REVIEW: Kindle lightens the load for heavy readers

    With one of the few bookstores in Logan that sells new books closing, many book lovers are going to have to find other ways to find good reading. For those of you who, like me, do not get the same joy from the smell of used books as others, or are not a library person, one item has saved me both emotionally and financially, and it goes by the name of Kelly’s Kindle.

    I recall that day about a year ago when I was procrastinating a final paper for my British Literature class, surfing the web, and I landed on Amazon.com, and consequently my new object of love (other than my then-fiancé). I was in a studious computer lab, and disturbed the silence with a highly audible gasp of surprise that someone had woven their way into my dreams and stolen my favorite fantasy.

    I remember leaning over to Brad, shaking him out of his engineering stupor, and speechlessly pointing at the bright screen, which, through my eyes and ears, seemed to be surrounded by fireworks and emitting a faint fanfare.

    Not long after we were married I received a box with the coveted Kindle wrapped neatly inside as a surprise birthday present. Since then a relationship has developed between this Kindle and myself that became even deeper while shopping for textbooks.

    I decided to check and see if any of my books would be cheaper on my Kindle, which would make it easier to carry them around. To my great delight, I took a list of 11 books needed, totaling $399.40, down to three books totaling $108.30.

    Seven of those 11 books were either free on the Kindle or less than a dollar. The last book is being borrowed from a friend, making my total textbook savings just under $300, which also happens to be almost twice the price of the Kindle.

    Those savings can now be put toward other financial needs, helping Brad and I relieve some of the stress that comes with being married and still in college. And if you still don’t believe me, I was the first one in my family to get a Kindle, and since last summer five other members of my family have gotten one for themselves.

    While I own a Kindle, and consequently am a little biased, there are many other choices available. The Barnes & Noble “Nook,” the Sony Reader, the Kobo eReader and various Apple products, just to name a few, are all rectangular devices that will allow you to read books electronically. But which one is better than the rest?

    After doing a little research, I found that the Kindle is overwhelmingly more popular than any other eReader. Those I have talked to with other devices say they wish their parents or spouses had bought them a Kindle for a gift instead. The Kindle was also the most purchased gift for Christmas from Amazon last year, and considering how Amazon sells everything including the kitchen sink, this is saying quite a bit.

    According to toptenreviews.com, the two versions of the Kindle take numbers one and two, with the Nook in fourth and fifth place, and the Sony Reader down in eighth place.

    The consensus? While the Nook comes with a partial touch screen, and some now even come in color, the Kindle continues to outrank all others in “size, speed, and quality …

mak(ing) it second to none,” according to the website.

    The last thing to consider when looking into getting an eReader is price. The Kindle is tied for the least expensive reader with the Kobo eReader, ranked 10th on toptenreviews.com. For less than $200, you can get an almost unlimited number of books virtually anywhere. (Trust me on this, I took my Kindle to a family reunion last summer up in the mountains, and still had full bars.)

    Most classics are free, and every other book available is offered at a discount of the print price.

    The Kindle comes with the Oxford American Dictionary already installed, and comes in handy when I am reading a book that has words I do not know. Simply moving the cursor to the front of the word in the book will give you the definition at the bottom, eliminating the need for a hefty dictionary in my backpack.

    For those of you considering an electronic reader but don’t know which one to purchase, I testify to you that the Kindle is worth every penny saved.

– Kellyn is a junior majoring in English lit studies and is the Statesman features editor. Her column runs once a month and she can be reached at kellyn.neumann@aggiemail.usu.edu