Love My Kindle

This past spring when I saw a friend showing off his Kindle I inwardly cringed. "What's this world coming to?" I thought. But he was enthusiastic and I didn't end our friendship over it.

How quickly the tables turn. Now I not only have a Kindle (as of a few days ago) but I love my Kindle and think you might, too.

I had a host of reasons for being opposed to Kindle before.
1. I love books, their feel in my hands.
2. I didn’t want yet another device to carry around.
3. I didn’t want to get yet one more electronic device that caused me to spend yet more money for things I already have but in another format. I've been through albums to cassettes to CDs and likewise VHS movies to DVDs.

But I went ahead and purchased a Kindle after all. Why? Because, well... if I'm going to be publishing some of my books on Kindle this fall, I'd better see what Kindle eBook publishing looks like.

In church yesterday morning I was told by a fellow Kindle owner that the best part is all the classic literature available for free. Mark Twain and many others. All kinds of versions of the Bible, and so much more.

So, I came home from church on a mission. Figure out how to find and download free books. I started right in with three books by Twain. It entered my mind to find a certain Jack London story and sure enough I was already buying things. I couldn’t resist the price… 99 cents for the complete 43 volume set of Jack London’s works. No sooner had I completed the download when I was able to find in seconds the story I was seeking, Lost Face. And guess what? I couldn’t put it down.

Now here's a cool feature of the Kindle. You can set it in front of you and don't have to waste the use of your hands to hold the book open. It's open right there for you and turning the pages is even easier than a book. You just hit the button on the right side of the tablet.

While looking about for more freebies I stumbled on the Complete Works of Mark Twain, again for only 99 cents. I’m such a sucker that I went and bought this accumulation of works as well. And even now it is hard to keep writing this blog entry because I want to read Twain’s acidic commentary on James Fennimore Cooper.

So, what do I like about my new Kindle? Well, this blog post by Supermaw captures a lot of it.

Supermaw begins by stating that eReaders have progressed so that the reading experience is no longer uncomfortable to the eyes. In less than two weeks she'd read five books, then bought one for her husband who was "equally smitten." She declares now that eBooks are her preferred format for reading.

I don't know if I'll go that far yet. I ended the evening last night reading ten pages from a book about Dorothy Parker, a fat paperback I've been working my way through. Reading is often kind of a nightcap for my day and I've gotten used to having a fairly hefty stack of books by my easy chair. Will the Kindle be able to outdo that? What would a wall be without a bookshelf or a room without a wall of books?

Much more could be said and I still haven't entirely figured out all the functionality, but at first blush it appear that, yes, I am in love.