How will this affect my reading habits? Will I read more? Less? Will I go back to reading more than one book at a time?
I wanted a Kindle so I can have it with me at all times as it’s quite small and light. It’s great for going on holiday as I would usually take two or three books with me. When I’m on holiday I spend so much time walking around, taking in the sights, observing the different culture around me that I don’t spend a lot of time reading. I’m not a ‘beachy’ type, and I don’t go to resorts so I don’t spend my holiday reading by the the pool. Most of my holiday reading is done at the airport and on the plane, with perhaps a chapter of pre-bed reading in the hotel room. Even so, I do need at least two books. With all that waiting in the airport, the flight itself, and sometimes changing flights in the middle, I could finish one book before I even enter my holiday destination. My second book might not be to my taste after all, so I need a back-up holiday read. Of course, I can buy a book when I’m on holiday, and donate the book I took with me, to the nearest library.
But then there’s the travel guide. You can get those on the kindle too! Very handy.
Another great thing about the Kindle (great for me, the reader; not so good for publishers and book sellers – two sides to every coin 😦 ) is that a lot of classics are free, or very cheap. I used to read classics a lot, and even though there are so many good modern books out there; it’s good to go back to the likes of Brontë and Dickens once in a while.
You can also download samples to your Kindle for free. This is just like reading a few pages of a book in a bookshop before deciding if you want to buy it. Amazon will send you the first part to read, then if you like it you can pay for the rest.
With so many titles by my side at any one time, it might be hard for me to stick with just one at a time. But if I do flick between two or more, at least that’s my choice and not because I’ve accidentally left my book behind so I have to start another one!
I am enjoying the novelty of reading on an e-reader at the moment, but I’m not going to stop reading print books. For a start, I work in a library where interesting books are constantly grabbing my attention when I’m just doing my job. I’m not going to stop borrowing these just because I can read them on the Kindle now.
First impression – Love it! But I intend to do another write up once I’ve had more time with it, in order to weigh up the pros and cons. 😉
What do you think about Kindles or e-readers in general? Tell me…