Kindle Paperwhite - Kindle Pt 1

The Dark Side never looked so good.

I love books. I love holding them, flipping through their pages, and seeing them lined up on shelves. I grew up in a house where everyone had a book in hand at all times. When I was 16 my parents remodeled our house and turned almost the entire bottom floor into a library. They built floor to ceiling bookshelves over a couple thousand square feet of their home. I LOVED every inch of it.

I cursed the day I saw my first eReader. I'm no dummy; I knew it was the beginning of the end, and it depressed me. You can't start a conversation about what someone is reading on their screen without looking like a creeper. You can't dog ear a tablet or show off your high brow literature (like you always planned to once you picked up some high brow literature). So I staunchly held out. I was a purist and wouldn't get sucked into this digital craze.

AND THEN my parents decided to move and couldn't find a buyer for their crazy amazing house with its row after row of bookshelves. And their tens of thousands of books had to sorted and packed or donated.

AND THEN I had a baby and had to move my books from my office AKA nursery to a back closet where they barely fit.

AND THEN I had to nurse in the middle of the night with nothing to do but check Facebook for the umpteenth time in the dark. 

AND THEN I recalled all the times I desperately wanted a book but forgot to pack one, or couldn't read one in the dark, or got tired of holding up a large hardback Ken Follett saga while trying to block the sun from my eyes.

AND SO...

I was actually kind of thrilled to receive not one, but TWO Kindles from my husband for my birthday. He gave me the Kindle Paperwhite and the Kindle Fire HDX.  I unabashedly admit I love them BOTH for different purposes.

The Kindle Paperwhite has quickly become my go-to for reading. It dominates other readers because it has a softer (adjustable brightness) light, an exceptionally long battery life and much lighter weight. The best part?? You can read it comfortably outside in the sun or in a dark room or car. No more boring roadtrip nights listening to am sports radio for me!

I love that the eInk is so gentle on my eyes and that a soft backlight was added to the more recent models.  

The ability to link to my Prime account is great. Any content downloaded online through my account (through computer, phone, other Kindle, etc.) is available on the Paperwhite. Even the page I stopped reading at on another device is accounted for and I'm prompted to resume where I left off.

The Kindle Paperwhite gives the ability to highlight content, build vocabulary through an integrated dictionary, and be reminded of who a character is by tapping on the name. My sieve of a brain greatly appreciates these little tools.

Unlike many, I even love the screensaver ads. I learn about super cheap specials and books I normally wouldn't hear about. I don't have the data plan and I don't miss it. I already have months of content downloaded. 

I still miss seeing rows of spines, and the ability to flip through pages, but every time I turn on my Paperwhite I get over it a little more.