Kindle Kraze

Court

2009-07-02 20:18:21

With more time comes more availability for me to read. I love reading books. Mostly fiction books. They seem more interesting to me, but there is the occasional great story that is made even more fantastic by the fact that it is real. Those are enjoyable as well.

Since I have been out of college, I have had more time to do things that I like. Granted, the time that I spend at home isn't as much as it was when I was in college, but I don't have homework, studying, and the like to worry about. This newfound time has allowed me to do the things that I want to do instead of just doing the things that I have to do. One of these things (of course) is reading. I have been reading many books in the last few months. Now, I am not about to claim the faster reader award or the most books read in a week award, but I read at my pace and better yet, I read what I want to read. The only problem is that I am running out of shelf space to hold all of my books. Between some of my older books, my new ones, and my manga collection, the second bedroom is turning more and more into a bookcase room. I believe that recently, though, I have found a solution to my problem.

I have been wanting to purchase a Kindle ever since I found out about them back in December. My mom was giving my grandma one for Christmas and she asked me to read up on them to make sure that it was a good gift and that I would be able to teach her how to use it. I had never really been interested in purchasing ebooks before. It just seemed so impersonal or something. I had always like holding a book and being able to judge how much I had read in a day just by looking at my bookmark, which is why I did not buy one, although it seemed like a very cool gadget. I am glad that I didn't then, since the new Kindle came out two months later and then another one came out after a few more months. Once the Kindle DX came out, I could no longer stop myself from buying one. It looked so pretty and it was so cool.

It just arrived a few days ago and although the novelty has not worn off yet, I think that it is a really amazing piece of hardware. It can do so much and is so convenient. I am in no way swearing off actual books, but this thing is very handy. Usually when I go on a trip, I pack at least 4 books and that takes up a lot of room. Now, I can have as many books as I want and buy as many as I want (within reason).

The little feature of magazines and newspapers is really cool as well. I "purchased" two trial subscriptions to periodicals: one to Newsweek and one to an international newspaper. It is a very effective way to get the news. When I was receiving Newsweek in print, it was always annoying how the magazines would pile up. (I had always felt bad about throwing them away if I had not read them cover to cover.)

The only thing that I have to watch out for is purchasing books and then not reading them, which is why I enjoy Amazon's little "save for Later" feature. I can choose which books I want, but since I already have three downloaded and purchased, I can save them for later. It is awesome.

This may seem like a puff piece (and it probably is), but it is such a cool toy. I am no longer against ebooks (especially when the display looks like an actual book), but I am also not against real books. This is just a cool device that will let my reading hobby continue more easily.

- Court