I resisted the Kindle until I had read the first Stieg Larsson book in paperback and was offered the next two books on my husband's Kindle. My curiosity to find out what happened to the protagonist overcame my reluctance to embrace this new technology. There are several e-readers on the market. I did a modest amount of research before buying my Kindle.
Books are downloaded via WiFi that is supported by cell phone service. In the United States the WiFi service is free and in most of the Eastern Caribbean you pay $1.99 for WiFi service when you download a book.
The Kindle Store offer over 700,000 eBooks, newspapers, magazines and blogs online. You can search and shop the Kindle Store wirelessly right from your Kindle, allowing you to click, buy, and start reading your purchases in 60 seconds.
E-books are a fraction of the cost of a new print book and there is an extensive library of books in public domain (older books) that are free. You don't fill you boat with books and you can get a book when you want to read it.
If you are buying a Kindle for overseas use you need to buy the Kindle 3G or one of the older models that support overseas WiFi. The new Kindle 3G costs $189.00.
The Kindle fits nicely in my hands and weighs 8.7 ounces. The screen is glare proof and easy to read in sunny conditions. You can change font size if you like larger print. Kindle comes with a dictionary loaded on it and as you read you can point to a word and have it defined in a small text box below the text of the book. You can connect to the internet and read mail, but it is a poor tool for regular internet access. For a fee, you can subscribe to a newspaper.
Amazon advertises that the Kindle keeps a charge for several weeks of use, of course that depends how much you read, but regardless you will get more battery life if you turn off the WiFi.
I am still a big fan of cruiser book exchanges. The books are free and you often find books that you might not pick up elsewhere, but I do love my Kindle.
Devi Sharp is a retired wildlife biologist and is exploring the birds of the Caribbean with her husband, Hunter, aboard their sailboat Arctic Tern.
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