Kindle Review

As requested by Naveen, a short report on the Kindle. I like it. I enjoy reading books on it. I haven't used it for newspapers and magazines yet. In contrast to stubby paperbacks and heavy hardbacks, it is easy to read while drinking coffee or eating because you do not need to hold pages back. It is great for manuscripts, many of which aren't worth the paper they are printed on. With the Kindle you read part of the manuscript and if it's no good, you didn't need to waste ink and paper and lug the pages around. I like how new books are affordable and usually cost $10 as opposed to $26 if they are only in hardback. I also like how classic books are available for super cheap $1-3. I like how you can "carry" multiple books or manuscripts or papers around on the Kindle without weighing down a bag. I like how conceivably, you can take the Kindle to Sunday brunch and download a newspaper, although I haven't done this yet. Getting the books on the Kindle is incredibly easy - you simply fire off an email and wallah - they show up. I am quite sure owning the Kindle will either allow or cause me read more.

What I don't like: the Kindle feels a bit fragile. I like how newspapers and cheap paperbacks can be tossed around, stuffed in a pocket, and thrown aside and still retain their core function. The Kindle is delicate. It feels easily breakable. The page turn function is a tad annoying. It is very easy to turn a page on mistake and therefore you are constantly turning back a page. When reading, I miss the weight of a book. I Kindled Twilight, figuring it was going to be a quick book I could read in a night or two. It took me a week. Later, I saw the book at the store - it was quite a bit larger than I thought - 500+ pages - and I was like - no wonder it took me so long to read. You don't realize how physical presence of a book impacts the way you experience reading it. The Kindle has a little dot bar at the bottom which tracks how far into a book you are. But the dot bar is a ratio and doesn't really give you a sense (at least initially) how long or short the book is. Also, books are easy to share, but Kindle books only live on your Kindle.

What I didn't expect: The Kindle is more mechanical than electronic. It feels more like a machine than a computer. The only computer function, really, is getting the material via "whispernet" - basically a wireless email service. The rest of the functioning feels rather mechanical...it's hard to explain.

Overall, the Kindle was a perfect gift. It is useful and fun and a cool grown up toy to own, but if mine broke or I didn't have one, I would never purchase it for myself. One, it is rather expensive - $350, I think, and don't think it'll "save" you money because you'll Kindle books instead of buying hardcovers. If you read that much, bless you, and you wouldn't waste time on my blog. I'm pretty sure Kindle owners end up spending more money on books, etc, in the same way Itunes doesn't save anyone money on music. Note: Buying more books does not necessarily equate to reading more.

In the end, the Kindle isn't replacing books. It compliments them. For any good book - or any book worth owning - buying a Kindle version and a hardcover version is well worth the cost. And the Kindle will allow for more casual, easy, throw away, reading, which isn't a bad thing I should think.