There comes a time when you have to make a leap to electronic books just because it's plain more convenient and cool! The idea of being able to carry the whole library with you while traveling is just mind-boggling. We travel light (as in carry-on ONLY!) so this is a tremendous space saving for us. Furthermore, now all my classic books that are collecting dust can just get recycled, leaving more space on the shelves for beautiful decoration! By the way, the classic books are available for free on Kindle. Another attractive reason for owning Kindle is that my son can now read and click on the definition of the word easily. Kids are not so motivated to manually look up the word because it takes too long!
Many electronic savvy people out there will ask why not get an IPAD, which is only $499? As a tech savvy person myself and the first person who thought the IPAD was so cool BEFORE it first came out last year, I have to exert great self-control. First of all, it's not the price. It's the distractions that come with IPAD. Given a choice between video games and web surfing, do you think your kids will choose to read? If the answer is yes, you've got yourself a genius there. Go for the IPAD! Nathan loves reading. He's read all the kiddie versions of Homer's epics. And he finally got so enamored with mythology that he requested the adult version of Homer's Iliad and read it twice! Even with this level of interest, would I trust him with the IPAD? Well, the answer is still no. Human nature (especially kids' lack of self-control) almost guarantees that the easier paths will be taken. Distractions abound, the IPAD will be more entertaining than a regular book, which requires you to actually think and imagine! Who'd want to do that when something else is doing all the thinking for you?
One key decision not to get an IPAD for reading is the E-Ink technology. IPAD does not have it! Kindle on the other hand reads like a book to your human eyes. There is no reflection. Read in the sun or under a dim lamp without squirming those tired eyes! The letters are sharp and clear.
For those who like to point out the obvious: what about colors? You are absolutely correct. Kindle does not come with color. But then there is no need for colors if you are not using it to read comics or magazines. For magazines, it is best to get the real thing. The size of IPAD and Kindle do not offer that best experience for reading magazines. As for comic, I do not allow Nathan to read it on a regular basis. My English teacher used to say that reading comic impairs the imagination and creates bad writers! So there is no need to read comic on Kindle!
Now which versions of the Kindle should be purchased? I would like the 9.7" display because it is bigger and easier on the eyes. But the expensive price tag is just not practical to get right now when they will come up with a new model soon! So a good compromise is to spend the minimal, $139, to get the 6" and try it out: The Amazing Kindle 6".
The first book that I will get is from my favorite author, Mark Twain! Tom Sawyer will be enjoyed this summer by Nathan! We read 2 chapters together and Nathan loved the fun stories. It's a challenging book for kids to read because of all the overwhelming SAT vocabularies (not to mention archaic terminology) and the sarcasms. But it's great literary work for acquiring new vocabularies. Guess what? It's available for free on Kindle!
