Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Capitulation

I just bought a Kindle. I was persuaded to do so by the drop in price and the rediscovery of a long-forgotten Amazon gift card (thanks Dad!). I like it more than I thought I would. It's simple to use and the page is easy to read. I bought my first book (The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson) for $5.00, a bargain.

I still haven't completely adjusted to the reading experience. I feel a little removed from the book. I miss the front and back covers, the blurb, the author's photo. On the other hand I like how light the device is. I am looking forward to downloading first chapters of books for free to see if I want to read them. This feature could save me lugging a lot of books home from the library only to abandon them 15 pages in. I anticipate that my spending on books will go up a bit, but I don't see myself quitting the library any time soon.

6 comments:

LINDA from Each Little World said...

wow! I will look forward to hearing about this big change on future posts.

Anonymous said...

I love my Kindle too and it has increased my book buying--but it hasn't had any effect on my library use! Enjoy yours. I love your blog. Susan in Philadelphia

Visell said...

I read sometimes your blog. I learn English so this side is very useful for my learning:) I have heard about Kindle, but I can't imagine my life without "normal" books! I think that books wiil be still exist.

Anonymous said...

I was given a Kindle for Christmas, and although very sceptical at first it has certainly been of benefit to me.
I live in China, and English language books here are very pricey and also there just isn't the range. I do bring as many books as I can whenever I come back here from the UK, but they weigh such a lot. Now that I can download books onto the Kindle I don't worry about running out of reading material.
The downsides of any e-reader are that you can't lend the book to a friend, and in the case of Kindle you can only purchase from Amazon.
I will never stop buying and reading 'real' books, but am learning to love my Kindle and it is wonderful if you are travelling.

Shelley said...

I literally said "whew!" in relief when I read this post because I just shipped a Kindle to my mom--it's supposed to arrive today. Although as a writer my first love is books, I hope when I visit her, she and I can crack the technology needed to make this bizarre device work!

Wish us luck....

Wilde.Dash said...

I'm seriously like a wary old lady about eReaders. I know they're the future, but when it comes to books...I'm seriously old fashioned. I think if I ever reach that point where I'm doing a lot of travel, I'll make the change.

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