I very well might be pushing my boundaries with the statement I'm about to make here...I love my Kindle. If you haven't guessed from all my book reviews, I love reading. Since 2011 I've done all my reading on a Kindle. The day that little device arrived was so exciting, and I've never looked back.
I still hear so many people say that real, paper books are so much better and that it just isn't the same reading from a Kindle or Nook or whatever your preferred divide might be (I don't discriminate). Me, well I'm a complete Kindle convert.
When I moved to Japan in 2007 I packed one book - my favorite Harry Potter, the third one - Prisoner of Azkaban. (I love them all, but Prisoner of Azkaban is the last book with a happy ending, well, until the end of the series...that's why it's my favorite!) I must have read it 20 times, as well as the few books that had been left in my apartment by all of the JETs before me.
The closest book stores that sold English books were all the way in the city, a 3 hour, $80r/t train ride away. While the selection was good for a foreign country, it was still fairly limited and very expensive. Japan has Amazon, but they also have a pretty skimpy selection (but their payment methods and delivery are excellent!!). Basically, reading was becoming a very expensive habit to have!
I finally did some research and learned that I could order a Kindle and download pretty much any book I wanted using my US credit card. I told Bryn that's what I wanted for my birthday. It arrived a few weeks early and I just couldn't wait, so I opened it. I had immediate access to any book I wanted, and it was wonderful!
Some things I love about my Kindle (making it way better than a paper book):
-I have a whole library on there. If I finish my book, I can pull up an old one to re-read. Basically I never run out of things to read. No more packing lots of books to get me through holidays.
-I can keep reading on the app on my phone. This was a lifesaver when I was taking the trains in Japan. I didn't have to pack a book or even the Kindle itself. This also comes in handy anytime I'm stuck waiting somewhere, since I always have my phone on me.
-It made moving (overseas) so easy. If I had had to pack all the books I have stored on it, I would have needed a lot of boxes.
-I can read really long books without having to carry the heavy book around or make my fingers tired trying to hold it open.
Basically the only bad thing about the Kindle was the one time I tried to use it as a replacement for a textbook. It was more difficult to flip through to find a certain passage and although the Kindle allows you to high light things, it just isn't the same as jotting notes in a book.
I still love strolling through Barnes and Noble, and will often do that to get inspiration for new books (I totally choose them by the cover). I wouldn't trade my Kindle for the world though!
What do you think? Are you team e-reader or team paper book?
I love them both. Kindle is very convenient, but I still love a hard copy of a book every now and then. :) But with the new Kindle Unlimited program, I can say that it's becoming more and more my favorite!
ReplyDeleteI haven't signed up for Kindle Unlimited yet - I need to!
DeleteI like them both! I enjoy the transportability of my Kindle and when I just have to have a book and don't want to wait for it. But I usually also keep hard copy books to read before bed to limit screen time
ReplyDeleteI love them both! There are just some books you have to read by paperback. But nine times out of ten I'm reading on my Kindle. I just recently got the Paperwhite (I had the original Kindle) and I'm loving it even more.
ReplyDelete