Reading on the Kindle is great.  A number of people are uninterested in the Kindle because the screen isn’t backlit so if you want to watch in the dark, you’ll need a light.  That said, because the screen isn’t backlit, reading is incredibly easy on the eyes.  I don’t know about you, but after looking at a computer screen all day, my eyes start to hurt.  I don’t have the same problem with the Kindle.

I carry it in my purse to and from work everyday and love having books available at my fingertips.  I’ve read about 25 books on the Kindle so far.  Amazingly, I haven’t spent very much on Kindle books.  Technically, I’ve not spent anything!  All the books I’ve purchased were thanks to gift certificates from my Amazon.com Visa Rewards Card or my SwagBucks account.   I do try to take advantage of all the free books available on the Kindle.  If you check out the Kindle Store on Amazon, you can see that there are a lot of books in the public domain free on Amazon, and publishers regularly offer free downloads on specific books for a limited time.  I try to grab all of those, though they’ve not all been to my liking.  Hey, it’s free, and it’s electronic, so it’s not wasteful to take it and then delete it, right?  (Of course, if by the description, I know it’s not the sort of book I will enjoy, I don’t bother.)

New releases are typically $9.99 on the Kindle.  I have to admit, that’s a bit pricey, especially if it’s a book I can buy for not too much more at Borders with a coupon and then be able to swap or re-sell.  I have picked up a few books at this price, though, and really enjoyed the convenience.  I’m heading on a painfully long plane trip next week, and am excited to have the Kindle with me instead of a giant pile of heavy books.  Of course, just in case, I’m planning to bring one paperback in my carry-on, because while I’ve had no problems with the Kindle so far, the last thing I want is to settle in for a 7 hour plane ride only to discover that something isn’t working.

Because I love spreadsheets, I’ve been keeping track of the price of the books I buy and figuring out the average price of my books.  So far, I’m averaging $2.62 per book. Yeah, that’s because there have been a number of free books included, but they’re books I wouldn’t have had in my hands without the Kindle, so I’m counting them.  

The Kindle isn’t for everyone.  I think it’s best for people who travel a lot or have a long commute where they can sit back and read (please don’t read while behind the wheel of your car).  If you love your local library, then the Kindle probably isn’t your thing.

One thing that I didn’t realize about the Kindle – the text size is very adjustable.  I read it on the second smallest setting, which seems to be near the size of the text in an average paperback.  But you can increase the text size significantly.  This is great for people who require large print books.  I know that large print books aren’t always easy to find, and this is a great way to have access to hundreds of books in large print.  Also, turning pages requires a very gentle click, and I have read comments from users with disabilities or severe arthritis who are finally able to read a book with little to no pain.

It’s not the most frugal of gadgets, and I’m not sure I would have been able to justify spending the money (I received it as a gift), but I really am glad I have it.  I’m not sure if I can actually say that it has saved me money, but I love it just the same.

Note: Sorry to those of you who read this earlier today with the wonky formatting.  Fixed now!

I’ve actually been very good about not buying books this year.  I have purchased a few books for my Kindle thanks to an Amazon gift certificate, and I picked up one series book (also with a gift certificate) at Borders, but it is part of a series I’ve been reading and collecting, so I don’t feel so guilty about that.

That said, the books just keep piling up!  I track my library on LibraryThing, and I officially have 151 books on my to-read list.  151 books!  Most of them are in a storage box under my bed, which is why I don’t think I’ve realized just how many books there are.  My goal is to half that number by the end of the year.  I’m not sure if I can do it.  Oh, sure, I can read 75 books by the end of the year.  That’s not a problem.  But that means no more accumulating books.  The other problem is that a number of books I have were passed on to me by friends and family and are the later books in a series, and I always feel that I should try to read a series in order, or at least read the first book in a series to get familiar with the characters.  Which, of course, means accumulating more books.

I’m doing it in a money-saving manner, of course, with Bookmooch and PaperBackSwap, but at this point it’s less about the money and more about the fact that this book collection is getting out of hand.  It would be one thing if these were books that I had read and loved and wanted to keep. But I have 151 books that I have never read and might completely hate just sitting around!  

I think that come summertime, I should re-evaluate my box of books and see if there’s anything in there that I will never read and just list them all on the swap sites.  Or maybe I will have some sort of a blog contest.  Win ten pounds of books!

Yeah, you’re right, that sounds like it could be the worst prize ever.

I’m sure you’re thinking “Okay, so if it’s not a money thing, then why is this on a personal finance blog?”  Because I think that a huge part of personal finance is smart ownership.  And by that I mean not only taking care of what you have but making a point to only have things that you want and that you will use.  If you are a big gamer and want three different gaming systems (and you can afford them), then by all means, go for it!  If you are a bookhound and you have 1000 books that you have read and you love and they take up an entire room in your house, hey, why not?  But what’s the point of having things you never use?  It’s accumulation for accumulation’s sake which I don’t think is a good way to live your life.  If you do it with one thing, what’s to stop you from doing it with two things or five things?  Eventually, it will cost you.  And yes, many of these books were just given to me.  But some I picked up on my own.  Some I got through swap sites, which involves paying shipping – not much, but it’s not free either.

By swapping the books, I can get credit for other books that I do want to read.  Or I can sell the books and make a bit of money.  Even making $1 from each of these books would still pull in a very good amount of money.  Or I can do what I did yesterday and packed up some books for mailing to friends who I know will enjoy them very much.  And yes, that does cost money, but it’s nice to send little gifts every now and then.

For me, the best part about the Kindle is the size and portability.  I like to carry a book in my purse anytime I’m traveling by Metro.  Why?  Because more than once, I have ended up stuck due to a broken train and have been incredibly glad to have something to do.  With the Kindle, not only can I carry a number of books with me, but the Kindle fits much better in my purse.  It’s a little bit taller than a standard paperback, but it’s not as thick, and it’s angular, so it slides into a bag with very little trouble.  I’ve noticed more and more Kindles on the Metro.

(Now, I realize that a free way to read books would be to just go to the library.  I’m just not a library person.  I never have been.  I’ve tried, and I end up with overdue books every time.  Were it more conveniently located, I might be better off.  Just one of my things.)

I’ve been using the Kindle for about a week and a half and I’ve read a few books on it already.  The Kindle has a lot of great things going for it.

1.  Size.  Takes up much less space than a regular book, and can hold many many books.

2.  Amazon’s store has a lot of books available, plus you can use it to read other ebooks you may own.  That not enough for you?  Then you can download a number of books that are in the free domain and read those as well.  Thanks to ManyBooks.net, you can even download some of them directly to the Kindle for no charge.  Right now, Amazon.com also has a bunch of books available for free download.  I think it’s a publisher gimmick to get you hooked on a series, but hey, I’m not one to turn down a free book!

3. Easy to read text.  The screen is unlike any other electronic screen I’ve used.  Definitely no tiring of the eyes due to staring at a flickering screen here.  Also, the text size is adjustable, so this might be a good option for people with less than stellar vision who struggle to find large print versions of books.

Of course, it’s not perfect.  Buying an ebook means that I don’t have a book to swap via a swap site or share with a friend.  And while the books may be cheaper than buying them new, I’m sure they don’t beat used book prices.  

Time will tell how much I come to love the Kindle, but so far, it’s been a great addition to my library.  I’m debating whether I should bite the bullet and download Ulysses.  Now there’s a book that will keep you occupied for a long time (I read it for a college course, and even with the companion book of notes and the classroom discussions, I still have a lot to learn about that work.)

Anyone else have a Kindle?  Thinking about getting one?