February 16, 2011

Reading is Fundamental

** Editor's Note: as most of you know, I refrain from reviewing products on this site because I am always afraid it will be misinterpreted as product placement and detract from the sincerity of my original intentions for this blog.  Nevertheless, this particular product is freakin' awesome and there's an actual point to all of this.  However, you'll have to read all the way to the bottom to see what it is.  Or, I suppose, you could just use the scroll bar.  But then you'll miss out on all the words my brain was able to string together while Lil Sippy Cup sang old Motown hits in my ear. **

I received an Amazon Kindle as a Valentine's Day gift this past weekend.

And while I will not say anything as ridiculous as "It will change the way you read!" (as it turns out, you still need to use your eyes), I will say that it is pretty damn amazing.

You see, we're a set of dedicated readers in this house.  Unfortunately, due to limited space and square footage restrictions, shelf space comes at a pretty high premium.  However, we never felt that we should sacrifice our love of reading just because we, literally, had no more space for books.

The obvious solution was an e-reader; they're thinner than a pencil and can hold up to 3,500 books .  However, I had refrained from purchasing one simply because I was worried about the dreaded eye-strain caused by back-lit screens.

Thankfully, the Kindle utilizes an "e-ink screen".  I won't go into the specifics of how this works (if you're really curious, click here) but just know that reading on the Kindle is exactly like reading a printed page.  It's like magic, I swear.

Another added benefit is the fact that it is almost weight-less.  I will proudly admit that I am one of those super-nerds who enjoys the heft and feel of actual printed books.  However, I do not enjoy the added weight of a hardcover novel in a diaper bag (an accessory that will become part of my daily attire pretty soon). 

Plus, I tend to be super self-conscious about the books I'm reading; while I will sit with an obnoxious air and read Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace on the train, I will save Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga (don't judge me!) for the privacy of my own home.

The Kindle was an elegant solution to all of these problems.

Now, here's the awesome part I promised at the beginning of this post: Amazon let's you publish your blog for downloading onto the Kindle.  For a small monthly subscription rate, you can have your favorite blog wirelessly downloaded onto your device automatically (on a daily basis) for your reading pleasure everywhere you may go.

I will let you figure out why this is (a) important and (b) relevant.

Stay tuned for further updates.

1 comment:

Black6x said...

I actually like the fact that the Kindle creates consistent size for reading material. You always know how much space you need to carry your books around.