The joy of traveling with a Kindle
One of my dreams has always been to have a library: a bright and airy room, lined with bookshelves broken up only by a bay window complete with window seat. Bookshelves filled with fiction and French, dictionaries and design.
I’ve realized that dream will probably never come true. Most of the pages that have engrossed me in lazy afternoons, entertained me on public transit commutes and educated me on a range of subjects have all been lost: passed on to friends, sold to strangers, left behind in a hostel.
If only to speed up the demise of that dream, I bought a Kindle
What I love
- The size: At 6.8 by 4.7 inches and just 7.8 ounces, it’s incredibly easy to carry around wherever I go.
- The convenience: I finished a book while lying on the beach in Railay, Thailand—but the sun was still shining and I wasn’t quite ready to head in yet. So I connected to the Amazon store—did I mention I was LYING ON THE BEACH IN THAILAND—to scroll through some titles, bought a book and was diving into a new story within minutes. The worldwide 3G coverage is worth every single penny to a traveler.
- The feel: I was worried about losing the act of reading: the swish-click of turning page, the musty aroma of freshly-bound paper, the relief of black-on-white after hours staring at a screen. I’ve been pleasantly surprised: it still feels like reading. The screen doesn’t hurt my eyes like staring at a computer can. And it’s made my guilty pleasure much easier: reading while eating is a cinch when you don’t need to hold the pages open.
- The choice: I can still pick up free titles in book exchanges if I see something that interests me. If I don’t, however, I’m not stuck without something to read or reading something mediocre just because that’s my only option.
- The dictionary!: Just click on any word you don’t recognize and bang!—the definition will pop up. This is my absolute favorite feature since I’m a lazy word nerd: it’s awesome for both new vocabulary and for cultural or historical references.
- The charge: Finally, a tech gadget that you don’t have to charge every night. I usually only need to charge once every few weeks, depending on how much reading I’m doing.
What I don’t love
- Losing the conversation: I love when I spot someone reading a book that I’ve read, or when someone strikes up a conversation after they spot the cover of the book I’m reading: it’s a great way to connect over a common interest. With the Kindle, reading becomes a much more private act—and I’m not so sure I like that.
- The cost: The upfront cost of a Kindle is substantial—I opted for the most expensive of them all, the new Kindle Touch with 3G capabilities and no ads. New books tend to cost about $13 each, although there are options for free or cheaper books (particularly classics or older titles). Gone are the days of ordering 1-cent books on Amazon!
- Being selfish: I used to always pass books on to someone who I knew would love them as much as I did. It used to make the cost seem less substantial.
- The worry: I love to read while suntanning on the beach, but it’s a bit more harrowing with a Kindle: will the sand ruin it? Will the sun ruin it? Will the saltwater ruin it? Will someone steal it while I’m in the water? It’s a much bigger risk than a stack of magazines or a cheap paperback.
- The technological quirks: If you accidentedly click ahead on the touchscreen, it’s super annoying to try and find your place again. Sometimes you click and hold to highlight, and end up flipping ahead several pages.
Do you travel with a Kindle? What do you think?
