As a holiday gift to myself, I got the Amazon Kindle
. If you have not heard, the Kindle is an electronic "book". After just a week of working with it, I'm very satisfied. In the past, I was an avid reader, staying up until the wee hours of the morning reading magazines or books. In recent years, that has changed for many reasons. I have gotten older. I have not visited the library in quite awhile. While I can afford to buy books, I find it tough to justify buying many titles. There are simply many books I want to read, but only once.The Kindle seems to solve the last problem. Paperbacks, mostly of the mystery or horror genres, are books I have no need to buy. The stories may be good, but I don't see why I need to re-read some of them. For example, The Bone Collector
by Jeffrey Deaver. I read the book years ago and have not picked it up since. I may read it again some day. With the Kindle, I can do so without taking up space on a shelf or a box.
by Jeffrey Deaver. I read the book years ago and have not picked it up since. I may read it again some day. With the Kindle, I can do so without taking up space on a shelf or a box.Not only books, but the Kindle will also provide content from some magazines and newspapers. I have not tried a magazine, but for newspapers, I find that the real thing works better than the Kindle. Or I go to their website. The Kindle is lightweight. To me, about the same as a paperback, but the dimensions are bigger. It takes some getting used to holding it, but after a day or so, I think it worked out.
About the only drawback is that there are no illustrations. Or rather, there are crude ones but just for the cover of the book. A limitation of the black and white Kindle, which may be addressed in later versions. For now, though, any avid reader should consider one. It may not work for all, but I think it's worth a tryout. Try to find a friend who has one to see theirs.
