I’m in first-class – a rarity for me these days – and enjoying the pampering. My travel is a lark compared to that of the 700 hardy religious dissenters aboard the Arbella, sailing across the Atlantic to plant their families and their beliefs in the wilderness of New England.

The first-class cabin of this Bombardier regional jet has only twelve seats. And of those twelve, I’m spotting no less than three Kindles around me. (That’s including mine.)

While I think that’s a record “in-the-wild” sighting for me, I’m definitely seeing more and more Kindles these days.

How do you solve a problem that continues to grow and grow (and grow and grow) for voracious readers like me? I had read some e-books on my computer at times but it really wasn’t the same. I couldn’t bring my computer with me in the car to read. I couldn’t throw it in my purse just in case I found a free minute or two during the day. It was a nuisance to drag my laptop to bed with me, and my favorite reading chair just wasn’t cut out for both a computer and a person.

While e-books seemed like the natural answer, to read them conveniently I’d have to get an e-reader. In early 2008 I was seduced by the idea of the Amazon Kindle. I had been looking for an e-reader for a long time but didn’t understand the formatting and it always seemed very scary. Download and move files? Pdf, prc, or mobi files? Connecting e-readers to the computer? File formatting? They were all very foreign ideas that seemed ripe for ways to get a virus or other horrible thing on my computer. It seemed like much too much work to read a book.

Amazon Kindle changed all that for me. All the problems I had with computer reading and formatting were eliminated. An e-book reader is just like a paperback in size. I can take it everywhere I took paperbacks and have even more books in my hand at one time then ever before. Being able to purchase books and have them sent magically to my Kindle via Whispernet seemed very easy and I was hooked.

Some obscure but equally great advantages for using an e-reader occurred to me once I’d been using it for a while. First of all, my paperback collection stopped growing (making my husband very happy and reducing the number of “dead bodies” piling up). Next, I realized that on the Kindle, it doesn’t matter what smutty thing I’m reading, it’s private and the cover isn’t hanging out there for everyone to judge. Also, my husband has a much harder time discovering just how many books I am buying and reading (and don’t any of you tell him!). Finally, e-books are essentially a greener alternative to the paperback so I am doing the environment a favor. There’s no telling how many trees that would otherwise have died live on because I’m reading e-books. Win, win, WIN and win again.

Soon after I purchased my Kindle, I branched out and found that I could purchase multi-formatted e-books from other sources like Allromanceebooks.com for my e-reader too. Thanks to wonderful responsive customer service and updates in technology I found it was easy to get my new choices onto my Kindle. I’m not confined to just Amazon selections. Wow! Once that door opened I found new authors, a huge new selection of books to choose from and brand new genres I had never read before. Some of these new books just don’t make it into paperback format like mainstream authors. This is not because they aren’t wonderful, well written stories but because their audience and potential market value doesn’t justify printing costs and expense. E-books solve that problem and allow for authors to take chances and create exciting, thrilling stories and create new niche markets and fads that I found I love to read.

The satisfaction I get from seeing my paperback books all crammed into those bookshelves is now fulfilled by holding my 4G flash drive with all my e-books on it. True it isn’t as pretty or colorful but it also doesn’t collect any dust. I keep 1000+ books in my purse and 50+ on my Kindle directly now. My days of worry that I won’t have something to read if my plane is delayed or I am suddenly stuck waiting for a long period of time are gone.

So let’s talk about fads. These days, in one hand I have tales of pirates, war heroes, English nobility, Australian outback adventurers, highlanders, cowboys, plantation owners, time travelers, vampires, werewolves, wizards, witches, shape shifters and more, plus chick lit, contemporary and historical settings and every type of plot you can imagine. I have the driest non-fiction to the most explicit erotica. You will find gay and straight, human and non-human, silly and serious main characters, not to mention combinations of the above. There are famous mainstream authors and prolific e-book authors but my favorite is the obscure one-time wonders that touch my heart and fire my imagination. These are all stored on my Kindle along with biographies, cookbooks, self-help, how-to’s, city guides, dictionaries and reference sources. The types of books available is as diverse as there are people to read them and to write them.

On the subject of fads, one thing I believe strongly is that e-books and e-readers are not a fad. While characters, plots and settings may change with the moods of the reading public, the e-book and e-reader are here to stay.

Regardless of which e-book reader or format used, at the end of the day, a selection of choices infinitely larger (and more economical!) than mere print books await my decisions. “Pick me next!” Pick me!” they cry out just waiting for that right mood to strike so that I choose them to curl up with in my favorite chair for a nice long visit.

This article was reprinted, with permission, from Wildfire, the twice weekly newsletter of All Romance eBooks. The author, JenMcJ, has always been a reading addict and her current fascination is all things e-book. Since she hasn’t found a single person in her regular life that likes to read the same type of stories she does, she was surprised to step out into the internet and find a huge circle of friends from all over the world that do. Still, family, friends and even neighbors know that if she can put it off to sit down and read, she will. Thus, the canceled appointments, late arrivals, dusty house and pile of laundry waiting to be done are no surprise anymore, least of all to her husband and children.

