Growing up I didn’t read much for pleasure. During my K-12 school years I am pretty sure I only bothered to pick up a book if a teacher forced it upon me. I believe I was a senior in high school when I first read a book I was actually interested in. It was John Grisham’s A Time To Kill - a book that had been getting rave reviews by many in my family. I loved it and to this day it is one of my all time favorites. This book opened my eyes to the world of reading books for entertainment; something much more enjoyable than school required reading had always been.
As I have aged over the years, my enjoyment for a good "fictional vacation" has continued to grow. There was a period of time, probably seven or eight years ago, when I was almost always reading something from either Grisham, Cook, Crichton, Patterson, Koontz, and of course Stephen King. And this didn't include any of the books my wife would talk me into reading from some of her favorite authors such as Sandra Brown or Nora Roberts. It was an almost nightly ritual to wind down before bed with a good book.
I'm not completely sure why this changed, but for the past few years it had. Until recently, I hadn't read a book in ages. Some of this can definitely be blamed on other distractions such as work and World of Warcraft. Then I can also blame watching TV, reading blogs, having a new baby, and doing anything else computer related for other lost time. But beyond that, even my drive or desire to read just wasn't what it used to be.
Enter Amazon's Kindle. This is a new electronic (wireless) reading device Amazon has created, and it rocks. When I first read about it last year, I was immediately interested. Watching the video demos sure made it look like an appealing alternative to printed books. Many of the negatives associated with reading books on a computer screen seemed to have been addressed by the non-backlit screen designed for the Kindle. It claimed to be easy on the eyes - just like reading a paper book.
So why didn't I get one? Well it came down to the cost vs use debate. I wasn't sure (at the time) that I would get much use out of it to justify the hefty $400 price tag. So I decided to wait for the price to come down and see how it does overall.
Then a few months ago I decided to start riding the bus to work every day. As a result I found myself with roughly two hours of commute time no longer being wasted while driving. Initially I chose to spend time reading blogs and doing email, but lugging around my laptop every day got old. One morning while reading some blogs, I saw a reference to the Kindle and an announcement that the price had been reduced 10% (down to $359). I again went through the debate game, but after a week or so I talked myself into it. My hope was that I would love it and put it to good use on my daily commute. So far it has met all my expectations that then some!
I have now owned my Kindle for almost 3 weeks and I am averaging a book or two each week. That's right, Amazon brilliantly found a way to not only get me reading again, but to "enslave" me into a $40-50 a month book buying "subscription" (each book I buy runs $6-$10 each). But I have to say so far it has been worth it. I have found reading on the Kindle to be far more relaxing and enjoyable than it ever was with the actual printed books. It is so light weight and easy to use (with even a single hand), that even reading at night in bed is far better than it ever was before. No more hand cramps trying to hold the book open above my face!
Now not all publishers have bought in to the Kindle yet. John Grisham for example doesn't have any of his books available for it (hopefully in the future!). Overall though I haven't had a problem finding content for the Kindle. There are literally thousands of titles available now - just check out the Kindle Store to see what I mean. And like I said, Amazon was simply brilliant with the way they have this puppy so seamlessly integrated into their book buying experience. The wireless connectivity is awesome and doesn't rely on typical WIFI at all. It is like a cell phone - so long as you are in a Sprint cellular service area, you have access to all your online content. You can browse simple text base web sites (Wikipedia and Blogs), and of course you can buy books directly from Amazon, which are then beamed to your Kindle in seconds.
I should be clear that there are no official requirements to buy books or pay any subscription fees. Your monthly service expense will depend entirely on your book consumption requirements (or you can get official content subscriptions for newspapers and magazines if you want). Even the wireless service is included with the purchase of the device. And while it would be pricey, you can buy up to six Kindle devices per Amazon account, and you can share all your purchased digital content between them.
When it comes to ergonomics of the device, I do share a few complaints that others have expressed in reviews around button placement. Essentially, the "Next Page" button on the right hand side of the device is way too big and easily hit if you are not careful. I have learned to be careful of it though and while I do wish the software would let me configure it (ie disable it), it doesn't bother me much now that I am used to it.
Overall, I would score the Kindle a 7/10. Other than the button issues, and the still rather high price point, I really love it. Rumor has it Amazon is cranking out a new version before the holidays this year. Depending on the changes, I may consider an upgrade. I really do believe Amazon is onto the iPod of books with this thing....