle ready to be opened. I don't have to wait for the mail to be delivered to the border and then for the mail service to bring it to San Miguel. I don't have to wait until we make the next trip back to the States. I love instant gratification, I don't care who says that anticipation makes the thing or event more appreciated. I really, really appreciate NOW!
The other thing that I love about the Kindle is all those books are in this one tiny instrument. I doubt that I would have read so many books in the last 4-1/2 months if I would have had to deal with the transportation and storage of the books. I ran out of bookshelves in this house some time ago. Now books are being stacked and I've got to go through and get rid of something to keep the house from overflowing. I can not imagine where I would put even 1/2 of the books I've read but they are not a problem on the Kindle.
Something else I have to tell you, the Kindle is great in bed. And waiting in doctor's offices. And in the car. And on an airplane. And while you are stirring a roux. And sitting on the patio in the sun. And.........you Kindle owners can probably add some more places.
I thought I might tell you which one of the books I read in January that I liked best but I couldn't decide on one. So I'll tell you that I really like three of them for different reasons and I'll let you go to Amazon to check them out. Special Topics in Calamity Physics, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration, and Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption.
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8 comments:
Hi Billie. I'm almost tempted to buy one. It sounds really great and I hear nothing but rave reviews about it. Some day I may buy one, but for now I don't mind flipping the pages. Have a great rest of the week.
Billie, My wife's mom has RA in her hands, and fading eyesight. She has probs turning pages and the print is generally too small. Would you think that a Kindle would be easy for her (at 88) to operate? Your input would be appreciated! BTW - do you share it with Ned?
Also, sounds like the selections at the library are about to be enhanced!
Cheers!
Dan in NC
Dan, one of the wonderful things about the Kindle is that you can adjust the font size. Most of the time a smaller font size is fine but if I forget my glasses, I just kick up the font and can see okay.
With the Kindle, turning the page is done by pressing a button on either side. You might want your mother-in-law to try to read for an hour or so to see if it bothers her RA. It does take a little pressure.
I do not share it with Ned. I read too much to share a Kindle with anyone. Besides he has a iPad and he can read on it. I find the iPad too heavy for comfortable long term reading but turning the page is just a light swipe of the finger across the screen.
I love gadgets but I have just never been able to get excited about the Kindle. Although I do get it. It's just not for me.
For keeping your collections of read books in the sidebar - have you checked out Goodreads? It has widgets and everything....
http://www.goodreads.com
Gary, I took a quick look at goodreads. Interesting. I'll explore it some more. Thanks
Any significance to the fact that all of the books you read in January are by female authors?
Phil, I had not noticed that. WOW, that is interesting. Right now I'm reading Matterhorn about the Vietnam war and it is by a male.
There is a wonderful program that is free on the Internet called Calibre (google it) that converts text or other formats of books into a Kindle book format. The program makes uploading these books onto your Kindle a snap.
The number of books on the Internet is so large that you will never run out of reading material. Let your conscience be you guide as far as copyrights but there are many authors that simply want their works to be read to choose from.
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