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| It's a KINDLE! |
I've never used a Kindle before, so
when the Chico Library had an ad to loan one for seven days for only
a dollar, I just had to try it.
I've seen people use them before on
BART when I was in the bay area, swiping their greasy fingers along
the screen where I could see words scroll across the page in all of
its dull digital glory.
What was the point? I thought to
myself, staring over their shoulder to read whatever they were
reading.
Whenever I wanted to read a book, I
brought the whole copy with me, stuffed into my large purse that
stuffed my: camera, wallet, daily planner, umbrella, make-up case, CD
player and lots of pens and paper at the bottom. My purse was
starting to get overstretched. Maybe it was time I considered a
Kindle...
I could see the
convenience of it. Small, portable with a padded case that came with
a charger. A Kindle might be just what I needed if I were to be stuck
on a two-hour ride on BART with nothing to do but stare out the
window. Normally I would just sit and stare out the window and maybe
write something along the way to San Francisco.
Kindles could offer
new possibilities--I could read multiple books with one device,
without having to return a book or pay those nasty late fees. Some
Kindles come with an option to play an Mp3 as you're reading a book,
but really, who would do a thing like that? I find that
distracting.
But lets get back
to the beginning...
Lots of people are
using Kindles now (courtesy of Amazon) and their network of
electronic books. Why did it take me so long to get one?
First of all, I
don't have the money to buy said nifty device. I'd rather get my
books from the library instead of paying a couple hundred for yet
another device I have to charge to my electricity bill. Secondly, I
didn't see the point. I'm not a regular commuter and the times I go
to the bay area and ride BART are a few times a year. Thirdly, at
twenty-nine-years-old, I'm a self-proclaimed Luddite who mistrusts
technology and wonders who's making the big bucks off all this e-book
nonsense.
No, it wasn't just
because Stephen King had released an e-book online. I didn't even try
a Kindle then. It's because I'm dirt cheap and the library offered
this opportunity to loan a Kindle courtesy of "a grant from
LSTA"--Thanks to Chico Friends of the Library!
Of course, since
it's offered by the local library it does have a lost/damaged fee of
$159.00, which I'm guessing is the total cost of the Kindle. Overdue
fines are $1.00 per day, with no renewals and of course, you can't
drop it into the book drop.
Said expensive
(black and white display) Kindle comes in a nifty blue case with
Micro USB cable that plugs into the device and you can charge by
plugging into a wall socket or USB port on a computer. This thing
does come with instructions too, on a small laminated card that's
easy to understand, so even Grandma or Grandpa might take a shot at
it.
Once you get the
hang of how to use it, it's pretty easy. Older people won't get the
intuitiveness of 'zooming' your fingers on the screen to make
the font bigger or smaller, but if you give them enough tries it's
obvious. The buttons have no labels, so you'll probably have to label
them or write a diagram. Also be careful of pressing too hard or not
hard enough. The screen sensor isn't that great and older models are
a bit clunky.
After trying the
Kindle and fiddling around with it, I soon found something to read.
"The Dinner" by Herman Koch (translated from Dutch) is a
great first-time Kindle story. Other books offered by this device
were, "The Fifth Assassin" by Brad Meltzer, "Gone
Girl: A Novel" by Gillian Flynn, "The Good House: A Novel"
by Ann Leary, "The Storyteller" by Jodi Picoult, "Suspect"
by Robert Crais, "Touch & Go" by Lisa Gardner and
"Wild: From Lost To Found On The Pacific Crest Trail"
(Oprah's Book Club 2.0 Digital Edition) by Cheryl Strayed.
It also included a
Kindle User's Guide, two Oxford dictionary's and My Clippings (I
don't know what that's for).
"The Dinner"
by Herman Koch is not something I would have ordinarily chosen. I
tried a brief read of "Gone Girl" but didn't like the
style. It's also hard to get a feel for the book when you're
not given a book description (available on Wi-Fi use only) and you
have to search to find the cover. You also have to register the
Kindle before you can see certain features--for some reason the
library hasn't registered any of their Kindles and I'm constantly
being reminded by a screen saver to "Register Your Kindle to
See Special Features".
When I started
reading "The Dinner", it started out innocently enough. A
man is waiting for a reservation in an expensive restaurant with his
wife. However, the story takes some interesting turns and a lot of
dark material turns up within the course of the long, expensive
pretentious meal. I can't wait to see what happens by dessert-time.
These books listed
are probably on some best-seller list somewhere. Herman Koch, who's
won the Publieksprijs Prize in 2009, has written seven novels, three
collections of short stories and lives in Amsterdam.
I'm intending to
finish the over forty-chaptered book and hopefully write a review of
the digital book soon. I'm pretty sure "The Dinner" is a,
Book of the Year Must-Read List. So my review of it will be
redundant but that's what blogs are for.
There are several
things I don't like about the Kindle so far though...
I'm still getting
used to the idea that I have to 'swipe' my finger along the screen to
turn the page, watching the ever-so-brief flashing of words 'change'
to the next page. It's a bit distracting and it doesn't always work.
