Saturday, August 07, 2010

I love to read....

There was a great Twilight Zone episode....the original Twilight Zone, back in 1959 to be exact. The episode was called "Time Enough at Last" it was with Burgess Meridith. The story was that Henry Bemis was a book nerd.
His life was books, then there was a catastrophe and he was in the basement vault, and his life was saved.
He exits the building and sees devastation and it appears that he is the only survivor. (You know there were many stories like this, since everyone had to have fallout shelters etc, for the blast)

Anyway, he exits the library with scores of books, is excited that he has all the books, literature, art on and on.
He contentedly sorts the books he intends to read for the next several years. Just as he reaches to pick up the first book, he stumbles and his glasses fall off and shatter. (His glasses are extremely thick, indicating he would be virtually blind without them.)

That is my fear....I have noticed that as I get older, I need more light, and holding the book in bed makes my arm fall asleep.

It's not fair....
So, I just got myself a Kindle.

In one week, I have read 3 books already.

It is great. the contrast of the unit, allows me to read it in dim light as well as full sunlight outside. The unit will also change the type size from minuscule to about half a dozen words on the page.....( not there yet )

Anyway, this will download books direct from Amazon, you can also save them on your computer, move them from computer to the Kindle, etc.
It also has a word reader which will actually read the book for you. ( Don't need that yet ) the unit downloads the books even in Mexico, and tons of other countries.

I have had it for a week and have not needed to charge it yet. I looked at the Apple Ipad, but there were some issues with the files not being able to offload them etc, like Apple usually does with their "protection".

My wife was also using it, and since she also travels, I decided to get one for her also. Hers is the smaller sized one. We can access any and all the books that we purchase on either unit.

It will also surf the net, but kind of clumsy though, I didn't buy it for that application so I really don't care. You can subscribe to newspapers from around the world.

Try one , I have not been this excited about anything this practical for a long time.

I read that our blooger friend Leslie also has one and loves it! So I wasn't' the first nor will be the last. I have been purchasing books and stuff from Amazon for years. In the last 4 or 5 years I have only had one issue in getting the package to Patzcuaro, so it wasn't postal delivery that made my choice.
It is nice to get the book in a few minutes. I have since subscribed to Readers Digest and a few other monthly magazines.
With newspapers going by the wayside, this is the future of print media.

Can you tell that I am sold on the concept. It is less tiring on my eyes and the battery lasts all week without a charge.

Try one you'll like it!

And they work in Mexico and Honduras....

8 comments:

Don Cuevas said...

Thank you for buying Kindles. Although I'm a big Apple fan, (although not an indiscriminate fanboy) I want the AMZN stock price to rise.
rise. Rise RISE!

Kindles: they'll make great Christmas stocking stuffers. Amazon probably also sells stockings. They sell just about everything now. I buy my computers from them. The service is excellent. (I don't have them ship to Mexico but instead, a U.S. address.) There's a bedding sale on right now.

I don't have a Kindle yet, but I do have the Kindle software on my Internet devices. You can also get the Kindle app for iPad or iPhone! So, you can be even more a mobile reader.

Saludos,
Don Cuevas

Michael Dickson said...

Definitely in my future.

Anonymous said...

glad you're "not there yet" as far as needing the letters to be so big that you only have 12 words on a page-hopefully you never will be.

glad to see so many people like kindle. guess i'm kind of old fashioned and not into technological gadgets. i like the feel of a book in my hand. and how would kindle hold up if you're reading at the beach? would the sand mess it up if it got into it? i sometimes like to read while in the pool and i just hold my book out of the side. not sure i could do that with a kindle. i'm not putting it down by any means, i just don't think it's for me. but to those who do like it-read away!!!!!

Calypso said...

Wow not one but two - that ebay money burning a hole in your pocket amigo?

Tancho said...

Don Cuevas; Yep I get a lot of stuff on Amazon, and like you have some puny amount of shares in it, Although knowing you, you might have a "position" with Jeff. I can't wait until Starbucks comes to Patzcuaro too, I bit on that one also, years ago. I considered putting in a link to instantly carry you to the order page on Amazon, to earn my 15% commission, but decided that would be too tacky...at least right now.
Felipe; I resisted for a long time, but as Calypso said, had some change in my account from unloading stuff, so decided to buy a toy...after all, I need to tap out the old bank account before the foreseeable future, I hope in awhile though.
Anon; The unit is pretty robust, I always had an issue with holding the book so that I could still see the pages while letting in the light...with one hand, especially in bed when in dim light...not anymore.
Calypso; It is also an MP3 player, and quite honestly I am getting tired of my Iphone/Ipod because of all the copyright hassles, not allowing easy movement between devices....this doesn't have that problem.

Leslie Harris said...

I am still completely enamored with my Kindle. I was an avid reader as a child and as a teen. And I continued to read when I got married, but not as often. Then it all came to a halting stop when we moved to Mexico. (I read faster in English than I do in Spanish!) The Kindle has reawakened my passion for reading.

I am so happy to hear/read that you and your wife are also loving your Kindles! :)

Steve Cotton said...

And I will join you soon. I am now on a wait list.

Pat said...

Chris & I love our Kindles...