Tuesday, December 28, 2010

And She’ll Have Fun, Fun, Fun....

For you Beach Boys fans, I’ll say straight out that we didn’t get a car.  But we did get something nearly as much fun and infinitely cheaper...a Kindle. 

E-books are the way of the future (publishers take note, burying your collective head in the sand doesn’t change the reality).  Somehow they haven’t learned the lessons of the music industry.  Perhaps they’ll consider what happened to the monk copyists when the printing press came about.  But I digress.

Back to the Kindle.  It’s light in my hand, sleek, and charcoal gray.  The print is lovely pearl e-ink that causes no eye strain and doesn’t have some weird refresh rate that my brain perceives unlike the nasty computer. (Yes, I know how to adjust the refresh rate.)  Plus, it’s not back lit and so you can read in bright sunlight. As you can tell, it’s a match made in heaven.

Thankfully, Ariel was on hand when it arrived to help me with all the technical stuff (she has a Kindle already).  She showed me how to buy free classics, the ones that are out-of-print and not carried by my local library.  She explained what to do when I mistakenly buy an e-book that I don’t want (she knows me too well).  No panic is involved and it’s quite simple. I’m still waiting for her to show me how to read blogs and newspapers.  But I’m not in a hurry.  I’m still trying to decide whether I want to read The Picture of Dorian Gray, some Dostoyevsky (too depressing), or something totally frivolous.   I’ve settled on frivolous.  I’ve always wanted to read Agatha Christie’s Secret Adversary.  It’s one of her Tommy and Tuppence books.  I love the T & T books.  Ariel says it’s because Tommy and Tuppence are only thinly disguised versions of Calvin and me.  But in my defense, I’m not a spendthrift, and I don’t have a penchant for ridiculous hats. However, I do love to disagree with Calvin, not because I’m contrary but because it’s so much fun.

Hmm. That does sound a bit cryptic.  You’ll have to read and Tommy & Tuppence to figure it out.


Here's the Kindle. Next to it is the padded faux suede case that I sewed.  Much cheaper than the $40+ cases that Amazon offers.

8 comments:

  1. I've had one for about a year and I love mine. I love being able to look on Amazon and have a new book in 60 seconds.
    Odie

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  2. Secret Adversary is wonderful! I wish more Agatha Christie books were available for free. (I don't have a Kindle, but I use their apps for my PC and iPod touch...not always easy to read, but we are talking about free books here, which are hard to pass up.)

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  3. How long is the battery life? That's usually my biggest consideration when it comes to handheld electronics.

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  4. OK, so Ariel taught you how to buy "free" classics? How much are they charging?

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  5. I got a Kindle too! OMG, are they addicting...the whole click to purchase is so scarily easy!!!

    Here's to us and our Kindles!!!

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  6. That is great! Have fun with it:)

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  7. LOVE my kindle for 2 years now, but still read books too. Just downloaded Scrabble too. Read a few newspapers while in Norway and even sent an email through gmail though it was difficult. Mostly though...NO more huge tote of reading material when we travel...one little kindle...went to market...one little kindle stayed hom...one little kindle....

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