[Kate] My Thoughts on Kindles

In order to save space and minimize weight, we’re bringing mainly Kindles (or iPads with the kindle app, like I am doing) for reading.  Here are my thoughts on my only source of books (which, if you know me, is a big deal!):

Things I Like About Kindles:

-They’re pretty compact and lightweight.  Well, compared to a heap of books they’re insanely so.  That’s the main reason they’ve come along for our trip.

-We can get books we want pretty quickly as long as they’re available at the library.  Instead of searching through bookstores we can look online.

-They’re pretty easy to use.  Well, once you get the general idea at least.

-They have a built in dictionary, so if you come across a word you don’t know you can just hold down on it and read the definition.  This can also sometimes work with character or place names in the story.

-You can make notes and highlight the text.  I don’t use this that often, but it can still be cool.  And sometimes you can see what other people often highlight in their text.

Things I Dislike About Kindles:

-You need to download books if you want to read them.  I understand the reason why, of course, but it can still be annoying because my iPad (which I am using as a kindle through the kindle app) has a bit of a problem with storage, considering all the movies and books I have downloaded onto it for this trip.

-They just don’t have the feeling of real books.  You can’t flip through the pages, so it can be harder to go back, and to know exactly how far in you are.

-Even though they are not so difficult to use, I do end up pressing the wrong thing sometimes and have to figure out how to get back to my page.
-They can freeze.  It really irks me when this happens.  Even though it’s normally not for very long, it’s infuriating for me.