Kindle International

One week in and my second book is started

After the excitement of a new device has worn off, how is the new Kindle faring? Is it a $300 waste of money?

I still like it. I’ve read the H.G.Wells The Island of Doctor Morrow which was interesting. I’d seen the movie and read other H.G.Wells books but not that one.

Browsing for something else to read was less intuitive than on the computer. Without the bigger screen of a computer, checking reviews and moving around the Kindle interface seems slow and somewhat painful.

I can download books on the computer since the Kindle software works on a PC but that was not my goal. The MAC version is announced as “coming soon.”

I wanted to buy The Songs He Didn’t Write: Bob Dylan Under the Influence, downloaded a free sample and may buy it later. If the book is searchable on Kindle PC I will buy it that way. It will be handy to research Dylan topics on the computer.

The free sample is a great Kindle feature. The fiction top seller in on their list is The Pawn by Steven James. At $2 what could you lose?

Still timid, I downloaded the 3 chapter sample. I couldn’t put the Kindle down yesterday, I gave them the $2 and got 1/3 through the book before my eyes gave out.

The hardcover for The Pawn costs $19.99 and the paperback is $6.97. Kindle is cheaper and easier to purchase. I didn’t have to pay shipping or any import fees. I just got my book for $2.00 plus US exchange. That is cool.

Reading the Kindle

Kindle is like a book not a computer. It’s not back-lit, does not have a touch screen or larger fonts. Those are things you expect from a computer or hand-held like an iPhone but not Kindle.

Kindle is a book experience and it mimics it well. It’s light to hold, easy to go back and forward but somewhat difficult to find a passage back somewhere. That’s just like a book except it is lighter than most hardcover books.

You can purchase a small light that clips onto the top for night reading. People like it in the ratings and at $20 it is an easy purchase. I like to read lying down so a light will be handy. There are two listed on Amazon.com. One is popular (the link is below) and the other is not. I cannot tell you why.

Some people liked the GE Book Light better. That should be available at Wal-Mart or drugstores for a try out and it costs half of the Amazon light.

<h3>Text to speech<h3>

Some Kindle books have text to speech. The feature is activated by holding to buttons that the sight impaired can easily find.

I tried it on the Bob Dylan book and it works reasonably well.  It sounds more human than some programs we have tried before. That is a very nice feature for the sight impaired.

For another Kindle Canada experience, check out Peter Rukavina’s blog

Kindle International