I watch way too much TV. Especially with my recent fatigue/being sick problem, I’m a total couch potato. I hate it.
Way back prior to working in the pay TV industry, I actually used to read more than I watched TV. After thinking about this the past few weeks and attempting to figure out exactly why I stopped, the reason was pretty simple. I work so much and have such crazy hours that it’s simply not easy for me to get new reading material. I’m never anywhere near a book store. Granted, I could order books online, but it’s just not convenient. It’s much easier to just pick up the remote and turn the TV on.
To make it more convenient, after a fair amount of research I made the decision to purchase an eReader. At the Consumer Electronics Show in January of this past year (which I attended for work), eReaders were all the rage and I didn’t understand why. Vendors claimed they were “environmentally friendly”, to which I thought how the hell could an electronic device that doesn’t decompose and will be obsolete in less than two years be more eco-friendly than bound pieces of paper? At least paper decomposes, right? So I wouldn’t even allow myself to consider one being the eco-crazed beotch I am.
What I didn’t take into account was the amount of toxic chemicals and water that go into printing and producing books. So depending on how many books you read, the eReader actually has less of a carbon footprint than the actual book. Learning this, based on how much I read it kinda made me realize comparing the two is almost a wash. I might as well get the eReader, have it be more convenient for me to get reading material, and actually challenge my brain than deteriorate it by watching TV.
After reading the seemly endless, raving reviews on Amazon over the Kindle, I knew that was the eReader for me. I wanted to be cheap and order the WiFi only version but it didn’t come in white so I splurged and got the WiFi/3G one. At least the 3G is included for life in the price.
No one can ever get a new, technology oriented product without feeling the need to pimp it out. I mean, come on you have to protect your investment with a case, and that case has to match your personality. Only problem with this with the Kindle (and Nook and other eReaders from what I hear) is all the manufactured cases are leather. Poopies!
Thank god for Etsy. Etsy has tons of vendors that make vegan cases for electronic devices, the Kindle included. I purchased a slick, op-artish looking one from a vendor called freemoment. Oh yeah and did I mention it was hella cheaper than whatever you’d purchase from Amazon? I can’t wait to receive it.
I got my Kindle early last week and so far I love it. It makes it so easy to have ADD while reading. Being you have all your books loaded into one device, you can choose what you want to read depending on your mood. To start I’m reading the following three books, all of which have been on my “must read” list for a while.
- The China Study by T. Colin Campbell
- Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
What books are you currently reading? Any books I should add to my Kindle? Let me know!
Brooklyn Bliss 
Probably the best books I’ve read this year are William Gibson’s last three books, Pattern Recognition, Spook Country, and Zero History, and Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age.
You need to add Life of Pi on there. It’s a great book!
http://www.runtobefit.wordpress.com
Ah ha! Your a lol cats addict. Admit it.
I’m not but my cat is. She chose the post title 😉
I’m re-reading “The History Man” by Malcolm Bradbury, one of the books I fall back on when I run out of new books. I love the way it evokes the early 1970’s in the UK. I say “new” books but I’m a but hardup at the moment so most of my books now come from charity shops. Did you know that many perfectly usable donated books are thrown away by charities because they do not meet the “saleable” standard required?Someone needs to collect these up and pass them on so that they can be used until they actually fall apart. Beginning to come round to the idea of ebooks.
If someone could provide the money, I’d get one. I rarely if ever watch TV and I am a book worm, but budget’s tight.
If you have a laptop or PC, Kindle has a free app for PCs, and free e-books as well. The bestsellers are usually around $10-14. Try it you’ll like it. BTW they also have a free app for smartphones.
I am so tempted to get a Kindle. But I don’t feel that I read enough to warrant getting one. Most of the time I only get down to reading during my lunch break. And I would feel more comfortable about getting out the Divine Comedy on public transport than an expensive looking e-reader. Nice post though (:
I like to read old books. Especially old religious books. So I downloaded about 25 books from gutenberg.org and 10 or so from Christian Classics Ethereal library. I don’t even want to know what it would of cost me to print or buy a printed version of these books which were published in the 1890’s.
I just got my Nook, and it seems you can get non-leather cases now. I got a red neoprene one.
Awesome advice on Etsy…I’ll have to check it out.
I for one take advantage of both: I can’t give up my addiction to the smell of books, but I’m loving eReaders, too! 🙂
Let me know how the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is as I have been wanting to read that one. I have iBooks on my iPhone and read that way, but I am interested in making the investment in a kindle. Happy reading!
