Five Things to Love About Kindle

Between the everyday chores of housework, my job and staying on top of my children’s busy lives, reading is a bit of a guilty pleasure. I indulge more than usual when we are on vacation and my family has been known to make jokes about my bookoholic tendencies. So it seems that I would be a natural customer for a Kindle, or one of the other e-book readers gaining the favor of many avid readers these days. And yet, I resisted. My mother has a Nook, my brother a Kindle, but I was hesitant to give up my hard copy books. I am a gal who enjoys flipping and dog-earing pages, reading the reviews, and lovingly gazing at the covers of those that really capture my affection.

Then the holidays came, and I was given some gift money that I felt I deserved to use to treat myself to an actual gift rather than just tuck away into savings, and I reconsidered buying a Kindle. One of my big concerns was that I read a lot after a dip in the pool in the summer so I was worried about damaging an e-book reader. I discovered that waterproof covers are available and that was the final push I needed to take a tiny step into the current century and purchase a Kindle Touch.

It took me only minutes to figure out how to use my new Kindle, and within the hour I was voraciously devouring the first book in the Hunger Games series. I wasn’t merely smitten with my Kindle, I was suddenly head over heels in love with this little grey device. Allow me to explain why I do so adore my Kindle:

1. There is always another book waiting to be read just few seconds away. What a joy! No more driving to the bookstore when you finish what you are reading to pick up something new. There are times when I have been on vacation and run out of books to read and find myself wasting precious relaxation time looking for a new book. Or even worse, when you are in the middle of a series, and can’t wait to find out what happens next, yet the bookstore is closed. Sometimes I have even drawn out the time it takes to read the final chapters of a book because I know I don’t have anything lined up to read next. Never again with my precious Kindle. Finish one book, tap on into the Kindle store, read some reviews, peruse a few options, and the next book of your choosing is at your fingertips within seconds.

2. Sample Chapters ensure you never buy a book that doesn’t hook you. Everyone who loves to read has bought a book that sounds good based on the reviews or the back cover description, only to bring it home and discover they just can’t get into it. With Kindle you can download the first chapter or two as a free sample. If you are intrigued to read more after the initial sample, buy the book. If not, you can try something else without having wasted a single penny.

3. I can get free books on my Kindle from the public library. Yes, that’s right, absolutely free e-books delivered right to my Kindle! The public library has always been a great place to get books to read, but with busy lives and time at a premium, many of us haven’t taken advantage of our public libraries since we were kids. Libraries can be a bit more challenging to find books that interests you (rather than bookstores that put all of the popular books upfront) and let’s face it, you have to take better care of a library book than of a paperback you own. But with my Kindle I can logon to my public library’s website, search for books, and then download them to my Kindle for up to 21 days! Some of the more popular books are often checked out, but they allow you to go on a waiting list and then email you when it is your turn to download the book. How easy and economical is that?

4. There are great extra features on a Kindle. Have you ever been reading a book and come across a word that you don’t know? I tend to consider myself a pretty smart cookie, but this has happened to me. I see a word I have never seen before, try to glean its meaning from context clues, and then just move on. With my Kindle I just hold my finger on the word in question and its dictionary meaning comes up on the page. So not only do I enjoy my Kindle, but I actually learn more when I use it! You can also search for words in many books. For example, if a character is mentioned that you don’t remember, just search for him/her and refresh your memory. You can also add bookmarks and highlight using Kindle.

5. Kindle is lightweight and portable. Gone is the need to have both hands free to read. Kindle is like a book that is always open to the right page without the threat of closing. It is also so petite and portable that you can take it anywhere. Books can be cumbersome to lug around and take up space, but not my Kindle, so I find myself bringing it along anywhere I might have to sit and wait. From picking my kids up at an after school activity to the waiting room at the doctor’s office, my new friend Kindle is by my side.


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