Kindle Vs. Books

When I got my first debit card at the age of sixteen, I wanted nothing more than to spend my paychecks on Hollister.com clothing and Amazon books.  Mostly Amazon books.  I would compile a list of books I wished to read and bought about 10 to 15 paperback novels at once.  I loved checking the mail to see if I had received a silver plastic shipping bag that contained my orders.

The summer after I graduated, my mother offered to buy me a brand new Amazon Kindle Keyboard.  I wasn't sure what to make of this new contraption.  Why would I want an electronic device to read my books off of when I can embrace the touch and smell of a real book?  I heard much excitement around these new e-readers.  Curious, I researched the Kindle Keyboard.  My mother reminded me that if I wasn't satisfied with the Kindle, I could return it to Amazon with no questions asked.  On those terms, I decided to give it a try.  If you happen to follow me on Instagram (click here to follow me!), I'm sure you've seen my Amazon Kindle reader debut itself a handful of times.

One of the many Amazon Kindle selfies on my IG.  Somehow these pictures always include some sort of coffee.

Some people are more fond of traditional books, while others prefer e-readers.  I'm talking e-readers here, people, not tablets.  I have owned two different Kindles in the span of five years.  So which do I prefer?

I grew up reading books.  I love the smell and feel of a physical book.  To this day, there isn't much I love more than walking into a bookstore and browsing around for hours.  I have fond memories of my mom and dad taking me into Barnes & Noble and buying me an entire series of books.  As the years passed, I started running out of room on my book shelves.  I tried to give away books to people who would enjoy them if I wasn't planning on reading them again.  However, that didn't seem to help my expanding book collection.  The storage on an e-reader is one of the major selling points.  I am able to store 1,500 books on my particular model.  After three years, I upgraded from the Kindle Keyboard 3G + WiFi to the Kindle Paperwhite 3G + WiFi.  My Kindle Keyboard was in perfect condition and held up through the years without any problems.  I switched because my first generation keyboard was not backlit.  This was countered by using a clip on light specifically made for Kindle.  However, I experienced a lot of glare.  I mostly read at night in bed before I go to sleep, so I felt that after three years, the upgrade to a touch screen, backlit Kindle was justified.  I am also able to learn new vocabulary words by touching and pressing on a word I am unfamiliar with, and the definition of that word will show.   Did I mention you can change the font size and spacing to what feels comfortable for you?  I do a bit of traveling, so I decided to purchase the 3G + WiFi model instead of the WiFi model.  Wherever I am, I can purchase a new book.  This has proven to be useful a handful of times when I was on a road trip or out of town and I finished a book and had no WiFi connections available.  I am able to connect to the Amazon store right from my Kindle to purchase a new book.  I find that Amazon offers e-books for a fraction of the printed version price.  I have saved so much money on books, the cost of the device has easily paid for itself.  Better yet, I can try a free sample of any book before I purchase. 

Holy e-book Heaven! Amazon currently offered 1.2 million books as of July 2014.  This number keeps on climbing as the e-reader prevails.

 I can sync my progress from Kindle, to PC and my phone.  This is really nice, as I typically don't carry my Kindle around with me.  Say, for instance, I am at the doctor's office waiting for my appointment, I can sync the Kindle app on my phone and pick up where I left off on my Kindle.  There are so many features on an e-reader that make your reading experience more pleasurable.  I find that the Kindle models are comfortable to hold and easy to read in sunlight or indoors.  The downside to Kindle is that some models do not offer a speaker for you to listen to audio books.  I am not a fan of audio books, so this was a non-issue for me, but it might be a deal breaker to some.

If you have been considering an e-reader, I say give it a try!  I still adore physical books and will buy a book if it's a good deal.  Otherwise, I have read every book in the past five years from my Kindle.  I was so skeptical at first, but investing in a Kindle was one of the best choices I have ever made!  I bought one for my mother as an early birthday gift last year.  She loved it so much, that we both brought our Kindles on our Palm Springs summer vacation and sat poolside and lounged around in the sun, reading our glare free e-readers.  It doesn't get much better than that. :)