I'll try not to gush, here.
I received my Kindle last week.
There are two versions of the Kindle, the first and second generation. I actually bought a first-generationer (secondhand), and I am loving it. The only differences between the two are a little streamlining in shape, a "shorter page turn", and the second generation doesn't hold an SD card.
Many of the reviews I read before purchasing a Kindle had me worried, because most of them complained endlessly about how annoying it was to have to wait for the page to turn when they clicked the Next Page or Previous Page button. When you turn the page on a Kindle, the screen flickers a bit and then changes. Honestly, it is so much more convenient to hold this tiny white thing in my hand than a book, I don't mind the page turning at all. Many articles I read made the page refresher seem unbearably long, when it really isn't.
Does anyone ever get that terrible cramp across their palm when trying to hold a book open with one hand to read while doing something else?
I do.
The Kindle is great because it's like holding a book that's all contained on one page. I find myself reading quite a bit faster and absorbing quite a bit more information than on a regular book, because turning pages manually has always distracted me. The Kindle also holds your place in the book when you turn it off, so you're easily returned to your page, instead of having to remember whether you were on the left, or the right.
The battery lasts for a couple days turned on, and more than a week turned off. This is invaluable to me, because my phone and iPod are always dying with negligence of charge. The screen is made of digital ink--something like an EtchaSketch. You can read in bright sunlight perfectly clearly.
I do find myself missing the romanticism of paper and spine, but I have determined that the Kindle has yet ANOTHER use. Anything that's public domain (things like Anna Karenina, Frankenstein, etc) is free on a Kindle, and many more like The Three Musketeers are only about $.90. What I believe I will be doing in the future is purchasing/free-purchasing something on my Kindle, reading it, and if I like it, THEN I will buy a hard copy. I've always found it a little discouraging to spend $14 on a book, reading it once, and never reading it again because I just didn't really like it.
All in all, I do still love my actual books, but the Kindle is a much more comfortable reading experience. If you have attention problems like I do, this kind of a tool is just invaluable. I'm looking forward to purchasing novels I have to buy for class on it in the fall!
Does anyone have any specific questions?
