Friday, February 27, 2009

Sharing My Kindle With You (But Not Really, So Don't Get Any Ideas)

My husband recently bought me a Kindle 2.0, The Best Gift Ever. Even knowing that it is my Valentine's Day/Mother's Day/Arbor Day gift does not dampen my affection for this little slice of technological heaven. It is quite possibly the perfect gift for me.

I confess that when Daddy Shortbread received his first iPod and went into raptures about how awesome and life-changing it was, I may have discreetly rolled my eyes a few times and/or mocked him to my friends. A bit. (Sorry). I mean, I have a iPod, too, and it's cool for the gym and all...but, dude. Get a grip.

Then I got my Kindle and realized that God had made an ultimate gadget for me, too. Because Daddy Shortbread : Music, as Jenn : Books.

I will read just about anything, unless it sucks or I get bored. Life is way too short to ready crappy writing or lame plots, and I sometimes have a mild panic attack when I think about all the well-crafted, beautifully written books that I will never have the chance to read. Really, this keeps me awake at night. I am that dorky. Knowing that there is an unlimited supply of awesome books out there makes me completely ruthless when I encounter a crappy one. I'll give it a couple of chapters, check the ending to see if things improve, and then ditch it if they do not. No mercy. Next!

The Kindle revolutionizes reading for me. How? I'm so glad you asked because I was going to tell you anyway.

1. It's sexy. I look cute holding it.

2. It holds 1500 books.

3. You can buy new books FROM YOUR KINDLE using the same basic technology as a cell phone. Don't ask me for details. I haven't got a clue how this works. Let's just pretend a magical fairy named "Whispernet" lives inside the Kindle and flies off to Amazon to get me new books when I order them, K? And Whispernet is a fast little sucker because the new books show up in less than a minute.

4. You can buy these books with one click of a button. This is also kind of dangerous, if you tend to be a somewhat "spontaneous" shopper like myself. (But it's in the name of KNOWLEDGE).

5. It talks to me. Seriously. If my delicate lil' peepers are fatigued from reading, I push a button and it reads out loud to me. I can even decide if I want the robotic female or robotic male voice to read. Bug is enchanted by this feature.

6. I can change the size of the type. This is huge for me, since I can see about as well as a platypus, which Daddy Shortbread assured me has terible eyesight when I just now ordered him to name an animal that doesn't see well.

7. It's environmentally friendly. E-books mean no paper, no exhaust pollution from shipping, and no chemicals from ink. See all the cool ways I can rationalize buying books now?

8. The screen is not back-lit like a computer, so it's easy on the eyes and you can read it in bright sunlight. I didn't believe this either, but it's true.

9. There's a bunch of other cool things about it, but I'm getting hungry and there are cranky short people kvetching about wanting dinner, so you'll have to go to Amazon.com if you want to know more. (And, nope, they're not paying me to review their product, but I'd happily accept some e-books as thanks, if they're reading. Hello? Amazon?)

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

#7 - except of course for the toxic-waste spewing plastic/circuitboard factory in China with the slave-labor - but as long at it keeps churning out iPods and Kindles, well...

smalltownme said...

I'm happy to meet another Kindle lover. I've had the original Kindle for over a year now and I adore it. It doesn't talk to me, though. Sniff.

I got all of Jane Austen for 99 cents! How cool is that!

Anonymous said...

my dearly departed K had something resembling your Kindle, but I believe she did not call it by that name, but she was so excited and happy with it, that she took it everywhere with her. Enjoy!

Butternut Boutique said...

I TOO stay awake at night panicking over all of the books I won't get a chance to read in my lifetime. :) Didja read the news today that they're going to restrict the audio feature due to the publishers' complaints? I'll still love my Baby K regardless.

Anonymous said...

My favorite was when my computer guy, in a slip of the tongue, referred to it as a "Spindle." High-larious.

Anonymous said...

As for the impact on our bank account of its ability to purchase books with a click - I may dub it "Dwindle."

Manifestation said...

Thanks Jenn,that's so adorable Kindle gift.Wish you and all Mom's around the globe a joyful Mother's day.

lol:)
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The Avid Reader said...

Just found you over at The Bloggess. I am SO DAMN JEALOUS of your Kindle! I've been wanting one since last summer and the bf is so sick of my whining he's agreed to buy me one when we get our tax return. :) :) Hopefully at that point there isn't a 400 week shipping delay. Glad you're enjoying yours!

My only worry (obviously unadmitted to the bf who went into a little sticker shock when he first saw the price and then went, "so all the books must be free, right? RIGHT??) is will it feel weird/distracting to be reading that instead of holding a book?? Do you find that you quickly forget that you're not holding an actual book, or does that kind of bug you?

Also, does it save a copy of the books you buy somewhere (your computer, Amazon.com, anywhere)?? In other words if I someday break it and have to buy a replacement, will I have to replace my whole library too? And if I manage to go over 1500 books (omg how much of a dork does that make me) can I move some onto my computer or something to free up space on the Kindle for more without losing any?

Sorry for hitting you with so many questions! I'll be back to check out more of your site.