Two Christmases ago I was given an Amazon Kindle (thanks Mum). At the time it hadn't crossed my mind to get one and I was a bit unsure what I'd use it for. I mean, I LOVE books. I'm a great fan of that musty, papery smell and I'm a bit hooked on the excitement of finding a literary treasure in a second hand bookshop. What would I do with an e-book reader..?
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Well! I use it all the time! I never go anywhere without it because it fits perfectly in my handbag. I get the bus and train a lot and so it's really useful to have instant entertainment. It stays charged up for a really long time too so it's better than reading things on my iPhone. The only vaguely negative things I have to say about it is that it's very easy to spend money on the online shop, it's hard to gauge how far through the book you are even though there's a percentage read bar at the bottom, the majority of Discworld books have not yet been made available (come on Terry!) and, because I have one of the older versions, the QWERTY keyboard is a bit unnecessary day-to-day.
Since getting, what I think of as my "Amaz-ing Kindle", people have started talking to me randomly on the bus, in the lunch queue, as I'm wandering around with it in my hand and asking me if it's any good. After stammering for a bit (I'm a bit shy around strangers) I eventually find my words and I tell people it's great. Especially if you're someone who takes public transport a lot, hasn't the space for many books in the home or are going on holiday. It's fantastic to have hundreds of books available at the touch of a button and e-books tend to work out cheaper than hard copies, or in the case of classic novels, are even free.
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My answer to these comments is always: "You don't have to give up paper books!!" It seems like people believe there is some unwritten rule that states you can no longer buy hard copies of books once you own an e-book reader! Trust me, it's not like a siren goes off when you step over the threshold of Waterstone's. A security guard does not come over and say "Sir/Madam, I see you are carrying an e-book reader. You no longer appreciate the ink and paper world of the written word. Please leave."
Owning a Kindle is not scary, it does not automatically make you a member or a weird book-burning cult. E-book reader owners simply appreciate the convenience of reading books any time on a lightweight gadget. For example, think about when you're lying in bed with The Lord of the Rings (or equivalent) hardback trilogy and you get hand and neck cramp from trying to keep the pages open at a suitable reading angle. Compare this thought to one of holding a little grey thingy at whatever angle you like, turning pages with a press of a finger. In my mind it's not much of a contest.
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Saying this, I have only had experience with using the Amazon Kindle. If anyone out there has used and can tell me more about pros and cons of other brands of e-book reader I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.
Here are some books which I recommend:
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins - Recently made into a hugely succesful movie, The Hunger Games is book one of a trilogy of the same name following Katniss Everdeen before, during and after she takes part in the fight to the death that is the 74th Annual Hunger Games. The book and movie are both excellent. Supposedly they're aimed at children, but everyone else I've spoken to who has read them had enjoyed them as much as I did (I'm 23 in case you were curious).
The Help - Kathryn Stockett - From the point of view of a few different characters, this book details the world of 1960s African American maids working for white families. I don't know much about American history so I found this quite enlightening as well as a great read with engrossing characters. I haven't seen the movie yet. I hope to do so soon!
Confessions of a GP - Benjamin Daniels - I do not work in the healthcare sector so I can't share in the frustrations vented within, however, from the point of view of a patient I learned what I should and shouldn't do when visiting my GP. It's a faintly amusing collection of anecdotes which made me feel amused, guilty and a bit sad in turns. Pretty cheap as an e-book, well worth a read!
QI Book of General Ignorance - John Mitchinson & John Lloyd - I'm a big fan of the QI TV show. After reading this I kept on spouting facts to everyone around me. I guess they thought it was pretty annoying but I revelled in that smug feeling which comes from arguing back with the words "it was in the QI book so I must be right".
The Painted Man - Peter V. Brett - I'd like to know what the 'V' stands for. This is the first book of the Demon Series and is also known as The Warded Man in the US. It's based in a world in which the human inhabitants have to use magical "wards" to keep night-time demons at bay. It's pretty epic!
Storm Front - Jim Butcher - Book One of The Dresden Files. About a modern-ish day wizard who helps his buddy in the "Special Investigations" US police department and ends up kicking lots of magical beasties' butts in a charmingly candid fashion. I feel the writing style is aimed at men but I have been appreciating the lack of flowery language sometimes thrown about in fantasy fiction.
Darker Things - Rob Cornell - Book One of The Lockman Chronicles which I discovered via Twitter. This book is about an ex-secret agent type of chap who is thrown into all kinds of supernatural drama following the appearance of a teenage girl at his front door claiming to be his daughter. I'm not usually one for action type books but I really enjoyed this due to it being coupled with the element of magic/mojo. The story was refreshing and at one part I was actually surprised at the turn of events. Normally I see things coming from a mile away so this gets a big thumbs up from me!
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