Kindle Surrender

Sigh. I did it.

Yup.

I am now a Kindle owner.

It took me a long time to get to this point. I really fought it for a couple years when eReaders started coming out. At first I scoffed, "These will never become popular. People will never trade in the beauty of the feel of paper in your hands and the smell of ink for an electronic device. It takes all the ambiance out of a reading experience." Of course, I was wrong.

Then, I thought, "It'll just become clunky and I won't even be saving that much money anyway. Besides, I'll be virtually paying money to sorta kinda own a book." Then I moved twice with the boxes and boxes of books Cooper and I had accumulated, and realized that a little handheld reading device was looking quite nice. I didn't need a truck for it. I could bring 50 books on vacation if I wanted and not need a separate suitcase for all of them.

So I requested a Kindle for Christmas, telling everyone I knew (mainly, my mom) that they could skip getting me anything else as long as I got a Kindle. And happily, I received my pretty little gray eReader with its pretty purple case on Christmas day. From my mom. :-)

And I love it. Here's a list of what I love most about it:

1. I read a lot. Like, more than I watch TV a lot of the time. I almost always have a book with me wherever I go. And the books I like to read tend to be ones that aren't readily available in a library. They are either too new or fit into too narrow a niche for a small city library to justify carrying (ie, not a whole lot of John Piper at the public library). So really, this is a good way to go. I can justify the money and time spent on a Kindle because I really will use it quite a bit. In fact, I already have.

2. It's small. It weighs nothing more than a hardback book, including case and light. It fits in my purse. YES!

3. It's great for books that I'm pretty sure I'll only read once. I figure if I get a book on a Kindle and think it's worth a reread or I want to lend it out, I will buy the physical book. If not, I've spent less money (sometimes 80% less if not more!) and I can move on to the next book.

4. You can lend Kindle books to other Kindle users. That's cool. I need to find people who have Kindles so we can swap.

5. Okay, this is silly, but have you ever been reading a book, say a thick paperback, and if you want to do anything else except hold the book, like eat or get in a comfy position in bed (I read lying down on my side a lot), you can't? Well, since the Kindle is flat, and there's a page turn button on both sides, I can do other things with my hands or keep them warm under a blanket or get in any comfy position to read. I love this. Hands free reading. Love love love this.

6. The screen really is easy to read on. It's not back-lit, so it's easy on the eyes. I can't tell the difference between it and paper, really. Yay for E-Ink!

A few downsides:

1. I have a cheap version of the Kindle, which means I get stupid ads as screen savers. Blegh.

2. It's hard to look something up in a Kindle eBook. It saves your spot, yes, but for instance, I downloaded a Bible to the Kindle, and turning to any given verse is clumsy. Good so I always have a Bible with me, but kind of not great if I want to look something up quickly. May not be the best thing to take to a home fellowship, for instance.

3. It counts as one of the electronic devices you have to turn off when an airplane is taking off or landing. Bummer.

4. It's not back-lit, which I said is a good thing, but the downside of that is I had to get a separate light. But it's a small light that I can read in bed at night and not disturb my husband if he wants to sleep.

5. E-Ink doesn't have a book-like smell. I think paper books will still be around for a long, long time.

If I read a book I review here on a Kindle, I will let you know by including the words: "Read on my Kindle" in the review. If you are a Kindle user and would like to share books with me, please let me know!