#1 Reason to own a Kindle?

[emsr18]

There are a million reasons why I love mine, but I think my favorite is that I can read anywhere (laying down in bed, at the gym, standing in line at the RMV) without fussing with page-turning and the weight of a heavy/hardcover book.

[KindleChickie]

Access to indy authors.

[Linjeakel]

I found it hard to pick just two! Most of those reasons are what drew me to the Kindle, plus the fact that I'm a total gadget geek. 

[BTackitt]

#1. Convenience..
#2. Amazon Customer Service.

[TLM]

Other!  Saves space. I keep my books and I was running out of room!  Plus all the rest of the list.

[m&m]

My vote: 
Convenience/Portability
Other

The other vote was for the TTS option.  I LOVE this for the gym- On the treadmill or elliptical, it's too bouncy for me to read.  With TTS, I can listen and vaguely keep up with where I am on the page in case I have a hard time understanding the voice.  TTS is the #1 reason I replaced my K2 with a K3 instead of a Nook.  I went through gym reading withdrawls after I sold my K2!

[gina1230]

Definitely convenience and portability.  Way too hard to read a paperback on the back of a motorcycle.  All the pages kept ripping out and flying down the highway.

[mooshie78]

Convenience, but voted other as it's not really the portability or shopping per se.

For me the main appeal of e-books was not having a physical copy of a book I had to store or hassle with selling/donating since I hardly ever re-read (or having to hassle with the library).

But I guess that--and many reasons people are giving--are more reasons for going e-books rather than Kindle specifically.  For the Kindle decision, it was the price and selection of the Amazon store and the whispersync that sold me on them vs. the other e-reader options.

[Trophywife007]

For me, all of the above.  Initially it was the convenience of having a whole slew of books with me at all times, especially for travel.  Then I realized how convenient it was to shop and receive new books... then being able to read anywhere without any questionable covers/titles showing... then there was advantage of not having to get more bookshelves to hold my ever increasing library.  I love everything about owning a Kindle and would be hard pressed to choose just one or two features.

[KimberlyinMN]

All of the above for me too. I like having all of my books in one location and no matter how many books I have on my Kindle, it still weighs the same. I like the privacy of reading whatever book I want to without other people seeing what I am reading. (Not that I read books that other people shouldn't know about... but I still like to keep that private.)

[Tripp]

For me, all of the above.  Initially it was the convenience of having a whole slew of books with me at all times, especially for travel.  Then I realized how convenient it was to shop and receive new books... then being able to read anywhere without any questionable covers/titles showing... then there was advantage of not having to get more bookshelves to hold my ever increasing library.  I love everything about owning a Kindle and would be hard pressed to choose just one or two features.

^what she said^

[Cardinal]

I wanted an eReader for:

Not having to deal with the weight of long paper book.

Easily look up words in a dictionary.

Change font size.

I bought a Kindle instead of a different eReader because of Amazon's customer service.

[NapCat]

I had never seen an e-reader until a friend showed me his new K3.  I was literally stunned at the  clarity of the page.  Once I started "browsing" the bookstore, I was hooked.

Not to mention, the LCF  (Look Cool Factor)....very Trekky !!  "Engage" !!

[chuckf410]

I actually find that the lack of a cover is a bit of a downfall. The reason being is the book you are reading can be a conversation starter. I've met several people over the years that became friends where the first thing that was said was something to the effect of 'I've heard good things about that book, is it any good?'

While the Kindle itself is a conversation starter at times, the conversation tends to fizzle out quicker I've found.

[robins777]

Acess to Indie authors and many hundreds of free books. Portability is of no concern as I never read away from home so I still buy all books other than from Indie authors in paper format.

[Fireheart223]

I'd have to say that portability is the number one reason for me, having your whole library all in one device.

[arshield]

I said portability, but I would include lack of a need for bookshelves in that.

My other is the screen. I have read on everything from a Palm III to and iPad and I prefer the kindle screen for most things. 

[kindlegrl81]

I love that I can carry all my books with me at one time without killing my back (or my bag) and I love the built-in dictionary.  Before getting a kindle, if I came upon a word I was not sure about I would try to infer it's meaning by context and tell myself to look it up later. However I very rarely looked anything up later  .  With the Kindle I can look the word up in seconds and my vocabulary has improved because of it.

[JimC1946]

Access to indy authors.

That's one of my biggest reasons. It's hard for indies to compete in price with the big publishers in printed books, but the Kindle has been a real boon for indies.

[DreamWeaver]

My #1 reason to own a Kindle is accessibility.  There are so many interesting indie books!

I also love having so many choices right at my fingertips.  It's great being able to select which book to read next according to my mood, as my interests are all over the map.  I also use text-to-speech quite often, and being able to resize the font is wonderful.  Sometimes my eyes are more tired, and at those times I find a larger font more comfortable for reading.

[Tuttle]

1. Eink is easier to read on than paper with a headache (for me personally).

2. Convenience with having it everywhere I'm going and able to read whatever I'm in the mood for at the time.

[ireadbooks]

My main reason would be my increase in reading, which I suppose would be a result of convenience/portability.

I've been reading much more since I received my Kindle because it's so easy to just toss in my bag/backpack.

And because I have so many to choose from, I never have to narrow my options and decide which book to bring for the day.

[Xopher]

The reason I got it was for convenience.

The reason I love it is finding new authors and expanding my reading options.

I've found a lot of different (indie and mainstream) authors I probably wouldn't have even glanced at in a bookstore. Some were introduced to me through free book offerings (like Robin Hobb - ended up purchasing her entire library). Others through the forums (lots of new indie authors). I am finding a lot more time to read now, reading a lot more (3-4 books per month instead of 3-4 books a year), and reading a lot more different genres than before.

[Blanche]

I love having an e-reader but I do miss being able to see the book cover.  I see that is a downside because I find that I have a hard time remembering the name of a book once I have finished it.  Even the great books!  I always remembered the title/author with the DTB -- I think because I carted the book with me everywhere and saw the title and author all the time.  But then again, it might just be an age and memory thing....

[AnnetteL]

Portability is a big one for me. I can slip it into my purse and read anywhere, even on the treadmill at the gym. (I love hitting a button while watching others working out while trying to manage pages and a clunky book.)

Another big plus for me is being able to send myself text documents. I've been a writing contest judge, and it's SO much easier to read entries on my Kindle than on my computer.

Finally, it's a small thing, but I love the built-in light in my cover. I didn't expect to love it as much as I do, but it's come in really handy!