I brought it home, played with it for a while but then put it back in the box and went to bed, my heart heavy with buyer’s remorse. I envisioned this pathetic electronic toy sitting alone on the denuded shelves of the bookcase in my office. Why would I want to read a book with no beautiful cover enticing me as to the contents therein? I planned to send it back.
But by midmorning the next day I was in love with it. Well, not completely – more like I was in love with the potential. It sort of reminds me of the first laptop I had, in the mid-90’s (yes, smart ass, back in the Paleolithic). Of course DOS was a real yuck compared to Windows, but back then it was pretty cool largely because it was all we had.
So, this Kindle, for which I paid three hundred bucks, is pretty easy to read on, it’s smaller than holding a newspaper or book on your lap, especially on a plane, which is where I gave it an early and major test run. It’s real portable, holds a charge for a long time, and you can read it in bright sunlight. I read a book for a while, then switched to the NY Times when I got tired of fiction. The only real drawback is that other peeps want to ask you about it. Also, the fact that almost as soon as I pressed “BUY” on Amazon, Sony and everybody else shoveled their own versions of Kindle out the door. How long will it be before I wish I had one of the new ones?
I especially like that I can usually access a newspaper via Amazon’s Whispernet even if there’s no Internet connection for my laptop. So I pay 75 cents for that day’s NY Times, and I can take it anywhere and read it for as long as I want.
Bummer aspects: primitive graphics, navigation reminds me of the days before they invented the mouse or touchpad (it’s all, essentially, up, down and sideways-moving arrows). I can’t tell what page I’m on (section 3145 doesn’t mean anything), and even tho you can bookmark and make notes while you’re reading, if you want to flip back to that page where you remember seeing a clever phrase or the first appearance of the hideous murderer, based simply on your memory that it was about a third of the way thru the book, on the left-hand page up near the top – forget it. Just forget it.
Bottom line: I like it, and when Amazon improves it (color, better graphics, better navigation) I’ll buy the new one, too.
I’m just pea-green with envy! I love the idea of a Kindle, just not the price tag. One of these days, when they put a whole lot more bells and whistles on it, I might part with my money — that, or as Kathy observes, when I can no longer stand the stacks and stacks of books I’ve accumulated!
Lynne, although I have avoided the decision to “go Kindle” ,I feel certain I will eventually take the plunge. I think the growing piles (i.e towers) of books by my bed and by the living room chair may be an incentive,plus I like the idea of carry a small device to appts, on planes,etc vs trying to decide which book to lug around for any downtime I may have to read. Interesting post. Thanks for sharing!
Kathy
YOU’LL LOVE IT MORE, DAY BY DAY! I’ve had one for over 2 years. The first one I loved, then they came out with the second one, and I bought it. I put my old one on Amazon’s “Sell Your Stuff” and sold it within twenty minutes. There are, of course, a few things that I would change, but for the sheer luxury of taking it out of your purse, reading it, finishing a book, and downloading another in less than 2 minutes, it’s a dream. I love the price of the books as well. Also, I put my book, “A Broad Abroad in Thailand” into Kindle format and it’s sold more than at the bookstores. I get a nice deposit into my bank account every month, so keep that in mind for your book. Also, there’s a stream running by people with Kindles that you might want to check out if you have problems, everyone has solutions. As for the numbers (percentage read) you’ll get used to it. If you don’t remember where you were, after going back to look at who killed who, just do this: type in the keyword at the bottom of the page, it will take you there, then when finished, hit “menu” and hit “scroll to furthest page read” and it takes you there in a NY minute.
Just call me kid, I’ve worked out all the problems and still love it.
Have fun!
Dodie