Life Musings

I'm not ready to buy a Kindle, as I'm trying to watch my expenses. I do think that the following comments from one netizen make sense, though:

You might be thinking of the Kindle as the same thing, going from not carrying a book reader around to having one. That's extra space being taken up by another device.

But look at a different scenario. You're a bookworm. You always have a book in your purse or bag that you carry around with you, so in those quiet moments when you're eating lunch or waiting for someone, you can flip it open and read. In that case, you're already making space for a book. The Kindle has roughly the same face dimensions as a book and is thinner, so it's a net gain on space.

Or say you're a student, working your way through three different books in three different classes. Those three books may well be taking up space in your backpack already, when the Kindle can hold all three with no problem. In these two cases, the ability to carry a thin e-book reader when you would otherwise be carrying a thick paperback makes much more sense than simply adding a new tech device to your arsenal.

There's also the difference in manipulation. I like to be able to read at lunch, but I hate books for it. Holding a book open with one hand is uncomfortable and cumbersome, especially as I read quickly and turn pages at a good clip. With a Kindle, I can lay it on the table and just read at my own pace, tapping the Next Page key every so often.

In fact, I got an e-book reader for my Nintendo DS for this very purpose; I set the text to display in the top screen which I can angle as I please, and I only have to hit a key to advance the text. It's extremely convenient for reading while eating or doing something else that doesn't require a lot of attention. The only problem is the DS reader only takes books in .txt form, and it's difficult to get books in that format legally and easily. A Kindle is a very tempting device in that respect.