I’ve been thinking and thinking about a kindle for like … at least a year. I could see the benefits, for sure. But the preference for that book-in-hand feel (and book-on-shelf look) has always held me back. Oh, and cost, of course.
Despite not having a Kindle, I have amassed quite a few ebooks on my kindle account. So if I wanted to, I could read them on my phone or my computer. Which I did sometimes. At the expense of my eyesight!
But in the last few weeks, my decision was made – I’m ready for a kindle. I just couldn’t afford one yet – particularly since in doing my research, I’d decided I wanted a Kindle Fire. Which you can’t even get in Australia yet. (Okay, technically you can, but it’s not fully functional for purchasing multimedia content through Amazon store.)
So I was going to wait. Wait for the Kindle Fire to be officially launched in Australia, and by then hopefully I could justify the expense. Waiting was getting frustrating and I was starting to develop a legitimate need to read ebooks more regularly due to price of paperbacks and the research I’m doing for my own writing.
God must have decided I do actually need a Kindle now. Otherwise, the checkout I went to this morning wouldn’t have been out of order, forcing me to go to the one next to it. And the one next to it, happened to have a stand with Kindles at less than half price. And there were only a couple left. No, it wasn’t a Kindle Fire. But I knew just as well as God that I didn’t need the extra fancy features. I really only needed to be able to read ebooks easily – plain and simple. If I was looking for a sign that it was time to own a Kindle, that was it.
So I bought a plain, wi-fi only, basic 6″ eink display, probably about to be superseded, Kindle. But it was $50. And it’s what I need – and all I need.
God is great, isn’t He? Patience … waiting on God … it pays off 🙂
Helen’s favourite genre is historical fiction with a strong romantic element. She also enjoys contemporary romance, chick-lit and YA. She’s not caught up in the spell of fantasy fiction, despite The Faraway Tree series being a strong influence in her childhood.
Helen is currently working on her first book, a Christian young adult novel set between two opposite but equally fascinating places in Australia.
Helen is a strange combination of fiction editor and web strategist. That’s because she loves fiction and the internet – and analytics! A former business analyst and IT support manager, Helen now spends her time parenting her three children as well as running her editing and web agency businesses. As a book reviewer and fiction editor, her one true love and specialty is Christian romance fiction.
great news Helen and you dont need next G. what you got is what I have and I love it. I actually use it more now than I thought I would.
So… how is it going? I much prefer a book, but I use my kindle quite a lot because honestly I hardly have room for any more books in my house. I find it pretty good to read, easy to download books – I would never think of it as a replacement for books, but just another tool. Like reading your blog. Liz Shelton
Oh, love this, Helen. People need to take seriously their role as stewards of God's gifts, and you're a great example! 🙂 I'd like to get a kindle (still using my phone with the text magnified), but I'm like you–I prefer the real paper book, so its not on the top of the list. Let me know how you like it!
The big reason you don't need (or even want) a Kindle Fire is that it has a back-lit screen, just like the phone and the computer that are bad for your eyesight.
$50 for a Kindle is a great buy! And, if you think about it, you'll pay for it quickly with all the free Christian downloads, not to mention your Booksneeze books.
On average, I post five Christian freebies a week on my Facebook page – http://www.facebook.com/#!/ChristianReads.
Yeah, you're so right about the 3G, as long as you've got all your books downloaded before you go anywhere, no problem at all 🙂 I'm using it a lot too!
Hi Liz! So glad you're enjoying our blog. We love having our readers stop in and say 'hi'! 🙂 I still prefer the book too, but I am loving the access to the free ebooks I've collected. I am actually liking it more than I thought I would. Will I stop buying paperbacks??? I doubt it. I think I will buy as much as I always have. But I think will buy other books in ebook format that I wouldn't have bought in paperback. So ultimately that means I'm buying more books than before. That's gotta make the authors happy, right? 🙂
Thanks Gwen! It is hard for me to sit and wait to see how God provides. But it's amazing to see HOW He does when you let Him 🙂
Gwen, I have to say, I'm really enjoying the convenience of the Kindle, particularly since I'm away at the moment. And much prefer it to reading off my phone 😛
Hi Iola! You are SO right about the Kindle fire and the back-lit screen. I'm very happy with the Kindle I ended up with. And I have a lot more free ebooks collected than I realised – plenty of reading for me 🙂 I think there's about 1 every week on the free lists that I download. That's pretty good, isn't it?
By the way, my prediction was correct – did you see the new range of Kindle's released today?? Doesn't matter – I still couldn't go past a $50 Kindle 🙂
Congratulations!! What a bargain :). I'm still madly in love with paper books, but learning to collect e-books like a squirrel. I think I prefer non fiction for e-reading, and fiction the old fashioned way. But I'm willing to read all the ways I can 🙂
Blessings
Dotti 🙂
Hi Dotti! Funny you should say you prefer non-fiction for e-reading … I think I may be the other way around. I find with non-fiction I want to make notes, jump around from chapter to chapter in non-sequential order and look up things, and I'd prefer to do that the old fashioned way. I certainly won't be making many notes with my Kindle as it's very tedious to do so with the on-screen keyboard.
But, I do love to see my fiction books lined up on my bookshelf too 🙂 Maybe that's just vanity??