I liked Dragon Tattoo, despite the fact that most of the book has nothing to do with the girl in the title. The Swedish title, Men Who Hate Women, if far more appropriate. (It is fairly violent, so be prepared!)
The second and third books were also good, even though there’s a cliffhanger at the end of #2 that forces you into #3, and I felt that the main character started to stray outside the realm of a really realistic human being, in terms of what she is capable of doing.
I love my Kindle. I didn’t think I wanted one (I’m a book lover – love holding them in my hands) but when I got one for my birthday, I fell in love immediately. Now that I know this helps reduce my carbon footprint, I love it even more!
Well, congratulations. I hope you have a long and fulfilling relationship with your eReader.
Crystal
http://www.crystalspins.com
Good points, but there’s something so nice about holding a book, turning the pages, and smelling the newness of it. 🙂 Congrats on being Freshly Pressed!
What kind of books do you like, if you are into historic/mideval I recommend Bernard Cornwell, such as Azincourt etc, but they have sequels not neccessarily the same characters, however it makes its way through history.
A personal favourite is the Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet, which is currently on channel 4 (in the UK) which doesn’t really compare to the book however it might make you wanna watch it then read it.
PS good article bought my dad one of these for Christmas so I hope he likes it as much as you 🙂
DBT
Great decision you’ve made to purchase a Kindle! I’ve had one for almost a year now and it has improved my reading experience ten fold.
Make sure to check out the Kindle bestsellers frequently… sometimes full priced books go on sale for dirt cheap or even free for a limited time.
Kindle is addictive; and did you notice multi-reading becomes way too easy? LOL! I have been doing the same–reading two or three books at a time just because I can, would never have considered doing so with actual books. Who wants to carry them around? Congrats on a great post!
Thanks for the hint about Etsy! They seemed to have some pretty wicked looking covers!
By the way if you are interested in business etc you might be interested in the following book: The Mesh: Why the Future of Business Is Sharing by Lisa Gansky. I’m reading it now and it’s definately worth the price!
I loved the girl with the Dragon Tattoo series they were awesome. I also love The Time travellers Wife and anything by Diana Gabaldon along with many many more but those came to mind first.
Although I like the idea of a kindel I like books waaaaay too much so I try and buy most of them from second hand bookshops and lend them to others once I am done (but I like reading them again so always want them back) that way at least several people have got enjoyment from it.
I’m a total techophobe and little machines like the Kindle scare me. Just sayin’
Blessings,
Ava
xox
PS Congrats on being Freshly Pressed.
I’d recommend all those classics you haven’t had a chance to get around too. My husband bought me the Sony eReader and the first thing I read was The Art of War. I am now in the middle of A Tale of Two Cities and I’m wondering why I complained so much in high school around reading Dickens. The best part about an ereader is the number of books available free because they are now public domain:
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://www.ulib.org/
Oh, and I also suggest anything by Paulo Coelho.
Hey, loved your post as I’m just recently thinking about buying a Kindle, too. For the same reason — I’m never near a bookstore!
I’ve got a book suggestion for you.
The Searing, by Darren Jorgensen. It’s coming out in a few weeks…
Okay, I’ve got to cop here to what I’m doing. I’m Darren Jorgensen, and The Searing is my first novel. I worked in the book for about 6 years, off and on, and am about to publish it on Kindle.
Just a quick push for The Searing. I’ve been told, “I couldn’t put it down. I read it sitting on the couch overnight.” And I’ve been told, “It is mesmerizing.”
Give it a read. Or buy a Kindle for a friend, and buy it as their first book for them.
Let me know if you enjoy it or not, at: Darren(underscore)Jorgensen@alumni.brown.edu
Happy reading!
Thanks for the suggestion! That’s an awesome accomplishment and I’m sure you must be so excited to have 6 years of work finally come to fruition! When I check it out I’ll be sure to drop you a line 🙂
I’m torn. I love to physically hold the book in my hands and flip the pages while reading BUT after reading this, I kind of want me one of them gadgets now too! Sounds very convenient plus, that cover looks very cool!
I’m waiting to get my eReader… Christmas is looking pretty good.
And my recommendation is anything by Joyce Carol Oates. I personally prefer her earlier stuff.
I’m currently reading:
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
In Search of Stones by M Scott Peck
In the Meantime by Iyanla Vanzant
All pretty good 🙂
Still don’t have a Kindle yet – but after reading your post, I’m seriously thinking of getting one 🙂
Niconica
http://niconica.wordpress.com
I want a kindle so bad, but I haven’t had an opportunity to buy one
Congrats on your new toy! 😀
I’m really hoping to receive a Sony eReader for Christmas, this year (I’m in Canada, so the Kindle’s aren’t available here, yet… that I know of, anyway).
