A Little Kindle Gushing

If you're a die-hard paper book, a.k.a. "real" book, lover, then you might not enjoy this post much. So you may want to stop reading right now.

I had gone back and forth for more than six months about which e-reader to purchase. I had narrowed it down to two in particular, the Sony Reader and the Amazon Kindle. A couple of months ago I got a great deal on a Sony Reader Touch, so I went with that one. And I was pleased with it at the time. And then some events happened recently, and I ended up purchasing an Amazon Kindle.

To say that I was "blown away" when I opened up the packaging and turned on my new Kindle would be an understatment. And today Misty Baker, a.k.a. KindleObsessed, reminded me via Twitter: "Now you are going to have to write an article about your kindle since you were praising your Sony eReader." So here is my obligatory post to renounce any allegiance I may have had to my Sony Reader.

Now I'm not going to toss my Sony Reader into the garbage or donate it to Goodwill, but it will pretty much be relegated to copyediting duties. I don't really see me using it for pleasure reading any longer. Heck, I'm having a difficult time seeing my paper books being used for pleasure reading in the near future.

Every concern I had about the Amazon Kindle has been shattered in the last 24 hours. I literally felt bowled over when I pulled it out of its packaging and turned it on. The e-ink is absolutely amazing. I don't know how they did it, but it is actually easier to read than paper books. Yes, it is much more eye-friendly to me. And anywhere you can read a paper book, you can read the Kindle. Direct sunlight? No problem. Low light? Got it covered.

And Amazon knows what they are doing from a marketing standpoint. It is super-easy to search the Kindle Store and to buy books. And I get them delivered directly to my Kindle in less than 60 seconds. I push a button to buy a book, and bang!, it's there in a minute. May I remind you that I live out in the sticks, in a very rural part of North Carolina. I can sit on my back porch and get books in a very short time. My wife will probably be writing to the folks at Amazon condemning them and wishing them very painful deaths.

I could go on and on about everything I love about my new Kindle. About how I'm going to be reading tons of great indie authors. About how I'll probably increase my reading output. About how I'm going to save a lot of space in our house. But I'll keep it simple. You know how some folks talk about love at first sight? Well, for me, all it took was one look.

The Amazon Kindle is superior to the Sony Reader Touch in every aspect, in my opinion. Other than the Sony has a touch-screen, which is good at times, but can be a hinderance too. Amazon has put out a tremendous product and has streamlined the shopping/delivery process for getting content to the Kindle. I've been intrigued by e-books since I began looking into them a year or so ago, but now I'm totally sold on them, and I'm sold on the Kindle. It's no competition in my book; I wholeheartedly recommend the Kindle as THE e-reader if you're thinking of getting one. And even if you're not thinking of getting one, you should.