Yes, I brought a Kindle. I have always said I wouldn’t. After all, there is nothing like a book to caress and hold, when you are reading in bed or sitting propped up in your favourite chair while the rain beats on the window. The cat is curled up by your feet, competing with the dog. For once, all is at peace.
I love the covers of books and feel of the pages, so long as no one has left anything disgusting in the way of food bits, or worse as they read their ‘library book.’ Reading is something that I need to do before I go to sleep. That’s just me. It may only be for a few pages, but it is all part of my nightly ‘protocol.’
So what’s all this fuss about Kindles and their counterparts? I hear people raving about how good they are, when you are traveling. If you are flying and there is a limited amount of luggage one can tuck along, then Kindle seems to offer a sensible solution. But it’s not a book is it! Maybe there are some other reasons why I caved in and brought my first electronic book. Oh my God, am I a traitor to tradition?
I f you have read one of my other blogs about an upcoming book, ‘Talk To Me,’ you will know that I am going to blog it. It has its ISBN number so I will also be publishing it as a real book and as an eBook. I thought about it a lot before I finally brought my Kindle. After all the crap surrounding actually getting the courier to get it to me---they didn’t--- I had to collect it myself in the end---- that’s another blog too, I set about finding out how it works.
I used to be called ‘rip-shit and bust.’ Sorry for the crudity--- well you can understand what I mean. I am one of those guys who buys something (usually electrical and expects to plug it an----‘hey presto!’--- It should work. Well of course you know that is not the case. One should read the manual or instructions and take time to make sure that you are being safe and know which switch or functions make it work effectively. I must say that I have raised my standards somewhat in the last few years and this time I did take a cursory glance at tiny bit of cardboard that had the ‘what to do now’ b its. I found out how to plug it in to my computer, because it didn’t come with a charger. I looked at the screen and then read about some of the buttons and functions--- enough to get me started, but that was when I had to call my mate to show me how to register it and do all sorts of things. I won’t bore you with the details--- that’s why I have a good mate.
Once it was set up, and it did take a little effort, I played around on it to get the feel of it. It is very light--- much lighter than some of those huge monstrosities that I like to take to bed. (Some books are more than 800 pages. With the Kindle it doesn’t matter how big they are—electronic words don’t weigh anything.
Now--- to the reasons why I chose a Kindle. I am with Amazon for some of my business and will be growing that arrangement. I want to get my books onto Amazon (Coastal Yarns was until things went belly-up), especially in eBook form. I hooked into the shopping part of Kindle and found out how to buy downloads. This of course required another bit of help. I had to register my credit card etc. --- you know all the stuff you need to do. After that was done--- I was free to browse and buy. I did just that and before long I had chosen a book that cost me the grand sum of $2.50. Wow--- so cheap. Even best sellers are not too bad. I want to get my books on there and in the holidays I shall explore that option.
That night I went to bed with my Kindle (no comments please!) and it soon had me as happy as a chook on the loose in a granary. I managed to read far more than I would have first thought. There is a little problem though. I would like to be able to have the screen a bit brighter--- maybe that is something that I have not yet found out about. Overall, I am going to love my Kindle. I hope I can see my books on there real soon. But--- I still love my real books too! --- Just in case there is a book God up there somewhere.
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