One of my Christmas gifts this year was a Kindle. Not the most frugal of gifts, but man, is it cool. I am definitely a convert. Oh, I plan to continue to buy books in paper form, and I have a huge box of unread books under my bed, but the Kindle is a great addition to my library.
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?