Owning a Kindle = I read more
A year ago, I would have NEVER considered getting a kindle. Why? It only has 1 purpose…to be an e-reader. It’s not even in color. I wouldn’t be able to play angry birds, tetris, even sudoku would be more boring in black & white.
My perspective change occurred shortly after I moved to London. Almost everyone takes some form of public transportation, whether it is bus, tube or train. This means, I’m basically on the tube for at least an hour each day (not including delays). I normally read the paper, but it’s quite awkward when you’re standing or are sitting next to someone who does not believe in sticking to their own personal arm space. I also have a coworker who loves his kindle. He has it with him all the time, and he raves about it. I began to see that it’s quite a useful gadget. Another thing I learned, is that the older kindles, and the kindle keyboards have international 3G. The kindle touch has international 3G but only for downloading books and accessing the kindle store. The international 3G on the kindle keyboard has an “Experimental Browser” which means you can access the web internationally…absolutely free. Sure, it’s a bit slower, but living abroad and traveling a lot, it would definitely come in handy.
I would also get into discussions with coworkers and friends about books and reading. I love to read, but I think the love was stamped out of me in college and grad school. I had to read a lot for school, which means that recreational reading unfortunately became a thing of the past. Lately with the commute and wanting to reread some old classics, getting a kindle was more and more appealing.
The most common thing I’m told, and hear, is “what I love most about reading is being able to turn the pages”. While that viewpoint is understandable, the realistic side of me kicks in. Storage space in London is at a premium (unless you can afford something larger). But for the regular working couple, storage and space in general, isn’t easy to come by. This rules out having a bookcase able to hold the plethora of books I’d like to read. Thus, the kindle is really appealing because it’s all on 1 small device. Also, reading a book on the tube is hard because you have to turn pages. If a book is really long (say Book 7 of Harry Potter, or a longer spy novel I’ve been wanting to read…) putting in my purse would make it incredibly heavy, and don’t even try to read it one handed while standing and holding onto a bar on a swaying train.
Believe it or not, there are a lot of opportunities out there for free and/or discounted books. Many of the classics such as Secret Garden, Tale of Two Cities, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Sherlock Holmes are free.
3 ways to find cheap/discounted books:
1. Jungle-Search: I came across a search engine that allows users to search Kindle books on Amazon by subject, publisher and even price. If I wanted to search all books available between 0 and $1.99, just use the search function on: Jungle-Search
3. Convert Free Books online: Online there are all sorts of websites that have free ebooks: http://www.free-ebooks.net/ ; http://www.gutenberg.org/ ; http://www.manybooks.net/.
Most of them can be downloaded in the ePUB version or PDF. The version you need for the Kindle is MOBI. The program to make the conversion is called Calibre. You can plug in your Kindle and it will convert the files and transfer them. It’s free and you can use it on a PC or Mac. You can also use it to convert your own personal PDFs.
There are other e-readers out there that are available. The B&N Nook is a contender. They supposedly have more e-books available, and you can even borrow public library books on it. The main reason I didn’t want it is because it doesn’t have international 3G, and the coverage in areas outside of the US was questionable at best. With living overseas and traveling a lot, having access to books while traveling was a must for me.
What it boils down to is this: I read more and I’m loving it.
InspiredAdornations 
actually you can borrow books on the kindle now, between people and public libraries. they only let you borrow for 2 weeks max and then the book is returned automatically to the lender. and while the book is being borrowed, the lender can’t read it, just like a regular book. i love my kindle too. =)
Oh really?? I wonder if that’ll work in the UK. FUN!!! What are you reading now? 😀
I love my kindle too and am reading more and loving it. Dad loves it too especially since he likes to read and study on the go. I also just bought a cover/case for mine that allows me to prop up the device and read hands free at my desk. Even though it is a little bulkier, but I actually find it easier to hold.
Will have to check out those other websites that you suggested.
keep on reading, mom
I just started reading again too..thanks to the kindle app 🙂 I stopped enjoying reading for the same reasons as you, but starting to get back into it now that I’m reading kiddie books all day 😉 thanks for the links!
I loved reading while growing up — i was the kind of kid who read paperbacks under the covers, or read at the dinner table, or sat outside reading during recess. (Sweet Valley High, anyone? ) I cut out recreational reading in college, but for slightly different reasons: I knew that if I let myself read “fun” books, I would never finish my required reading. Since then, I’ve basically been too cheap to buy books, and public libraries are inconveniently only open during work hours or during the brief time on Saturdays when I need to run errands or sleep in. Fast forward to this past year, when I got a Kindle for my birthday. I read a bunch of classics, and really enjoyed it. I loaned it to my dad over the summer, and now it appears that it’s a permanent loan. Maybe it’s an excuse to get the Kindle Fire…
You should get another one! But isn’t the Kindle Fire harder on the eyes, reading-wise?
Love this post, deb! Thanks for sharing! 🙂