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The Kindle Chronicles: Week Three
February 13, 2008
I've had the chance to show my new Kindle to quite a few authors in the past weeks. Steve Berry loved it, and his wife Liz wants one, stat (it will come in handy when they head to this year's Maui Writer's Conference in Fiji). Michael Dirda thought the display was remarkably good, although the pages don't "turn" quickly enough for him. Russell Banks thought the whole thing was cool, and Vikram Chandra's already a fellow owner and fan, as is his wife novelist Melanie Abrams. None of the authors shuddered with horror upon seeing the device; they were genuinely interested in its advantages and disadvantages.
The advantages for me so far are being able to read easily while eating lunch and being able to carry several books around at once so that I can choose my reading material according to the amount of time I have and mood.
I discovered a big disadvantage yesterday, and I don't see an immediate way around it, either. I was standing in a long line to vote during "Chesapeake Tuesday," and was happily occupying myself by reading Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. I was on the verge of feeling a bit smug -- I wasn't bored, I was able to read easily while wearing a winter coat and shouldering a heavy tote -- when...
You guessed it. The battery ran out.
That would never happen with a paper book.
Thank goodness I had backup: I'd brought along a copy of the 100th-anniversary issue of Granta.
Posted by Bethanne Patrick on February 13, 2008 | Comments (4)
