I downloaded a number of books over the years for the Kindle app on my iPad. I read a few of those books while on vacations, but it certainly wasn’t my favourite way to read. The iPad, because it is a first edition, is heavy and not easily read in bed at the end of the day. My preference was always a “real” book.

I received a Kindle for Christmas, along with a generous gift card, and I am loving the convenience of it. It is so light which makes it much easier to carry in my bag and pick up while waiting for appointments or events. It is lovely to read in bed – no need for even a bedside light which is also a bonus if I’m reading during a sleepless night.

I mostly read at the end of the day after I go to bed and I think, with the Kindle, I probably read more than if I were holding a real book. With a real book I set goals (read 25 or 50 pages a night, depending on the length of the book) and with the Kindle I often find myself saying, “I’ll just read until I’m at 25% or 50%” which means I’m reading a quarter of the book a night. I’ll get through the books much faster.

The only time I miss a “real” book is when I’ve finished a book. There is something about closing the cover on a book, setting it aside, and then anticipating the next book (because the next book is generally picked before I’ve finished the current book). Closing the cover on the Kindle doesn’t give me the same sense of closure and I never scroll through my list of books to see what might come next – I just start reading whatever My Library says is next. So far I haven’t run into this on my Kindle but with a “real” book I never finish one book and start a new one on the same day; that would be so easily done with the Kindle.

I still have a number of “real” books on my shelf that I will get to. As I learn more about the eBooks that are available I hope to make better choices. I guess you get what you pay for and so far the Kindle freebies and very cheap eBooks haven’t been all that satisfying.