GeeksOnTour.com: I love to read, but I don’t get to do it anywhere near as much as I like. Books are heavy, so we don’t carry many in the RV. The hardest part of selling our house and getting rid of all our possessions was the bookshelves full of books. I have to *really* want a book to buy it, or I have to luck into a good find at a park’s lending/trading library.
All that has changed with the Kindle.
Now, I’ll be listening to the radio and hear them talking about a new book. The latest example was ‘The Big Switch: Rewiring the World from Edison to Google.’ I like what I hear and think I may enjoy reading that book. Before the Kindle, I would have made a note somewhere that, next time I’m in a bookstore, I want to look for that book. That was also Before RVing. We just don’t go to bookstores anymore. With the Kindle, here’s how it goes:
- I hear about a book, either on the radio or in conversation
- Within minutes, I can be holding my Kindle, connected wirelessly to the Internet and Amazon, and search for the availability of that book.
- If I find it, and the odds are very good, I can download a sample for free
- If, after reading the sample, I decide I like it, I can purchase the complete book – usually for $9.99. It gets downloaded to my Kindle within a minute or two.
In this age of instant gratification, that’s the ultimate! And, speaking of AGE … I love the feature that you can increase the size of text! I also love that you don’t need both hands to read it, unlike a paperback. In the picture, my left thumb is positioned on the ‘next page’ button. The bar all along the right side is also a ‘next page’ button.
I’ve had the Kindle for almost a year now – so, how much do I use it? It seems to go in spurts. A friend gave me a couple of good paperback books this summer, so that kept me away from the Kindle for a while. I loved the books, but it was so irritating to need both hands to turn the pages! When I finished those books, my Kindle was waiting with hundreds of books ready to download. This past week, I’ve been sick in bed a few days, I almost wonder if I got sick on purpose to spend more time just me and my Kindle! I finished the non-fiction I had been reading, then downloaded a New York Times best seller, “South of Broad” to keep me company.
I no longer need to get rid of books either. Every book I’ve downloaded to my Kindle is still there. It can hold hundreds. And, they’re all searchable. For example, I remember that one of my recent books had something to say about Nikola Tesla, but I don’t remember what exactly. I just use the search function on my Kindle to look for ‘Tesla’ and, voila, it locates the passages for me.
So, what’s the catch? It’s expensive. Mine was a gift … thank you Pop Guld! … but I know that it cost $399. It has recently come down to $299. Realize that includes the wireless Internet access – there is no monthly fee. After the purchase price, the only money you will spend is for the books you buy.
Anyone else out there have a Kindle? Tell us what you think.