Because many people in real life have asked me about it, I decided to post my review of the Kindle here in the blogosphere. I have received no money or other compensation for this review, so fear not FTC. Everything is cool here.
On the plus side:
– it is very easy to use. The buttons make sense and are easy to manipulate.
– it is incredibly easy to read in all light. The clarity is amazing and puts my iMac laptop to shame.
– it is nice to be able to change the font size.
– it is fun to play games on. The games are free or about $3, so the price is right.
– the leather case [without the light] that I bought extra is ingenious and makes holding the Kindle very easy.
– it is portable.
– many Shakespeare plays and classic books are free.
On the negative side:
– I don’t envision me ever thinking that this little gadget is a book. It is lovely for reading in short bursts, but to sit down with this and dawdle over a book– not so much.
– the battery doesn’t last as long as advertised. I’m recharging once a week, not every 3 weeks.
– all books aren’t available on it. For instance, the Harry Potter series is not part of the collection. Nor are all the books in a series of mysteries that I like. My idea was to have complete collections of certain authors so that I would always be able to read them whenever/wherever I wanted. This is not going to happen.
– subscriptions to newspapers are expensive and the choice of what is available is very limited.
– subscriptions to magazines are available, but I like to read mags with lots of photos in them so for me the Kindle is useless in this area.
Conclusion:
I like it, but it is different from a book. I liken the Kindle to instant coffee and a book to brewed coffee. Each has their place, but they aren’t interchangeable.
THE SPECTACLED BEAN 
I did finally decide on a netbook which I’ll use as a reader(unless it makes me sick) for traveling and also for internet. It wasn’t that much more expensive than a Kindle. All of my friends with Kindles LOVE them, but I think I still prefer books.
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Interesting about the netbook. I never even considered one. Maybe I should give them a look.
Also, interesting about your friends loving the Kindle. No one I know wants to get one which made me the guinea pig who went out and bought one. Hence, the review.
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Not interested in one at this time for the negative reasons you mention here. Especially the fact that not all books are available. If not, what’s the point?
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When I bought it I didn’t quite understand how limited the choice of books would be. For travel or waiting in a doctor’s office it is great, but the rest of the time reading a real book with paper pages is much more interesting to me.
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My husband bought a Nook (barnes and noble version), and he really likes it. He does have a couple of subscriptions on it. But now that he’s had it for almost a year, I see him drifting back towards real books. I look at this as a hopeful sign.
I think if I traveled a lot, I would get some kind of eReader, because not only are they very light and portable, but if you finish your book, you can just buy a new one, as long as you have access to wi-fi. That’s a great feature. But I don’t travel a lot, so I doubt I’ll ever bother. Maybe if my husband upgrades to a different one, or an iPad, I’ll get his.
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J, I like the Kindle okay, but… it’s not a book. And that’s what I keep coming back to when I think about it. Still, I realize that there all sorts of people who love the thing, so more power to ’em. To each their own, eh?
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have you tried an iPad? not that it’s a book either, but it looks much sexier than the kindle. and has an actual touch screen. i tried a friend’s kindle and found the usability a bit lacking, probably because i’m such an devout member of the church of apple. plus, you can always play angry birds when you book is done. 🙂
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julochka, I haven’t tried an iPad. I know that I’d love it, so I’m staying away from it! [No money for such frivolities at this point in time.] And knowing what I was missing would make me too sad. So, *la-la-la* I can’t hear you.
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So, would you ever take your Kindle out on a dock on a lake to read? Or to a beach? I ask because, while it seems like a lightweight, slim, convenient thing to take on a car or plane trip, I’m curious about its durability at the destination – where there is likely to be water, sand and dirt.
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Good question. I don’t think that I’d get it near water. It is quite durable but I imagine that water would ruin it. As for sand/dirt, I don’t think that would do much of anything to it. Scratch the screen maybe.
I tell you what… you get one and try it out on the dock. Then you can let us all know how it worked out for you!
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