Library in my Pocket

It was my birthday yesterday, and jestar took me out to see a movie - "Tangled" - and then bought me lunch. She also gave me a kindle, and I have to admit - I really love it! Since yesterday I've downloaded and read The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis - a book I've been meaning to read for years now but never got around to buying. I've also downloaded Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (for free), The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain (also free), Household Tales by Brothers Grimm (also free), The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (99c), and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (free).

I've also downloaded free samples of books to decide later if I want to buy them - American Fairy Tales by L Frank Baum, Complete Works of Jane Austen (I've never read Jane Austen and this is a good opportunity to find out if I like her writing), Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know, plus a couple different versions of the Bible including The Message. (I intend on buying one for my Kindle but am undecided which version I should go for. I was also experimenting how easy it would be to look up specific bible passage with the different versions on kindle.)

It's like having a library and a bookstore in your pocket all in one. Also, for people who like the touch and smell of books (who doesn't?) and thinks that an electronic book doesn't have the same soul, well... strangely enough, the kindle actually smells a little bit like ink.

I'm also pretty impressed at how easy on the eyes it is to read, and bright sunlight doesn't create glare. I've heard a lot of people say that the ipad can do everything the kindle can do but more, plus it's in colour. But there's no way I'd stare intensely at an ipad screen for hours at a time reading text without getting a horrible headache and probably ruining my eyesight at the same time. I could play games, browse the internet, look at pictures, etc. but those things don't require the same optical concentration and endurance as reading a novel does. The Kindle isn't meant to be everything an ipad is - a kindle is for readers. You might be able to download books on an ipad, but it's not the best way to read a novel.