I have a confession. I have gone over to The Dark Side. I am now the co-owner of a Kindle. I’m not sure which one. A Kindle Touch, maybe? My grandparents bought it for us yesterday. My husband and I were the only ones who didn’t have one.
I said yes when they asked if we would like one largely because I thought my husband would love it. We bought my dad one about two years ago, and I’m pretty sure it would have to be surgically removed from his hand for him to be without it. My dad and my husband are very similar in their love of gadgets. (I guess it’s true what they say about girls marrying men like their fathers.) So I was pretty sure he’d love it.
Nick definitely loves the Kindle. He was playing with it last night and messing with all of the different features. He also bought all of Arthur Conan Doyle’s work for 99 cents. That’s it; 99 cents. That was impressive.
I was a little more resistant to the Kindle. I’ve never tried to mess with my dad’s. I don’t think I ever touched it other than to gift wrap it. I never put one on my wish list. I’m not very technologically savvy. I have an old flip phone and I don’t text. I’m addicted to Facebook, blogging, and email, but that’s about it. I thought the Kindle would annoy me.
I also have a thing for books. I like they how they feel and smell. I enjoy the rustle of the pages turning. I like the weight of the books in my hand. I enjoy the knowledge that in order to read a book I just need my vision and a source of light. I like to find a book that is well worn and has obviously been read by a lot of people. I also love bookstores, especially independent bookstores. I didn’t think I would enjoy a Kindle, since the experience just wouldn’t be the same.
Like I said, though, my husband was really, really excited about the Kindle. He was like a little kid with a new toy. He didn’t even want to put it down to eat dinner. Then he wanted to show me some of the features. You’d have to be a wretched shrew (which most days I don’t think I am) to ignore his enthusiasm. He showed me how easy some of the features are to use. Then he pulled up a shopping list. That’s what pulled me in.
We found ALL of Louisa May Alcott’s work for one dollar, which my husband immediately bought. She is one of my favorite authors of all time. She’s probably the reason (or at least Jo March is) why I ever wanted to write in the first place. I love her. And we found things I had never been able to find and things I had never heard of with the Kindle.
I haven’t started to read any of it yet. I have to finish up some library books first. But I’m sure I will be reading the Alcott books soon. I’m not sure if the experience will be the same, but I know I’m very excited to have found the books. So, I think I have officially joined what I considered “The Dark Side”.
You'll love it once you get started. I don't think a person exists who is less techie than I am so if I can figure it out so can you. The only thing I find annoying is that many of the books done for the ereader are transcribed by volunteers and there are some typos, mispellings and misunderstandings of what they are transcribing that can blow the top off your head.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouragement. My mom bought one after using my dad's, and she's definitely even less of a techie than I am, so that gives me some hope too.
DeleteI like my "real" books, but I have a feeling that I'll be joining you on the dark side sooner or later. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'll be switching exclusively yet, especially since we're sharing one and are both big readers. Looking forward to having you on the dark side. :-)
DeleteI prefer books too, but I imagine they will be outdated at some point, so we'd better get a handle on the Kindle...or the Nook...or whatever else comes along!
ReplyDeleteYou're probably right about books being outdated at some point, though that's a very sad thought. And I think you're definitely right about getting a handle on the ereaders before that day comes. From what I found online when I was researching to buy my dad's it does seem like the Kindle is very user friendly. My husband keeps telling me most of the functions are very intuitive as well.
DeleteConfession here, I would have a Kindle if we weren't on such a tight budget, but I can't justify the expense when I can get free books at the library. But it would be so neat to be able to get books at low cost without having to go to the library. It is fun though at times to actually hold a book as I'm reading it. But I did find that in doing book reviews, there are always more books available to review through E-books than printed. So that might be my motivator to get one down the road some day.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, I hope you and your hubby enjoy your new Kindle and I think it is neat your grandfather bought it for you. I can't imagine either one of our parents considering buying some like this, they were not very technology savvy :)
betty
We definitely wouldn't have purchased it for ourselves right now, especially since the library here is so great about getting the new books. But it was a really great gift from my grandparents. I think they saw how much my dad loves his and thought we would too.
DeleteIt does seem like there are a lot of books available for free, or really cheap, as well. I think it's going to be really good for books that are just really hard to find in other places.
i don't have any of these devices yet--but hearing how inexpensively you purchased your book--makes me rethink having one!
ReplyDeleteThat definitely is what reeled me in! I think if you're one who buys a lot of books it probably does pay for itself eventually.
DeleteI know what you mean - three members of my family are/were librarians and I felt like I was joining the dark side when I got my kindle. I absolutely love it now and I definitely read more than I did before I had it, but I should probably visit the library and independent book shops more often, just so I don't forget what an actual book looks like ;)
ReplyDeleteThat's good to know that you read more since getting the Kindle. Is it because there's more available or because it's more convenient?
DeleteI think I will really like it, once I get the hang of using it, but I also don't think I'll ever give up going into the library and bookstores. I'm too much of a creature of habit to totally give them up.
It's probably a combination of availability and convenience. I love a bargain, so the daily deal on amazon is often hard to resist and I end up with a queue of books downloaded to my kindle. Plus my mum and sister both have kindles and although we haven't done it yet, I like the idea of easily sharing books with them (we're lucky and have pretty similar tastes).
DeleteI'm sure it won't take long to get the hang of, but best of luck!
I felt the same way but guess what? I love it over on the dark side! You'll be hooked in no time!!
ReplyDeleteThat's good to hear!
DeleteI still have not succumbed to kindle, although all of my sisters have.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I relish real books and I tend to see myself at 70 when there is some sort of apocalypse and no internet, cell phones or kindles and there I am with my huge real book library....
But my sister tells me that since she and her daughters are all on kindle fire together, that if one of them purchases a book, they all get it. I suppose that would be incentive for my partner and me to get one but then...I dunno...we don't have the same reading tastes, so that would not be all that beneficial. Mostly, though...I am addicted to libraries and book stores. I don't want to imagine my life without them.
I do love libraries and bookstores too. I'm hoping there are enough of us who love them and won't give them up entirely to keep them going.
DeleteI have heard and read great things about the ability to pass books back and forth on the Kindle (and without having to worry about coffee stains and crumpled pages) too. I doubt my husband and I will read many of the same books, even sharing one. We've only ever found one non-children's book that we've both read. But I think we'll be able to pass them back and forth with my parents; I seem to be a 50/50 blend of their reading tastes, and my husband reads a lot of the things my dad reads that I don't.
You have joined the dark side! ; I don't have an e-book reader. Though for about a week or so I was the owner of one. It was a birthday gift but I didn't really want it. I enjoyed the games and the convenience of being able to lay in bed and email/read blogs. Books are part of my soul though. I have a number of ebooks on my laptop and have I read them?? Ha! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI haven't actually read the books yet. It's a combination of the fact that I have several books from the library that I had to wait a while to get, and the fact that we haven't had time (and I haven't been inclined to make the time yet) for my husband to show me exactly how to use it yet. I'm sure that day is coming though. I plan to still read actual books, so I'm not totally on the dark side. :-)
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