As much as I love my Kindle, this is one thing I can’t do: leave a book behind for an unsuspecting stranger to discover and love as much as I did. Although, to be honest, I enjoyed The Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society so much, I’m not sure I would leave it behind…I might want to read it again one of these days.

The lead author, Mary Ann Shaffer, had worked on this book for years, doing extensive research and making many trips to Guernsey. In December, 2007, she became unexpectedly ill. Her niece, Annie Barrows (who is an author in her own right) stepped into collaborate with her aunt and help her finish the book. Shaffer died in February 2008 and sadly, after all those years of work, never had the chance to see the book in print (the hardcover version was published in July 2008).

You can buy the Kindle version of the book at Amazon.com

Before leaving, I had received by e-mail various documents from the Program Coordinator and some of the presenters.  I was able to format them for reproduction and distribution and convert them to PDF format and load onto my Kindle.

Accordingly, I already had many of the ‘handouts’ as well as having the schedule for the week readily accessible.  In addition, I had downloaded a trip planner and had that available for our trip from Arlington, Virginia to Erlanger, Kentucky.  And I had copies of our auto insurance cards on the Kindle as well; fortunately, that wasn’t needed!

I also had some music that I was able to put into PDF format.  I already knew it would display just fine, but I wanted to find out if it was practical to use in a ‘real world’ situation.  What I found is that, for me at least, it’s not great if you are learning a piece, because you usually need to go back and forth to work on specific passages.  But once you have learned the piece and just need the music there to remind you of what’s coming up it works okay.

I also tried a piece  in guitar tablature.  That was also very readable though the landscape mode did not work as well just because of the layout of the piece.  I did get asked if there was a remote system for page turns using a foot pedal or something;  guitarists tend to have both hands on their instruments and page turns can be problematic.

In addition to actual music, I also downloaded a number of free chord charts for guitar as well as some fingering charts for flute.  They were very readable and it was nice to have them readily available.  I even found some ukulele chord charts on line, which I went ahead and included although I wasn’t bringing my ukulele with me.

While there, my daily Washington Post downloaded automatically so I could keep up with what was going on in the world.  I generally had several interested observers when I was reading it.  I found out that I’d been the catalyst for one of the folks to have purchased a Kindle for his wife after he saw my K1 last year – I  think I’ve convinced him he needs to get her an Oberon cover this year!  And one of the presenters was very interested in the DX for his 92 year old mother who finds it hard to read regular books.  Of course I told him also about the font enhancements available, if needed.

In short, I put it to good use for the week.  I found it worked better than paper for working through the handouts for the various sessions.  Next year I’ll absolutely encourage the presenters to send me e-copies ahead of time:  maybe I won’t have to carry around any paper at all!

A wise and loving mother recently joined KindleBoards to plan a very special care package for her son in Iraq.

“I joined the KindleBoards community several weeks ago to get advice about the feasibility of sending a Kindle to my son in Iraq,” writes KindleBoards member Guernsey. “I’ve whiled away the early weeks of his deployment by spending hours at this site. With all the good advice I’ve read here, I’m ready to send this ‘armored’ up Kindle to him.”

Check out the thoughtful package that Guernsey prepared:

• A new Kindle 2

• A DecalGirl skin in dark burled wood

• A Boxwave Kindle screen protector

• A Patagonia Kindle case

• A Trendy Digital waterproof Kindle bag

• A B&W Type 10 foam-lined, lockable hard case with latches and handle

• 150+ books (mostly free books – classics and newer freebies recommended in the KindleBoards Book Corner)

She even fabricated a a custom modification for the Pategonia case, to make it more durable.

A few hours ago, Guernsey received an email that her son has received the Kindle. With it, she had packed the many well-wishes that have been posted on our forum boards. What a great mom! I lift a prayer for your son’s safe deployment.

For more details, pictures, and reactions from our members, don’t miss this thread.

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Now here’s a real piece of Kindling, lasered up in plywood by Cockeyed’s Rob and his buddy Windell. The Amazon Kindling features:

Wireless: Start reading anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, service plans, or hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots
Uses no batteries or electricity; observe it for days without recharging.
No need to shut it off during air travel
Storage: Holds 900 bytes of information (about 120 words)
Made of plywood, a material often featured in Extreme Makeover Home Edition
Complete lack of functional buttons.
Also makes a handy cutting board.

Update: this item is for sale now on eBay – current bid is $61.

Source: SlipperyBrick

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I was riding on the WashDC Metrorail, commuting home last night, and had a discussion with a family of tourists.  My seatmate was a young woman with her perhaps 7 year-old daughter on her lap (the train was crowded). Dad and son were standing.

