I Broke Down And Bought A "Kindle"

Well, I finally got a Kindle.  Yep, I just broke down and bought one.  I figured, “Go ahead.  You might as well.  You know you’re going to do it eventually, anyhow.”

You say, “What is a ‘Kindle’?”

A Kindle is a digital tablet, about the size of a very thin soft cover book, that allows the user to download books—for a lower price than the usual cost of a book.  The downloaded books which reside on the device—it can store over a thousand—can then be read off of the screen of the Kindle.  You might say it’s digital internet technology applied to books.

Some of you purists are yelling, “No, Dan!  No!  Please tell me you didn’t cave in!”

Sorry, I caved.

You say, “But I love the FEEL of a real physical book.”

I know.  I do, too.

You say, “I love the SMELL of a real physical book.”

I know.  I do, too.  I love rolling around in piles of books.  But the Kindle has some advantages that finally caused me to crack, like easy portability of hundreds of books; and cost—books on Kindle are much less expensive—and I read a lot of books; and speed of delivery of the book (seconds).

The Kindle has a wireless capability which allows books to be downloaded without wiring it directly to a computer.  So, even though my Kindle hasn’t actually arrived yet, it’s still being shipped, I have already downloaded two books that will be resident on my Kindle when I open it from the packaging!

Technologically speaking, I realize that’s not actually all that remarkable.  But I’m sort of like a guy who was transported from 50 years in the past, up to the present when it comes to technology, so that still amazes me.

This probably sounds like a commercial for Kindle.  It’s not.  (Frankly, I don’t think they’ll need any help from me.)  I love books.  If physical books ever stopped being produced I’d cry for days.  Sort of like I do when I finish eating an ice cream cone and then it’s not there anymore.  But I have to admit, the Kindle seems like it is going to be very handy.

P.S.  That sound you hear is the cry of thousands of books lovers lamenting this post.  Well, actually, there aren’t thousands of people who read these posts.  Let me put it this way: that sound you hear is the cry of both books lovers who read this blog, lamenting this post.