For me, it’s mostly about ease of travelling. We go away a couple of times a year, and I always feel the need to lug 4 books with me — you never know what I’ll be in the mood to read! But, that can be cumbersome. With an eReader, this problem is solved… I can take as many books with me as I want without breaking my back (or taking up too much space in the car). 😉
I recommend the chunker, “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy. It’s what I’m currently reading, and I’m really enjoying it — even for a “Classic”! 😀
~MizB
You can buy a Kindle on Amazon.com and have it shipped to Canada. My Mom bought my Kindle for me and I’m in Canada! It works like a charm!
Kindles are sold online at Amazon.com, and you buy e-books directly from them too.
E-readers are everywhere! I have resisted until now… but I feel myself waning… I mean they are so handy and hardly take up any space. I love your blog by the way! Cute pic with the cat at the top of the post!
depending on how you feel about Dragon Tattoo, I’d say add the other two NAO because one of two things will happen:
1- you love it and NEED TO READ the second part, stat!
2- you love it and decide to never read the other two, because that would mean the trilogy would be over. And then there’d be no point to life, the universe or anything, really.
Notice there is really only one option 😉
Enjoy! xo
I absolutely love that picture! Especially since Twain had a great fondness of cats. Along with his face on an eReader, it’s quite ironic that his recently released Autobiography is number two on the NYT Best Seller List, 100 years after he passed away. He is really getting a kick out of this right now! I work for the Mark Twain House & Museum in Harford,can we post this on our Facebook page? http://www.facebook.com/marktwainhouse
Sure! If you wouldn’t mind please citing my blog as the source, it would be appreciated. Let me know when it’s up so I can see it! 🙂
I suggest three now
1. “Beloved” By Toni Morrison
2. “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” Milan Kundera
3. “Empress Orchid” Anchee Min
Is that your cat? She’s cute. LOL
Yes, that’s my cat 🙂
I love to read! but there is something about holding a book in my had that hasn’t convinced me to buy a kindle.. that and I’m a poor college student. ha.
but if you are looking for books to read one that i read recently was Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and I loved it! I’m working on Eat, Pray, Love right now.
if you want more I have a list on my blog. Under the page i [will] read, my list is there! Although my couch potato self hasn’t read much recently either.
in any case, enjoy your kindle!
http://www.antiqueshoes.wordpress.com
Very true, even just the amount of bleach that goes into books… Shudder.
I *love* the Kindle. I work in the publishing industry, so have had a chance to play around with a fair few and compare, and I have to say, for actual reading experience the Kindle wins hands down. What with the e-ink it’s easy on the eyes, easy to use, easy to download new books – rave rave rave! I tested out the Sony e-reader as well – real disappointment. Handsome enough, but man, Sony’s software is a real pain to use. Plus, with the Kindle, you can share your books across 5 different devices (useful, if you get your partner a Kindle as well).
As far as the best books I’ve read this year, I have to say Henning Mankell’s Wallander books are amazing (the Scandi wave of amazing crime fiction is never ending, it seems). BUT there are a ton of free classics out there to download on your Kindle. Have at it!
Thanks so much for all the great feedback on books to add to my reading list! I’ll probably post in the very near future my new and improved “must read” list and many of your suggestions will be on it.
If I had the money to buy a Kindle, I would. But I’ll still never stop loving printed books. And for your list of books to read, I highly suggest the classic Watership Down by Richard Adams, and two amazing YA novels Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer and The Lighthouse Land by Adrian McKinty. Eating Animals is a great book, and turned me vegetarian and partially vegan (when I’m feeling up for it). Also, cute cat!
I have been pondering getting one for a while now, maybe I will get one for Christmas this year 🙂
Congrats on being freshly pressed.
Ah, congratulations on your new Kindle!
If you do not mind, 2 – 3 book suggestions:
1)”A Confederacy of Dunces” – You’ll love this comedy. I give it 5 out of 5 stars. It’s by John Kennedy Toole. A comic masterpiece.
2)”Life Of Pi” – I thing the author’s name is spelled “Yann Martel”. Another great book.
3) If nothing else, you can always read a classic James Bond book :-).
I would love to have a Kindle! But I just couldn’t afford to buy one 😦 Who knows I can have it in time. Congratulations for being freshly pressed!
Final Fantasy XIV Accounts for Sale
The thing about ereaders … is that there are only five ebook dealers I know of Google Books, iBooks, Amazon, Indigo, Sony, and how many thousands of publishing houses?
