A Kindle Review

So, I promised I would talk about my Kindle once I had time to use it a little. I must say, I love it! I have now read the 2nd book in the Twilight series, and I have almost finished the 3rd book on it. I also have the Bible (ESV) - this was free on Amazon, and I have the book we are reading for Pastor's class on Wednesday nights, Systematic Theology by Grudem.

It is so easy to read on a Kindle. You can adjust the text size to your liking. If you get a cover like mine, it will even stand up. I like this feature for when I am lying down and reading. It allows you to prop the Kindle up on your lap and you don't have to hold it.

The battery lasts forever! I haven't tested it to see exactly how long it will last, but if I keep the wireless turned off when I'm not using it, it honestly lasts several weeks. Two weeks ago we went to watch the ETSU Bucs play in the NCAA tournament in Dayton, Ohio. This was a 6.5 hour car trip both ways. I read my Kindle most of the trip, and I haven't charged it since.

There are many features of the Kindle that I have not used yet, and probably many that I have not discovered. There is a hidden minesweeper game. It works well, but don't expect to play it quickly. You can put music on it (but I have heard that it will only play the music in the order that you install it). It is not meant to be your everyday mp3 player. You can upload your own pictures to it to create your screensaver (remember these will be in black and white). You can highlight text and add notes. You can search for something in every book that you have on your Kindle, or you can just search in one book. You can delete books off of your Kindle once you have finished reading them, and they will be stored on Amazon's website. It even has a basic web browser.

Downsides:
- You have to have a booklight if you are reading in the dark. They sell special Kindle booklights that fit in the cover for it, but I have just been using a booklight they I already owned.
- The text-to-speech option isn't great. This is the option that allows the Kindle to read the book to you. If you are looking for an audio book, just buy the audio version and put it on your Kindle, don't depend on the text-to-speech.
- It didn't come with a cover. Apparently the first version of Kindle came with a TERRIBLE cover, so Amazon decided to just fix that dilemma and not include a cover at all. This wouldn't be bad except it took about 3 extra weeks to receive the cover I ordered (not Amazon's fault).


Overall I am so happy with it. I would recommend it to anyone that likes to read. I have decided that I will probably not put textbooks on it because I like to write too much in my textbooks. If you like to read for fun, it is well worth the money.