As per usual for the holiday season, my mother, the commonly known queen of Chrismakah, pulled out all the stops and blew me away with the greatest gifts I have ever received. This year, the gift that really lit my Yule log was my Amazon Kindle. At first, I was worried that, as with my Furby, my love affair with my Kindle would be brief. HOWEVER, I have read three full books since Christmas as have shown no signs of stopping. This skinny little device has benefited me in more ways than one during the holiday break and I thought that you should all be reaping the benefits of the Kindle as I have been.
The first advantage of the Kindle that I would like to point out is its financial efficiency. Although the Kindle sells on Amazon for almost three hundred dollars, it is a purchase that will pay for itself in the future! For example, Kathy Griffin’s new book, which can be purchased on Amazon in print for $16.50, was only $9.99 on my Kindle. Although this is a seemingly meager savings, for me, it has added up and thus far I have purchased upwards of five books and have saved a total of about $30.00 and growing. This benefit can be reaped specifically by students as TEXTBOOKS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE KINDLE. Since this addition to the Kindle is still new, there are only limited numbers of textbooks available. But, Amazon is promising to fix this issue as you can search a book on their site and request that the publisher release a Kindle edition of this book. So far I have only been able to buy one textbook for spring term on the Kindle, but it has allowed me to save about fifteen dollars on the book, which, in a recession, is totally worth it! Purchase of a Kindle may be more instantly rewarding for students in English and Literature-based majors, as many of their books don’t fall into the textbook category. Another great way to save money with the Kindle while becoming an increasingly influential member of society is through newspaper and magazine subscriptions. All Kindle Newspaper subscriptions come with a 14-day free trial and all are at a very abbreviated price. The Boston Globe can be wireless sent to you every morning for a month for $9.99 while regular home delivery costs $24.52 a week, and that price only lasts for your first twelve weeks subscribing!
Aside from the wonderful financial perks of owning a Kindle, there are many practical benefits. First, the Kindle is small and skinny enough to be carried in almost any purse (except a clutch but typically, you aren’t reading at events that require a clutch). While toting your Kindle you can be carrying around multiple books without putting a strain on your back and shoulders and without angering your fellow T riders by bringing on a giant, heavy bag. Saving money and increasing comfort sounds like a Win-Win to me.
One complaint that I have about my beautiful Kindle is the lack of a backlight. Although the screen has been made totally matte as not to strain your eyes (which I appreciate) I would love to be able to read with my kindle in the dark places like in bed or on a bus. Amazon does sell a clip on reading light for the Kindle online; however having a backlight would make the most useful thing I own (besides my beautiful Mac) significantly more useful.
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