A relative received a Kindle for Christmas and I've had ample opportunity to play with it.
My obstacle is that I am a seasoned library user... I don't pay to read books (well, except through my property taxes, but let's not start into that discussion). While I recognize that most Kindle titles are priced less than new print versions, they're still more costly than "free."
That said, there are a few convenience items I recently considered... and ultimately rejected.
Still, the device appeals on a certain level. Of the public domain pieces I own (thank you, Project Gutenberg), it's luxurious to sit in bed with this light, thin piece of hardware and read from any position.
I also feel powerful in the knowledge that I could, at a moment's notice, download almost anything from Amazon. And isn't that why yearn for cool personal electronics? For power over our world?
My obstacle is that I am a seasoned library user... I don't pay to read books (well, except through my property taxes, but let's not start into that discussion). While I recognize that most Kindle titles are priced less than new print versions, they're still more costly than "free."
That said, there are a few convenience items I recently considered... and ultimately rejected.
- Book Club. We meet once a month, eat and drink, and perhaps discuss the book. I thought that monthly book might be a nice splurge for myself on the borrowed Kindle. Unfortunately, I've found that the books of choice are often one-offs in my reading habit, and I'm less inclined to buy something I can't give away for the love of someone else's reading.
- Travel books. As I planned for a family vacation, it occurred to me that I could pack a single Kindle more neatly than 4 thick travel books, PLUS the hi-lighting would be digital in place of a scrambled mess of bookmarks and Post-Its. Unfortunately, as mentioned in reviews of Kindle vs. the larger Kindle DX, the standard Kindle doesn't handle graphics well. On a preview version of one particular travel book, I was unable to zoom in on a map of California. This wouldn't be a problem if California weren't the size of, say, California.
Still, the device appeals on a certain level. Of the public domain pieces I own (thank you, Project Gutenberg), it's luxurious to sit in bed with this light, thin piece of hardware and read from any position.
I also feel powerful in the knowledge that I could, at a moment's notice, download almost anything from Amazon. And isn't that why yearn for cool personal electronics? For power over our world?
