12 Most Electric Reasons I Love Kindle
All my life I have loved books, read them, wrote them, and even collected Modern First Editions, scouring used bookstores everywhere I went. Never for a moment did I think that I would give up one of life’s joys so easily and completely. From the moment I picked up my Kindle five years ago, I never touched a book again, instead choosing to do all of my reading electronically.
My conversion was instantaneous, complete and here are 12 good reasons why:
1. The single best thing about Kindle is the “try sample chapter” button
As soon as I can tear out the first chapter of a book in the bookstore and take it home to try, I will reconsider. Until then, the ability to try before I buy, for free, allows me to ignore the hype on a book’s flyleaf and read enough to see if I really like it.
2. Kindle readers have access to thousands, no… perhaps millions of self-published works
Many of these are the writings of genius but will never make it to the printed page. Reading with a Kindle makes my world a whole lot bigger.
3. eBooks are faster
Bookstores are closing everywhere and in many places, readers will need to order books online. Our choice will be either to wait five days or wait five seconds.
4. Paper books are for readers with very young eyes
eReaders can be adjusted to any print size. And if reading becomes difficult or hands-free is preferable, the Kindle will read to you.
5. Paper books take up room filling shelves and tumbling out onto the floor
Thousands of books can fit on one small compact device.
6. With Kindle, you can never lose your place
The device knows the last page you read and will remember it, even if you don’t.
7. eReaders save relationships
Many eReaders are backlit for reading in bed, in the dark, without disturbing another person.
8. With Kindle, I have access to books long out of print and unavailable by any other means
“Out of print” will become an obsolete notion as digital reading will allow the written word to live forever.
9. Books are heavy for travel and when you are done with them, they are dead weight
Similarly, when you finish reading a book on a trip and the language is foreign, finding a replacement is not always easy.
10. Reading books with complicated language can be daunting
In reality, no one reads with a dictionary at hand but with eReaders the dictionary is built in — with one tap, your vocabulary is expanded.
11. eBooks are cheaper
A lot cheaper.
12. The environmental advantages of not printing, shipping and disposing of paper books are simply too manifold to mention
The initial investment in the device is an upfront cost, offset over a number of years by the sheer waste generated by paper books.
I thought that I would miss books. I thought that holding the volume, turning its pages as I had done since early childhood, would be an experience I would reluctantly leave behind. But this proved not to be the case.
Have you moved to eReaders? Do you still read paper books? What do you think will happen to traditional books going forward?
Featured image courtesy of robertengmann licensed via Creative Commons.
http://grownandflown.com
Lisa Endlich Heffernan is one of the voices behind Grown and Flown: Parenting from the Empty Nest. She has an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and worked as a Wall Street trader before becoming an author of three books including New York Times Business Bestseller, "Goldman Sachs: The Culture of Success." You can also find Lisa on the Grown and Flown blog or on Twitter.
