The Kindle Blog

I love reading and I love books but I never thought I’d enjoy reading on an electronic reader.

I hate reading on my desktop / laptop as I find there are too many distractions in the form of other applications that catch my attention or websites to be browsed. I download many PDF’s in the form of how-to manuals, instructions and if they’re more than a couple of pages I’d rather print it out and read it from print rather than read it on screen. If I print it out I can write notes on it, I can put sticky post-its to flag pages, I can highlight the parts I want and yes I know I can do that using Adobe and other WP packages on the computer but it’s easier to flick backwards and forwards through print to double check things using a printed copy. A printed copy is also portable – I can put it in my bag / briefcase and read it while travelling instead of having to lug my laptop around.

However, I LOVE MY Kindle!

I treated myself for my birthday in September 2010 and I don’t know how I managed without my Kindle.

The Kindle is itself just like a book. It’s about the same size as a paperback page and with its cover it looks and feels just like a book. Once you get used to pressing the button to turn pages it’s just like reading a paperback. It weighs less than many paperbacks and is around half the thickness of most paperbacks. To think that something so small and portable can hold thousands of books at the same time so that I can access whatever I want whenever I want is simply amazing.

I’ve always quite fancied reading some classic literature that I know I would never consciously go out and buy. I’ve always wanted to re-read some of the books from my childhood years, some of which were borrowed from the library or friends and family. With the Kindle its simple to search them out and download them sometimes for free from sites like Amazon, Project Gutenberg, Google Books.

I’ve got some classic literature which I’ve downloaded for free, I’ve got Kindle editions of books that I’ve paid for – sometimes cents and sometimes dollars but usually less then purchasing the actual book. I’ve got Fantasy, Historical, Classic, Poetry, Informational, Educational books and PDF’s all available to me on a single device with a couple of clicks. Whatever book I’m reading my place is automatically saved. I can add bookmarks, make notes, search the book, highlight text, find definitions of words, change the print size to make if comfortable to read, change the orientation from portrait to landscape, change the typeface, change the line spacing, words per line, have the text converted to speech. It’s simply the complete reading system in a familiar format and all you need to do is learn to push a few buttons.

As I’ve got the Wireless edition I’ve also got a connection direct to Amazon Kindle website and the entire Amazon network. I can use it to browse the internet, I can download MP3’s and listen to them, I can have the books read aloud.

The battery life is amazing. I use my Kindle every day and between September and January I’ve only had to charge it 3 times. Downloading books to it is simple – order from the Kindle store on your Kindle and it’s automatically downloaded. Order from Kindle on your computer and next time you’re on your Kindle simply tell it to sync and it will bring down any new books.

You can connect the Kindle to your computer and drag and drop PDF’s to it. It’s so much easier to read PDF’s on the Kindle than to read them on a laptop or print them out. After all the Kindle slips into a handbag or a pocket making it much more portable than a laptop. You can also get Kindle readers for your phone, computers, making it a very versatile application.

I LOVE MY KINDLE!