After initially feeling some resistance to the whole idea of ‘e-readers’ I was eventually convinced by my sisters to get a Kindle. Like most of you I love books, I have several large bookcases throughout the house bursting at their seams and groaning under the weight of the books therein. I love the smell of books and the feel of their pages, but most of all I love the words. And that is what finally convinced me.
I do buy books for the whole experience but mostly it’s what’s IN them that I want. The stories, the information, the ‘facts’ and the questions they answer and also the questions they prompt. When my sisters starting tell me about the books they were downloading to their Kindles my interest was aroused. Then they sent me an Amazon voucher towards my very own Kindle so I could share in the Kindle conversations.
So I ordered one.
It arrived yesterday and I downloaded a few classics to begin my Kindle reading experience. I’m impressed. The screen is cleverly designed to look like a book, it’s small and light (and having recently read a 1,000 page tome which was absolute hell to read in bed - SO heavy! - I’m a bit sold on ‘light’). I’m currently reading Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ (which was free to download, lots of out-of-copyright classic books are free).
I’m enjoying the experience. I like that I can carrying 3,500 books around in my handbag…I’ve no idea why I like that. Perhaps it’s because I’m often reading more than one book – a fiction, a non-fiction, maybe a textbook etc - I’ll pick up one depending on my mood but can’t possibly carry them all everywhere with me. Now I can. It could be that, or maybe I’m just crazy.
This certainly doesn’t mean I won’t ever buy another book, there are some books that are just too beautiful and special to be owned in any other way. But it does mean that I can have an even wider reading experience, particularly with books I don’t necessarily want to have on the shelves but just want the enjoyment of reading.
Summary. I like it.
All images www.amazon.com
8 comments:
I have seriously considered buying one, for similar reasons. But I buy many of my books from charity shops, rather than new, and they don't (yet) sell old e-books. Also I do a lot of reading in the bath, and I read that a Kindle won't survive immersion.
Reading in the bath is a definite risk for the Kindle. Wait for the waterproof version.
so thats what a Kindle is!!!
i said to swampy yesterday that we are going to need another book case very soon.
i like the idea very much but i think i would miss the feel and smell of my books!
That is a downside for sure, but I'm not short of real books and I'll still buy real ones if they're special. We just don't have the room for all the books I want. :-)
I'm sure the Kindle's a good idea but I've left a lot of books on the trains, buses and cafe tables and have to pop down to Oxfam to see if they've got another. I find paperbacks have a long battery life and though never quite the same after a dip in the bath will operate passably after a spell on the radiator.
Very good points you've made Sandy. It's certainly not for everyone, particularly those prone to leaving books on trains or dropping non-waterproof objects in baths.
However, after perusing your blog, I think anyone who is able to McGyver a bar of dairy milk into their own version of Marmite chocolate (nice work there) could easily adapt to a Kindle.
McGyver - that's a good word I've never heard before but I can guess the meaning. Is it related to the telly series I've never seen either that my friend Wikipedia tells me about.
I've never seen the TV series either but I understand he can do amazing things like build a fighter jet out of matchsticks and duct tape. I hear people talking about McGvyerizing stuff - I like the concept.
Post a Comment