With a personal library of between 600 and 1,000 books, and as they say, “an avid” reader since, well, since I first learned to read, I now use a Kindle, specifically the DX which has a 9+” screen.
I purchased the device from Amazon fully thinking that I would not become sufficiently accustomed to it and that I would return it in the allotted 30 days. To my surpise, I was comfortable with it after purchasing my first book. Well, actually, I didn’t buy the first book I read, I downloaded it free from Gutenberg. It was, by the way, Madam Bovary. About halfway through it, I was hooked and purchased several others from Amazon. In short, I’ve not picked up a “real” book in six weeks, save T.S. Eliot’s Collected Poems and a Dylan Thomas volume.
Now, there are new e-Readers coming on the market daily with features apparently outstripping my Kindle DX. I believe the Barnes & Noble version allows one to pass a volume on to others; Kindle doesn’t. I find the device clear and easy to use. In fact, I even read the Amazon blog that arrives on it daily via the “WhisperNet” service. As an aside here, this isn’t a commercial; just a grouch old guy passing on his thoughts on change.
It’s a pricy proposition though, nearly $500 and at between nominally $7.00 and a sawbuck for current books, it would take a while to make it “cost effective.” Me, I just find it convenient and easy to read.