I just feel that with the onset of ereading, and general technology, its opening up a whole new can of privacy issues. Did you know that whenever you ‘sync’ wirlessly or not, your kindle to the Amazon network, they are sent copies of all the notes you have made, all the words you have searched, which books you have read, and where you are in your current read? It seems all too easy for censorship, and violation of free speach to occur with ereaders.
I got a pimped out kindle for my b-day last month! Now you’ve successfully made me feel guilty about the non-vegan case it came with.. but if people are going to consume dead animals, us veggies may as well honor them by utilizing their hide! Right? hmm. Perhaps I just had a native american moment there.
You have convinced me even more that I must get a Kindle. Although, like you, I am afraid of the ADD problem. Having all my books with me at all times, how is one to chose what to read?
Technology can change the culture. However, a different sensation between reading a book by reading through the e-reader. The advantages of e-reader when we illustrate is that we can bring a bookcase into a single e-reader. very amazing, and fast
Your eReader is beautiful, I like it.
And I like your cat too, it’s so cute!
http://radowatcheshome.wordpress.com
If you have a sense of the absurd, you could always try…mine. Oh I’m such a literary tart!
I’m totally getting a Kindle! I already have a list of books in my Amazon wishlist that I’ll be purchasing. I’m definitely gonna just get the 3G one. Thanks for that site for the covers! sweet! nice post!
http://tellyblogs.wordpress.com
What a cute kitty! I am glad you got a Kindle, I have one and love it. Enjoy your reading,tv is overrated.
I *just* wrote about how much I love my Kindle, but how much it makes me miss the physical characteristics of books.
But srsly…..lurrrrrrve it! I’d recommend my Kindle to anybody! Well, not MY Kindle. They can back off and get their own!
I love my Nook, but I think any eReader will do. I’m an avid reader and switched to digital books to help with my migraines. The eInk technology lessens glare and allows me to increase the font size. My Nook was a good investment.
I totally agree with you: when I’m at my busiest, I hate to read books, ONLY because I feel like I’m not being fair to the poor souls. I have to have time to sit down and fully digest everything I’m reading…create the characters in my mind, set the scene, get to know the book. When I’m on the go, my books are at home.
How much does it cost to buy a book with a Kindle? I’m assuming the price goes down a bit. I’m a lover of buying hardcover, although my wallet is not a fan. What other details does the Kindle offer?
It’s not too bad price wise. Most best seller’s I’ve noticed are around $10, which is worth it to me being I don’t have to pay subway fare/gas to get to the store or for shipping, etc. Other older books are even cheaper. Anything public domain (i.e. classics) are actually free, which is pretty cool. It’s worth checking out on Amazon they list the eReader price along with the hardcover and softcover prices when you browse.
The Kindle is the best thing in the whole world. My brother and I bought our Mom a Kindle after her decline in health kept her from going to the bookstore and Library. We’re a family of bibliophiles, so not having new books to read was heartbreaking for my Mother. But the Kindle turned out to be manna from heaven and we’re all happy with it. Of course, we bought that one back when they were almost $300. Ouch!
http://lackingsenese.wordpress.com
I am still not sold on the eReader…but i’ll continue to look into it.
-LUCKY
That’s such a great idea! I wanted to get a case for my kindle (which I also love) but wasn’t sure where to get one. Now I’m going to get a vegan case, now that you have recommended it! Thanks.
Happy Reading and thanks for the info.
much love,
Ollin
When I first came down with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, many years ago, I did the same thing. Though an avid reader all my life, reading tired me very quickly when I first sick. Boy oh boy did I watch TV. It was really disgusting, when I look back on it.
Damn! I wish I’d seen that etsy site before I bought my case, which I don’t even have because I’m in moving-limbo!
I can say as the proud owner of a Kindle for at least a month now, it does not disappoint. I love the fact that I no longer have to rush for the door wondering which books I need to carry with me – I can take them all! I essentially bought it for the same reason – I wasn’t reading as much as I’d used to, I’m currently/temporarily unemployed, and also books in English aren’t currently (readily) available to me.
Anyway, what am I reading on my kindle? VALIS by Philip K Dick, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, and Dracula (obtained from Gutenberg.org)
Enjoy! 🙂
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5. They can show links for easy access to more information and relate you directly to websites.
Amazing e-books at http://www.pchopes.com
Nice Information.. Thx for sharing this
Thank you for your support of my shop! I use to read all the time and not really sure what happened. Definite eye opener 🙂
Great post and thanks a million!!!!
For me, the i-phone works out fine. Happy reading hours with Kindle !!