Did I tell you I got an Amazon Kindle? I don’t think I did. I can tell you without reservation that I love it. I worried — I thought it would be too bulky (it’s not), or too first-generation (I don’t think so). I know that’s it’s too expensive, but it was my post-fire overtime-money splurge, and at no other time would we have been able to afford it, so I got one. I’m an early adopter, you know. Love to adopt early and often.
For those three of you who don’t know what a Kindle is — it’s an electronic reader. What I love about it is this: say you’re flipping through People magazine (Yes, People. If you read People and The New Yorker every week, you can speak to anyone at any party. And People’s book reviews are better than TNY, I swear), and say you see a book you want to read. You can either roll to your computer and send it to your Kindle and be reading it around thirty seconds, or you can go online wirelessly (for no charge) to search for and buy the book. That’s the kind of instant gratification I’ve been looking for for YEARS. You can even use it to go online, for free, no internet charge of any kind. But honestly, I haven’t really used it for that. It’s dial-up slow and black and white. What I love about it is always having a choice of reading in my purse. I’m a five book at a time kinda gal, and that gets heavy.
I’ve read four or five books now on the Kindle, and it’s awesome, particularly for knitters. No pages to fly open! Prop it up on your knee or make the font bigger and prop it a little further away, on the table, and you’ve got knitting nirvana. Sure, you have to punch the button to turn the page, but you’d have to turn the page anyway, right? It’s easy to read, low-glare, and I adore it. Seems somehow easier to read in bed (I lie on my side), also.
Reading now: The Lace Reader, Brunonia Barry (link to right). Lovely book so far. Echoes of Alice Hoffman, with an earthier feel. It’s feather-light on the romance — I’m enjoying watching which direction it will go. Also, the lace references are just made for us fiber-folk.
Read last: Garden Spells, Sarah Addison Allen. Oh, TRES Alice Hoffman. I’ll have to watch my own writing to keep magical-realism that I’ve been absorbing at bay. This is the younger, frothier, frappuccino niece of Practical Magic. Sister witches, a run from a bad man, finally using the power for good. But for all I raised my eyebrows at the similarities and its silliness, I kept reading, and I ended up liking it. I bought into the apple tree that threw its apples at people. Light and sweet.
Reading next: Who knows? Could be anything! (But will probably be Haruki Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. Love his writing, and REALLY need to get back into running.)
My darling guy got me a Kindle for Christmas [although I had to wait until mid-January to receive it because of the backlog and he’d ordered it Dec 3rd!]. I LOVE it! Welcome to the club! Have you found the sites for free books like bookfeed and manybooks? I’ve read so many classics this year, plus been able to tote around all my World Lit required reading, for free. Not to mention all the current books, magazines, etc. My guy is just happy that the bookshelves aren’t getting weighed down at quite the same alarming pace. 🙂
Maybe you should start writing book reviews – I think you’re good at it.
This is the first Kindle review that intrigues me enough to put one on my wish list. But I have to splurge on a Dyson first. One of those awesome purple high-tech no animal hair left behind sort of Dysons. Oh yeah, baby, YEAH.
This got properly panned by a lot of the interaction design blogs I follow – interesting to hear from an end user instead! I’ve got quite a long list of other things to splurge on first though. 🙂
i’m intrigued and i’ve checked it out. maybe someday. after getting the iphone, a macro lens, a new wheel, ….
It’s good to read a review from someone I trust! I’ve been eyeing the Kindle for a while, but just didn’t know how it would be. I may start saving up for one now!
Loved Loved LOVED “Garden Spells”.
I now look at my mom’s cherry tree in a whole different light.
Just in case.
RE: Garden Spells. I loved this book — so light and fun, and yes, so reminescent of Practical Magic. The tree, and the coming together of everything at the end was lovely. Just enough romance not to be too sappy (though a young friend to whom I passed along the book thought it was “cheesey” at the beginning and wondered what in the world had I gotten her to read — she liked it eventually). Lovelovelove the MR genre, and looking for more, so please share others you love.
Oh, I really did not need to read this. Now I want a Kindle. I’d love to have the larger font to read while I knit. Since I mostly get books from the library though, it would be too much of a leap for me to start buying all my books.
I loved Garden Spells as well! The next book, Sugar Queen, wasn’t quite as wonderful, but I did enjoy it. Have you read Cathy Lamb’s books? Julia’s Chocolates was very similar to Garden Spells. The Last Time I Was Me was even better.
Now I must go see if the library has The Lace Reader, all the while thinking if I had a Kindle, I could read it already.
