Ever since the first generation of the Kindle came out, Eddie has been jonesing to buy me one. "You'd be the perfect person to have one!," he always said. I do read a lot, but I've always been satisfied with my library books. I like going to the library, like sifting through books I might want to read, like holding books in my hands, and even like the anticipatory pleasure of waiting for my reserve of a popular new title to arrive. Even though I could never be categorized as a "thrifty" person, I've never seen much sense in paying for books that I can borrow for free from the library.
So every time Eddie mentioned the Kindle or dropped hints about it, I shut him down. "I don't want one." "I like REAL books.""Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?"
Then I started grad school and started thinking about lugging big bags of books up the steps by the BYU Richards Building. When I was an undergrad (and woefully out of shape for a twenty-year-old) I lived in fear of those steps, knowing I'd always be out of breath by the time I got to the top. A month or so ago I said to Eddie, "You know, when fall semester comes around I may look into getting a kindle instead of buying regular copies of the books I'll be reading for school." Passing remark. End of discussion.
Then he left town on Wednesday for a conference, and on Thursday, an early Mother's Day present showed up at the house. It was, of course, a Kindle. I booted it up skeptically. I almost felt like I didn't want to like it. But, you know what? I love it. It's so light and easy to read. It really feels like I'm reading a book, not reading an iPhone or a computer. I can put it in my purse. I could never fit eight or eighty "real" books in my purse. I read all of Beautiful Creatures on it, and whipped through that book just as quickly as anything I read on paper. I haven't taken the time to explore it thoroughly. It has bells and whistles I'll probably never explore. I wish it told me what page I was on or I could cheat and flip inconspicuously to the end to find out what happens (which feels a lot more like a conscious decision and less like a slip of the hand on the Kindle), but those are small prices to pay for the convenience. The $5-15/book isn't, however. I'm reading Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals right now (a library copy) and felt mightily tempted last night to download it on the Kindle. But for $13, I'll just keep reading it the old-fashioned way.
My friend Kaimi even clued me in to how I can indulge in the Kindle in my favorite place to read books-- the bathtub. I now have a gallon-size ziploc bag in my bathtub vanity. When I want to read and soak, the Kindle just goes in the baggie. Voila. Problem solved.
3 comments:
I used Kindle and iBooks on my iPad, and I am completely sold. It's so easy to take anywhere, and while it will never replace the feel (and smell) of a book in my hands, I am content to have both platforms in my life.
We got a Kindle last year from a family member who insisted that we need one because we are 'readers'. However, like you, we don't usually buy books. But we've found that it's useful for a lot of things. Magazine subscriptions, for example. Or advance copies of books that friends send us to review. I have found myself wishing more than once that I could have had one while I was in school--if you're going to buy the book anyway, Kindle is a great way to go. You can also load PDFs and read all those critical articles (and bring them to class without printing them out). The only thing I wish you could do is download stuff you have made notes on.
GREAT idea for reading in the tub with the Kindle.
I love mine. I've had it a year now, and I gave my mom one for her birthday. Both of us thought we wouldn't like it, and both of us LOVE it.
How else can you carry 20 books with you on vacation...in your purse?!
It's great.
=)
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