Another piece of new technology I am experimenting with this year is the Kindle keyboard edition that my middle daughter bought me for Christmas. I don’t remember mentioning it to her, but somehow she came up with the very item I had been debating with myself about for nearly a year.
Understand me when I say, I prefer paper books. I’m not a snob about it, they don’t have to be hard backs. In fact, in some cases, I prefer paperbacks. But, in spite of the fact that I am a techie, I don’t like reading extensively on a computer screen and I really hate trying to read anything longer than a text message on a phone screen. I figured the e Readers would be more or less the same.
Still, I had been tempted by the idea of being able to store several large books in a small light weight device ever since dragging a loaded backpack all over Murray’s campus. When I first began to think along those lines, while lugging The Complete Works of Shakespeare to and from class three days a week, the Kindle was selling for about $300. But, I’d already bought the ten pound hardback and I just couldn’t justify that much money at the time, so I kind of forgot about it for the next few years.
Prices came down considerably in the meantime and about a year ago, I started looking at the variations now available. I was debating with myself whether to get the Kindle or the Nook, but hadn’t really gotten there yet, when I unwrapped my present from Jeanne and David. It was the first time in years that I’ve been pleasantly surprised by a Christmas gift which I hadn’t specifically requested.
I quickly found that reading from the Kindle has none of the irritating aspects of other electronic devices. It’s almost like reading from a paper book and it has distinct advantages. It always remembers where I was when I stopped. I can carry a whole library of books with me when I travel. Amazon (and I’ve been told the same is true of B & N) has tons of classic books in Kindle format that are totally free. I am currently re-reading John Carter of Mars to refresh my vague memories of it from childhood because the movie just didn’t seem to match up (although it was a good flick).
There are also games and other apps for it and shopping Amazon is a whole lot simpler than trying to navigate the iPhone app store. Now, I’m thinking, if the touch screen on the Kindle Fire is as good as the ones on my cell phones, I may want to upgrade before long. After all, there is a limit to how many book shelves I can fit in my house before it starts to look like something from a horror movie.
