Ode to the Kindle..

I am a paper person. If I could force myself to read a book I would, just because it's amazing that paper holds not just ink formations that can be made into sentences but vast amounts of knowledge, stories about how our lives could be far in the future, and tales of life in the untamed west. I write down grocery lists, to-do lists and I have even been known to write my feelings down on a piece of paper, even if just for myself. I write things to remember, things to forget, and my kids' shoe sizes. I love feeling a pen in my hand, especially a good fountain pen, and quality paper makes me happy. I adore going to Office Depot just to peruse the pen section (well, and every other section, I am an office supply store addict).

However, as of late I have discovered something that I think I might love even more than paper... My Kindle. I am not a reader, I wish I was but alas my ADHD does not allow me to cuddle up with a good book, or a bad book or any kind of book for that matter because I get a couple of pages into it and get distracted/frustrated and quit. My Kindle fixes that for me, I think it works for several reasons:

1) The device itself is light, compact, aesthetically pleasing and not distracting. I don't have to try to hold the pages in such a way that I don't break the spine of the book but can still read it comfortably. It feels good in my hands, and the not distracting part is VERY important to me.

2) The controls are in the exact right spot. My only complaint is that there are 2 "next page" buttons, one under my right thumb and one under my left. The "prev page" button is smaller and above my left thumb... I wish the "next page" button was under my right thumb and the "prev page" button under my left.

3) I can't see how much of the book I have left, so I don't get overwhelmed. Most of the time I will look at the book I am reading and think about how long it's going to take me to get through it, so I get frustrated knowing that I will get distracted and end up putting the book down and not reading it. Not so with the Kindle! I don't have the tactile difference of the small amount of pages I have already read in my left hand as opposed to the big hunk of stuff I haven't read in my right.

So after realizing this magical device could allow me to actually ENJOY reading again I discovered yet another very nifty thing it can do... keep track of my notes for me. My Kindle can also store text files and PDF's for viewing. I can make a list of let's say refrigerator repair persons in notepad then save it to my kindle just like a thumb drive and have it with me wherever, whenever. Same thing with my kids' report cards/progress reports, I can log on to the school's website and download them straight to My Kindle. So this is how I store all the important lists I need to have immediate access to now (including the kids' shoe sizes).

I am still figuring out all the stuff I can make this thing do, I am just now getting in to the web browsing capability, and the Easter Eggs programmed into it (do you know how to make your Kindle play minesweeper? I do!) so expect to hear me rave about this thing more in the future.
Right now I am anxiously awaiting an awesome pink (of course) leather case for it it's gonna be super spiffy!!!!!

But for now I must go, I have pressing mommy matters to attend to.



~end transmission~