I bought my first PDA about 2 weeks after I found out that you could read books on them. When you can go on vacation and take pretty much as many books as you want in a device that fits in your pocketbook, I’m there.
I haven’t gone the e-paper route yet, because I prefer to read in bed with the lights out, and you have to have a back-lit screen for that. I’m a restless sleeper who wakes up pretty often during the night. Being able to grab my Palm and open my book with 2 clicks without waking my husband is a GOOD thing. But with the way the old Palms PDAs are going away, I’m not sure what I’m going to do next. 🙁 (I can’t afford a fancy multi-purpose celllphone.)
I second manybooks.net as a good source of public domain ebooks.
Jealous!!! I’ve been eyeing those since I saw them come out.
Must put on holiday list for this year…
I love my Kindle too- We had to take an hour and 20 minute ferry ride recently and I was able to prop my Kindle up against my knitting bag on a table and read and happily knit away fort he whole trip 😉
I had an ebook years ago. Talk about early adopting. It doesn’t even work with anything now. Bummer. I would love a kindle. I will wait awhile longer though. =) If I had that instant capability of buying a book after reading a review I would have way more books than I do now and no time to read them all! ACK!
Congratulations!! I’m totally in LOVE with my Kindle. After looking at it for a month I decided to order it on Jan 28. I received it on Feb 14, what a fabulous Valentine’s Day gift. I really don’t think it’s too expensive, especially since it was $399 when I bought it.
Oooh. I love me some Murakami. I keep joking that what I’m writing is romantic Murakami, but I’m kinda serious too.
I had no interest in the Kindle until I saw one at RWA and was impressed. Now I’m even more tempted…
I am SOOOO jealous! I really want one now that I have the high-speed internet access out here to be able to download books. It’s impossible to get reading material in any quantity up here. I do use my PDA, but it’s a little TOO small and there are less books available in its format.
Only problem is that I’d probably have to arm-wrestle my wife for it on a nightly basis. No, not the only problem – other problem is that they cost the equivalent of a year’s rent where I live. Maybe eventually they’ll be available used…
I product-tested an e-reader for the Big Evil Corporation in Redmond years ago. I might be able to get past my biases now–I wasn’t too sold lo those many years ago.
Todays technology is amazing and so wonderful. Glad you are enjoying your new toy!
Hello,
I have just found your blog.
And i just may be a regular reader.
So sorry to read of your moms passing.My mom has been ill with cancer for years.And the chemo causes her to get so sick at times.
I dread that day,when it does happen.But shes good now.
Oh,I do love that sweater you
copied.
I know this does nor pertain to your current post.
Wanted you to know.
I use the Mobipocket reader on my Palm to read books. it’s great. and since I have to have my Palm with me anyway for work purposes, this works well for me.
Thanks for the review!
Hey, have you read anything by Laurel K Hamilton? I would have to suggest her to you, either of her major series’ are great romance novels, and I think they’d be something you’d like. The Anita Blake series starts out with little or no romance but once you get into it it’s heavy on the romance. 🙂
OMG! Me too, me too! <3 my Kindle! I'm reading Warrior Girls: Protecting Our Daughters Against the Injury Epidemic In Women’s Sports, since poor Bri just had ACL reconstruction surgery on Tuesday – thanks to soccer. BTW, are you on Shelfari?
I’m into getting rid of STUFF (post bedbugs I really want to strip down, sell most of my books, etc).
You are spurring me on to get one of these kindle things and I love that it’s more environmentally friendly and would maybe off set the fact that I compose all my first drafts of my plays in paper notebooks (I need pen and paper to compose – call me old fashioned).
How much do these things cost? I’ll look it up. . .
Best to all the beasts and La,
Moira
Thanks for the Kindle review. I would love one but more importantly, I’d love to get one for my Mom. She needs large-print books to read and has arthritis. It’s not a happy combination. The kindle, however – that’s an amazing solution PLUS there’s a lot more out there for the kindle. Will have to start saving pennies for Christmas.
The day I read this posting regarding your Kindle, I found out that my agency’s part-time proofreader has published a book–and that it was very favorably reviewed in People magazine (the latest issue as of 8/18). It’s also one of Amazon’s best picks for August. I’m not her publicist, by the way! I was just amused of the coincidence. Take care..
My sister just got one (for herself for her birthday), and she is as giddy as you are. Awesome.
I just read Murakami’s “After Dark” for my book club, and I can’t wait to discuss it. Very, very different from anything we’ve read yet.
I would love to have a Kindle too, been checking in to it. Thanks for the book tips, like Alice Hoffman a lot and these should be on my wishlist too.
Susanne