Attention, readers! Whether your favorite genre is sci-fi or chick lit, books are no longer paper-only. As e-readers rise in popularity, book companies create more options (the iPad, Kindle, Nook, oh my!) Which to choose?
Although I could list off statistics about these devices all day long, I can offer personal advice about the Kindle. I got my Kindle for Christmas and now can officially say that I read more digital books than physical ones. I love it.
Hopefully I can help you! In my opinion, here are five of the Kindle’s best qualities:
1. It’s small and lightweight.
My favorite thing about my Kindle is its size. I like to read in bed, and so I always have to twist myself into awkward positions to hold the book upright. With my Kindle, I can lay on my back and hold the device above my head without getting tired. If I decide to change positions, I can always change the orientation of the text on my Kindle. Also, flipping pages no longer requires two hands – all I have to do is press a button. It’s super convenient.
2. I can carry around a ton of books simultaneously.
If I’m in a bad mood, I can just turn on my Kindle and select a novel. It loads in seconds – no long trip to the library necessary! If I suddenly have a change of heart and want to read something else, I can just go back to my home menu and select another one.
3. The battery lasts for a long time.
I’ve had my Kindle since December and I haven’t ever had to purposefully charge it. Because of its e-ink screen, the Kindle has a super battery. I just connect it via mini USB to my laptop when I load my books, and those ten minutes are enough to keep it working for weeks. For someone like me, who doesn’t ever remember to charge electronics, this feature is brilliant.
4. There’s no glare.
The Kindle features something called e-ink, which basically means that its screen isn’t a typical LCD screen. Instead of being shiny, the Kindle’s screen has a glare protector. This makes it seem even more like a book – it actually looks like you’re reading from paper pages.
5. The book selection rocks.
Since Amazon makes the Kindle, there are a wide variety of books available to download. Basically, anything you want to read, you can buy. If your specific book choice isn’t yet available for digital download, you can request to have it added to the list. However, you don’t even need to spend money to build up your Kindle library – there are thousands of free, copyright-less books on sites like Project Gutenberg. The Kindle also reads PDFs, which gives you even more options.
My favorite quotation about the Kindle controversy (“Books should be paper!” vs. “This is the future!”) is from young adult novelist John Green, “I don’t care how people read,” he said. “I care that they read.”
Wise words. Happy reading!