My Kindle arrived today, so when I got home from work i spent a few minutes opening and preparing it. The case I bought with it (M-Edge) also arrived, so I immediately placed the Kindle in it. I have to say I really like the way the kindle fits in this case and am happy I got it. After reading through the welcome letter that is preloaded on the device I configured it to connect to my wireless router so it can get a wireless network connection and then I ran a manual sync to pull down all the books I had been previously reading on my Blackberry. Once the sync was done I pulled up the book I am currently reading, The Count of Monte Cristo (free for the Kindle), and was delighted to see it sync to the farthest page I had already read to. I found the default text size to be good for me and so I didn’t need to make any changes to begin reading. The text is clear and crisp, and the controls for turning the page are at the perfect position for easily pressing with my thumb. When the page is turned the new text flashes on to the screen promptly and is just as quick as physically turning a page on a real book. All in all I think I am going to enjoy having this. Now I just need to work on replacing my physical books and then getting rid of those. While I like having the books I would much rather have less stuff around the house. I think this was a good purchase after all, and with any luck I will start finding time to read more again now that I can quickly and easily get new books.

I finally broke down and bought a Kindle today. After wanting one for over a year and spending the last week talking myself out of it on a daily basis, I finally bought one. On one hand I am happy that I have it coming and on the other I already feel bad for spending the money on myself. However, I have been doing very well with paying down debt and I rarely ever buy anything for myself, so I feel it is justified. I am really looking forward to it getting here and hope that this will also motivate me to find more time to relax and read as well. I know I am looking forward to reading the books that I have been reading via the Kindle App on my Blackberry on a larger screen when I am at home and not having to be in front of my computer to do that. The only other thing I need to do now is resist the urge to immediately go purchase all the books that are out that I want to read.

While checking out the specs on the new Kindle I stumbled upon this page at amazon that lists all the FREE kindle books. These are all mainly old books that are out of copyright and in the public domain, but there are some great reads here; like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Dracula and many many others. I know there are a lot of things that I want to read on this list and seeing as I also just discovered the Kindle App for Blackberry, now as long as I have my phone with me I will have books to read! Eventually, though, I want to get a Kindle!

I’ve wanted a Kindle for a while now, ok basically since they have come out, but one thing more than anything else has been holding me back; you can’t share books. However, according to this article that may be changing. According to the article “Amazon will allow Kindle users to lend books to each other for 14-day periods” with the restrictions that the “lenders will not be able to access the book on loan during the 14-day period, nor will they be able to loan the book to the same user more than once.” While I am not positive that i could find the time to read most books I would borrow in 14 days, it would certainly give me more incentive to find more time to read. While not all books will be available to lend, this is dependent on publishers and right holders, but it is a big step closer to making me cave and buy one. Original Kindle Community post.

I really want one of Amazon’s new Kindle’s! When the generation one Kindle came out a year ago I thought it was pretty neat, but I purposely held off looking into it. Then a buddy at work showed up with one, and I was hooked. There are, of course, a few things preventing me from getting one of these little gems. Firstly, the $360 price tag is a little out of my budget at the moment. The other, and most major, thing stopping me is the crippling DRM that Amazon throws into there books. It would be great to be able to share books with other Kindle user, and I know I am not the only person who feels that way.  This thing has a ton of great features and improvements over the first version, and perhaps I will get one some day.  -sigh-