My computer geek neighbor had given his almost-as-geeky wife a Kindle for Xmas. She too got hers yesterday, and, sipping glasses of wine, we checked it out. It was indeed easy on the eyes and pretty cool. I think in this world of diminishing natural resources and rising costs of everything that goes into the physical product, the Kindle is a positive development. It also saves the consumer a lot of money over the long run. But I am such a traditionalist: I love my books, which I can pile next to my bed and slip into my bag. I'd be too worried that I, like Sara Nelson, would lose my Kindle. And then, all hell would break loose. But it really is a very cool toy and I'm glad I got to check it out.

As an unrepetent tub reader, I don't think I can ever have one. I mean, I have enough books with water-damaged wrinkled pages...

Looking forward to hearing more about how you like it. I'm on the verge of buying an Ebookwise, myself.

I love my new Kindle. I am never out of books and have downloaded a copy of The New York Times when there was something special I wanted to read. I am a publisher of books, but even so, I think this is the wave of the "green" future.

I hope you enjoy it, however, I will stick with my Palm Tx for reading. It's a lot cheaper and will fit in my shirt pocket. Somehow, I don't think the Kindle will fit. For right now I guess anyone who owns it is stuck from buying from Amazon and you are stuck with their format. You cannot buy from anywhere else and expect it to work. I will stick with my Mobipocket format which I can purchase from a number of places like Laurie J Books, Mobipocket, Fictionwise and others. Also the palm will read pdfs, Microsoft reader and Mobipocket. Mobipocket is also downloadable to a smartphone. Like Blakcberry.

Gotta say I'm torn. I've been (legitimately) accused of being a techno/toy geek. There are many things I like about the concept of the Kindle. But I also love my books. More importantly for me — and a bit on the scary side — I own an independent bookstore; four years old and just getting to break-even. I think about the community we serve, the relationships we've established; and the future. I sure hope we have one!

I love my new Kindle! I feel that it helps me to read faster. I'm already halfway through my third novel since Christmas.

Sure, it has some flaws, but having a built in dictionary and connectivity to Wikipedia are certainly outstanding. Buying new books couldn't be simpler.

I'll be taking my Kindle to my Smith 40th in May hoping I can find some alums who haven't heard about it!

To Dave:

You DO know that Amazon owns Mobipocket, right? The Kindle will read Mobipocket just fine, and it will read PDFs just fine, once they've been converted. You need to actually see and read on a Kindle to know what an impoverished experience you're getting on your Palm. It's like comparing the Queen Mary to a rowboat.