Sometimes I have to re-swipe my finger across the screen or sometimes
I turn several pages at a time when I do this. It's a bit annoying
and I'm guessing they have some models that can detect the pressure
of a finger swipe in order not to have ten pages go flashing by
before your eyes.
Also, there's that
battery thing that needs charging. The volunteer at the library desk
assured me that the battery should last a week on a full charge--if
all I'm doing is reading the book--and not accessing the Wi-Fi on it
for buying books on the store, reading publications online (with a
paid subscription) or other battery draining activities.
Having a battery
sign at the corner of your page reminds you that time is limited
and that you should read faster before you lose your place.
I've lost my place
several times while reading the book. When I turn the device off, it
does save my place, however if I'm browsing around other books and
reading other stuff, it won't remember where I was before. I'm still
trying to figure out the Bookmark thing. I can make a Bookmark, I
just can't access it. So I have to remember the chapter I'm reading
and use the Go To button to go back.
For the fifth or
sixth time now, I'm still getting reminders to register my Kindle,
even though it's not mine. I don't want to try registering it in case
I can't reset it and the Library makes me pay a big huge fine for
rendering their donated device useless. So I guess those Special
Features are reserved only for those rich people who can afford to
pay to get their own Kindles.
I tried to use the
Text-to-Speech feature and it sounded like an off-tune robot reading
words to me. I don't recommend using it. Nor would I use the Mp3
feature to listen to music as I read--which are two conflicting
activities to me and should not be performed together (like riding a
bike with headphones and getting hit by a car because you couldn't
hear it coming).
Having a Kindle
registered to Amazon may also limit your choices of getting content
from other sources which may not share a license with said company
(who doesn't like to pay taxes in California).
When I
used the Wi-Fi feature though I did see a lot of content to read,
including stuff from authors that they wouldn't otherwise publish on
the mainstream market. "Rules for Virgins" by Amy Tan is a
43-page book that's available to read once you pay for it. Stephen
King also wrote about the topic of guns in his electronic publication
of, "Guns" a Kindle Single. At only 25 pages, it might be
his shortest work yet (or not). According to Amazon.com, "King's
earnings from the sale of this essay will go the Brady Campaign to
Prevent Gun Violence."
If
you're a Kindle fan, you'll probably pay for all the content you get
with a subscription fee, membership or other pay-for-it charge.
As
for me, I've yet to be won over by Kindle. It's a great thing for the
library to offer people and the fact that they're keeping up with
technology is a great idea (something I should try). I may borrow the
Kindle again if I want to try a new book that they don't have in
hardcopy. It's a great place to start anyway. I just don't think I
want one of my own to buy and pay for all the necessary
subscriptions.
As
a writer I think it's important to know what's out there and how to
market yourself. So I was also curious to see how these books were
published and in what format. It's hard to read a big huge novel with
a small less-than 8X5 screen, so I'm guessing it's a good idea to
keep your stories short for Kindle publishing. There are other e-book
readers out there but the library hasn't tried those yet, so I'm not
sure how those are displayed.
They
also have Kindle Blogs and for a .99 fee you can read some or
subscribe. You can also read newspapers on Kindle. With all the bad
press about books, newspapers and printing in general going down the
drain, it's good to know there are other outlets for the printed
media.
I
don't know if you have to pay a tax for these reading fees and
subscriptions but that's another thing to think about. Does reading
on a digital device count as a sale? It's a good thing I'm not an
accountant but I think they would start to charge the use of the
Wi-Fi to somebody, not to mention you still have to pay for
electricity to charge your electronic device.
Reading
electronically may be the future but I still love books...
I
love the smell of the pages (and it's cheap binding glue). I love
having
the
book and being able to flip to any page I want when I need to refer
to something (without having to boot up a device, charge a battery or
lose my place). I love having a book on my bookshelf, for which I
have numerous rooms devoted to. I love having my own library filled
with books that I sometimes donate to the library or the Reading
Partners program, that helps kids learn to read (and hopefully love
books as much as I do).
A
Kindle can be handy sometimes but it will never replace my love for
books. So when I'm done sampling, "The Dinner", I'll
probably go to my local bookshop and buy my own copy, in hardback or
paperback, put it on my bookshelf or loan it to a friend.
"Hey,
you gotta try this book," I'll say, "It's something I
discovered on a Kindle and I liked it so much I had to get my own
copy".
"Thanks,"
They'll say, "But I have a Kindle with a subscription and I can
get it for free right here."
They'll
pull out their
Kindle/Phone/electronic-device-thingy-that-just-came-out and find
that it's run out of battery. I'll give them the book to try (pasting
my name and address label inside of it), so they can read it and give
it back to me in due time.
Later
they will thank me for giving them the book, since they dropped their
Kindle/Phone/electronic-device-thingy-that-just-came-out, and
couldn't read the damaged screen. There may be some food stains on
the pages but at least I'll know they have read the book and enjoyed
it as much as I have. At home I will put the book back on the
bookshelf to read later or lend to someone else.
"There's
nothing like a good book." My
Grandma always says.