They noticed my Kindle 2 and asked about it, so of course I was off to the races and told them about its many features and how much I liked it.  The little girl said in a very happy voice, “Oh how nice, it would be perfect for me”.

I felt the immediate need to explain that it was not a toy (I did NOT say that).  But I did say that it was expensive – $350.00.  And that it was really only justified for heavy readers.

They explained that the little girl has asthma.  Like many children with it, she limits her physical and outside activities. So she reads a lot.  AND…wait for it…when she opens a book, she almost immediately starts to cough.  Especially with library books.

Wow.  You could have knocked me over with a feather.  It never occurred to me.

So here is a little girl for whom this device would not be too expensive at all.  In fact when you think about it, it is cheap.  And it has the chance to change and enhance her life.

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Review of Setting Sun, by Eloise Baker

I was just browsing in the book store and saw the newly released copy of Setting Sun by Eloise Baker, the second book in the Gathering Dusk series, and I have to say I’m disappointed. I hate to write a negative review, but the people deserve to know how much publisher “Planet Upsilon Novels” is exploiting readers!

First of all I was extremely disappointed at the lack of backlit pages. I can’t even read it in bed without waking up my wife. Even if it did have a backlight, I still couldn’t read in bed as the page-turning sounds are far too loud. Thanks a lot PUN — this is 2009! Surely we have the technology now; you’re just cheaping out.

Additionally, the book is highly deceptive in that while the cover is full color, the actual pages themselves are all black and white. Think how beautiful the book could be with some hand-drawn, COLOR pictures!

Don’t even get me started on the size of the pages. They’re too darn small! I should be able to read for AT LEAST fifteen minutes without having to turn a page, but PUN has decided once again to CHEAP OUT with production costs.

Did I mention the book is only available in one color? This is ridiculous. I specifically select all my other gadgets to be color-coordinated with my home décor and my wife, and this is simply unacceptable.

Even worse is that in the long term the book would become completely unreadable as the pages are not user-replaceable! It seems if any fall out in the first year I can return the book for a new copy, but what about 10, 15, 20 years down the road? If I’m spending $12.95 on something I expect it to last!

On that note: $12.95 for a book in today’s economy? How do they expect people to afford this? This is a clear example of price-gouging; after all, the cost to manufacture it can’t be more than five or six cents, so why the huge price? WELL, PUN?

There’s also the issue of the Digital Rights Marauding (DRM) included mandatorily with the book. Since I bought the book it should belong to me, and the DRM won’t even let me copy the text into a friend’s book! This is a clear violation of my rights as a consumer, and we should all boycott PUN until they see the light.

My mother-in-law’s third cousin twice removed (adopted) bought this book from PUN several months ago, and accidentally dropped it only TWO INCHES into a mud puddle. He called PUN, fully expecting a refund (or at least a free replacement) but they told him no! I realize there is falling damage here, but look at two inches on a ruler — it’s tiny! Yet another example of PUN exploiting their customers.

Some more bad points:

• No user-installable programs (I just want a simple stock ticker!)
• No PDF support (in this day and age!)
• No case included — this is a big one! Expect to shell out an additional $30 on top of the cost of the book itself!

All in all, PUN has clearly demonstrated that they’re only in it to make money. I haven’t even read the book and I can already plainly see that its only purpose is to steal money away from today’s hard-working citizens. DO NOT BUY!

Rating: 1/5 stars

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On the Kindle Klassic, to look up a word, move the silver scroll to the line with the unknown word and click. From the menu that appears, choose “Lookup.” A window will open with definitions of all the words in that line. Scroll to the word in question and click again and a more detailed definition will appear. To return to your book, press the BACK key once.

Screenshot of "My Clippings" with definitions from the dictionary

On the K2, the dictionary function has changed quite a bit. No longer are you given definitions for all the words in line; instead, use the 5-way controller to move the cursor up and over to the specific word you are interested in. At the bottom of the screen, a “mini” definition will appear in the search box. To read a more detailed definition, press the ENTER key (the arrow with a tail on the right hand side of the keyboard) and the dictionary entry will open. The BACK key returns you to your place in your book.

A new feature in the K2 is the ability to highlight a definition and save it to your clippings file. Personally, I need to read a word and its definition several times over the course of several days to really learn it and have it stay it my mind. The ability to highlight and save so that I can go back and review the word is a great new feature in the K2.

We have a thread on Kindleboards where people (well, mostly me!) share new words they’ve learned on their Kindles. Come join us and share your disquisition on the topic!

The Kindle 2 debuted three weeks ago. (Yes, it was only three weeks ago!)

In the unveiling, Jeff Bezos noted that the Kindle 2 is, amazingly, 25% thinner than the iPhone 3G (that’s the newer, thinner iPhone).

These photos show the relative thickness. Here’s my Kindle 2 and my iPhone 3G. That Kindle 2 is pretty slim indeed!

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