|

Kindle: Oh, I Believe!

 

 

It all started as a result of getting regularly dissed by my local Borders.

 Let me count the ways:  Their complete lack of interest in shelving romance anywhere even remotely close to the lay down date, the whiff of condescension coming from employees (hello, Red Suspenders guy!), and the rolling eyes and sighs if you dared to ask them to search the infamous “back room” for books that weren’t on the shelf even though their own computer system said they were in store.

So, why did I rely on such an unreliable bookstore?  Color me naïve, but I live in a major city and I don’t think I should have to pay shipping and handling for mass market books.  And Amazon Prime?  That’s still paying.

I’ve thought about e-readers before, but…well, it just seemed like too much of a project to try to figure out which one was best – not to even mention the whole Mac compatibility issue.  So, I shoved the whole thing aside and continued to get pissed off every time I went to Borders.

Then came Kindle.  I waited.  Then I started reading the buzz on AAR’s message boards and getting great reports from happy readers, not the least of whom was my sister.  It sounded ridiculously easy to use.  And, best of all, no Borders!

To make a long story short, Kindle works exactly as advertised:  It’s fast, you can get most books, and it’s lightweight and easy to use.  (I particularly love hands-free reading.  Who knew you could pet the cat while catching up on the latest Elizabeth Hoyt?) 

Getting manuscripts on Kindle is also a breeze – and, for someone who’s always found it difficult (if not impossible) to read on a computer, that’s a big bonus.  I’m told by a published author friend that editors and agents love Kindle and that makes complete sense to me.   I dream of a world – believe me, I dream – in which ARCs would be delivered wirelessly to Kindle.

The downside?  There are surprising – and annoying – gaps in available books, though Amazon seems to be doing a good job of working through that.  A Kindle is far from cheap.  And, on a larger scale, who wants Amazon controlling the whole ebook thing?   (That just can’t be good.)

Still, the good news is that as technology advances, devices get even easier to use.  I’m sure that somebody somewhere somehow will improve on Kindle (maybe Amazon, who knows?) but for now, they’ve cracked it. And I am one passionate convert.

And, geez, no Borders.  Believe me, I’m not going to miss Red Suspenders guy.

-Sandy AAR

 

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

13 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments