I love books. I love the feel of having a book in my hand and flipping through the pages. The idea of being the first one to open my book, when the pages are all crisp and clean, is invigorating. I have always loved to read. My bookshelves are overflowing and I keep adding more to them.
At first the idea of the e-reader was great. Then as I thought about it a little more I was unsure of how I would like it. Would I enjoy it as much as having a book in my hand? The answer is No, I still love having a book to flip through. However, I decided that the e-reader had it's place. I travel, I love traveling, I do so every chance I get. This is where an e-reader is very handy. Whereas I use to have to carry 3 or 4 books for a week long trip, now I just have my nice sleek Kindle with as many books as I want! And I enjoy reading on it much more than I thought that I would.
I received my Kindle as a gift for Christmas. I did some research and had narrowed it down between the Nook (by Barnes & Noble) and Amazon's Kindle. I'm a big hands on person, I like to see and touch most things before I buy them. I think that was part of why I had been leaning toward the Nook, I would mess around with it every time I walked into Barnes & Noble, I would peruse the covers and cases for them and had the one I wanted picked out. However, so many reviewers chose the Kindle and liked it better so I was still holding back on purchasing a Nook. Then the new Kindle 3 was released, and Best Buy had them available in store to look at. I was sold.
The Kindle 3 came in the dark graphite color, whereas the Nook only came in white. White always gets dirty, and once dirty it will never look sleek and clean again. I steer away from white electronics and cars because no matter how careful I am they always get dirty, and fast. The graphite color helps hide the dirt nicely. The Kindle was also slightly lighter and thinner than the Nook, at least to my feel. I liked the way it felt in my hand better than a Nook.
The one draw back I saw at the time was that the Nook used page numbers, whereas the Kindle did not. This meant that if I wanted to compare notes with someone or they told me to look at a specific passage, I had no reference to go off if they had the printed copy of the book. Amazon has just recently released an update for page numbers in books, I haven't noticed it on the last books that I've read but I'm hoping it will help things go smoother between the electronic editions and print editions of books.
I am very happy with my Kindle. One thing I enjoy most about Amazon is the number of free books that they offer for the Kindle. I have over 100 books and have only purchased about a dozen, and even with that I have only spent about $30. There are numerous free titles, from classics to more current reads. The website and free list are updated hourly. I check it every few days and almost always add a title or two that sounds interesting. And when they are free, why not?? If I don't love it I don't have to worry about having spent any amount on it. Amazon also offers a number of books for under $5, in all genres. It's great. Having inexpensive and free novels to read is a great way to discover new authors or new genres in which you are interested.
I highly recommend the Kindle :-)
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