I finally caved and got a Kindle (Amazon). My friend showed me his, and it looked pretty cool, and then I packed up my apartment… and I have a lot of books. And it started to seem stupid that I was carrying around all these large, physical objects. Time to digitize.
Ironically I had held off getting one in part because of having a lot of physical books. In the interim, I kept buying books because I read a lot so the problem has just been getting worse. Time to go digital. Between now and when I move again (I think about 2 years) I’m going to give away or sell my physical books and replace the ones I want to keep with digital versions.
Five reasons why I love my Kindle:
- Case with light – Kindle Lighted Leather Cover (Amazon) combined with the Kindle made my 24 hours sans power in my apartment much more bearable.
- Carrying multiple books at once. I can go out for the day with a novel and a non-fiction book and alternate between them. Well actually a whole array of books, but the point is – reading multiple books at once is much more pleasant. Also, I flew back to the UK for 3 and a half weeks and my suitcase and backpack were that much lighter – I didn’t bring any books, just my Kindle.
- Free books. There are TONS, particularly popular classics like Pride and Prejudice etc although it’s hard to find the page listing them on Amazon. You can also look for limited time offers. Also, lending books is possible. I think I was holding out for this feature before I would get one! Anyway, if you want to borrow one of mine that I write about on here let me know – I’ll be happy to share it with you.
- Reading novels is fun again – when I decide I want one, it arrives instantly. No waiting, no need to go to the bookstore. I love it.
- It doesn’t feel like a gadget. I’m just reading a book. I’m not distracted by popups or alternative activities (a black and white web browser is just weird). I find the UX to be really well designed for the context – it just gets out the way.
The downsides. I’m flying a lot at the moment and the Kindle is considered an electronic device that should be powered off on takeoff and landing. Yes, for real. Perhaps they’d like me to power off my digital watch as well? Hopefully airlines will come up with a sensible policy for this as given that it only uses power when you change a page, I don’t think it can’t be considered an electronic device the way an iPad is. That is a little frustrating.
Bigger was Amazon’s response to Wikileaks which I wasn’t keen on. I’d literally just committed to buying all books from them and then that? I was not overjoyed by that. It does tie you in to one supplier, which can be problematic.
But, overall, I’m really happy I bought one.
7 replies on “I ♥ My Kindle”
Gurl, I have been using electronical devices during takeuoff and landing for YEARS and I ain’t never been in a car crash! Just dont let them see!
You’re such a rule breaker, living outside the law!
Also, I just realised that I have also never been in a PLANE crash either! 😛
Huuum, I’m not for the Kindle, still: Amazon being able to remove books on the go on your own device, I can’t tolerate that… I mean, we should own our data, which includes our files… Moreover, that digitalization also implies possibly a big risk to see (or precisely, not see…) unwanted or influential books, that corporations and politics don’t like (that’s people, and they’re friends…), just slowly disappear and being forgotten by the mass (hidden censorship). ebook reading should be totally independent from book stores (possibly coupled to them, but still, independent) and independent free libraries should be also available and allowed, in order to protect the “unwanted and forbidden” knowledge that some people would prefer us to forget. So, to conclude, I think devices like Kindle are nice, but only if you own your data entirely: no external control from the corporation. Point. 🙂
I totally agree about owning (or not) the things we download, it bothers me too. But no longer having to transport a pile of books every time I go anywhere is a big pull! After deleting 1984 Amazon promised they wouldn’t delete anything on-device again – I guess we’ll see if they stick to that.
For a long time I kept buying DVDs because I didn’t want to buy movies on iTunes. Eventually I caved, digital books is the same way. I’m fed up of DRM penalizing legal users more than illegal ones, and I’m tired of not owning the content I pay for, but moving around a lot it’s become a question of ideals vs convenience, and convenience has won.
I love reading your blog and your book recommendations. You mentioned in one of your posts that you would be willing to lend your Kindle books, which you write about in your blog.
Could you add these book review posts about your Kindle books into a separate category? It would be easier to see if it’s the Kindle version and if it’s lendable, in case someone is interested in reading it too.
Unfortunately international customers cannot lend Kindle books yet but, as soon as Amazon enables it, I would be happy to lend my books too.
Thanks Monika!
I’m trying to get rid of my physical books, so in the case that it is a physical one I’ll normally be running another giveaway. A separate category is a really good idea though.
Unfortunately I assumed lending in the US meant lending elsewhere, and I was wrong. My kindle is currently tied to the Canadian store (which is basically the US store with a bunch of the books I want to buy removed), so I’m not sure actually if I even can lend to other Canadian kindles. Even in the US, you can only lend once, for two weeks and then only if the publisher allows it. Frankly, this system sucks, and means that “lending” on the Kindle means something very different from what the word “lending” means in general.
So I guess all I can say is leave a note in the comments of any book review where you particularly want to read that book, and if it’s a physical book I’m not planning on keeping I’ll post it to you, and if it’s a Kindle book we’ll use that as a bookmark for the day that lending on the Kindle means actually letting a friend read one of your books.