by Anna Jones Buttimore
Cheri blogged yesterday about an advantage of the Kindle - being able to change the text size. I'm currently weighing up whether or not to buy one, and that's something for my "For" list.
Thus far, the list looks something like this:
For
No trying to fit books onto already overloaded shelves.
Fits easily into my handbag for instant reading anywhere.
Lots of free classic books for immediate download - including the scriptures!
Lighter than a book, yet it can hold up to 3,900 books. (Especially important since we're going on holiday to Majorca next month and my baggage allowance is only 15kg, so I can't take any books.)
Against
Second-hand books in charity shops are cheaper than Kindle editions, as are many bargain paperbacks.
My husband thinks the technology will quickly become out of date and I will be replacing my Kindle every year or so. (I disgree...)
I'm limited to buying books from Amazon. (But I buy all my books from Amazon anyway...)
If I read a good book on the Kindle, I can't then lend it to a friend. (And can't then forget which friend I lent it to, and thus lose it and have to go out and buy it again.)
If I lose it, I lose my entire book collection. (Except that they are backed up on Amazon so I can download them for free when I buy a new one.)
As you can see, I'm really tending towards "For". Only downside is that we just don't have the money to justify it right now. But they were there, on the shelf in Tesco, when I did my weekly shopping yesterday. It took every ounce of willpower not to put one in my trolley. I drooled for a few moments and then pressed on round the shop. The blow was when I got to the checkout and discovered that I had spent £111 on my family's food for the week. About average, for us, but in a cruel ironic twist, exactly the price of the Kindle I had so nearly bought.
We could all do with losing some weight, I wonder if they'd mind if I bought a Kindle rather than food next week?
4 comments:
I have those same debates on occasion. ;)
By the way, I forgot to mention that you can access for free a Kindle for PC download from Amazon. This means you can download free classic books onto your desktop or laptop. Here is the link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_pc_mkt_lnd?docId=1000426311
I've downloaded this application to my laptop and since I take it with me everywhere, I have access to all kinds of books, too.
I don't know about in England; but in the States you can buy books for your Kindle from Barnes and Noble Books as well as from Amazon.
I too have been weighing the pros and cons of a Kindle. A friend of mine reads three books a week on hers - she reads it during the 1 1/2 hours she spends at the gym while she's on the machines. Now if I had time for 1 1/12 hours at the gym, that might tip the scales in favor of a Kindle. Or not. I still love curling up with a book in my hands instead of a electronic thingy. :)
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