Paperwhite

Recently, I got the best surprise ever from my {favorite} daddy.

The new Kindle Paperwhite

Isn't it beautiful? My dad had been researching the new Kindle lately and we had been talking about upgrading mine, but it was a total surprise when it arrived in the mail over Spring Break.

My other Kindle is the 2nd generation one and I've had it since I was a junior in high school. In Kindle years, that makes it about 100 years old. It still works but there are some big differences: mainly that it's the same size as my mini ipad and doesn't connect to wifi. (How weird is it that I can own a piece of technology that doesn't have wifi capability?) It also has a crack in the plastic, which doesn't hinder my ability to read but still made me wary about putting it in my backpack, where it's subject to a lot of rough movement throughout the day.

Here are some things that I LOVE about my new Kindle:

1. It connects to my Goodreads account and automatically updates my currently reading shelf when I start a new book. Genius partnership, if you ask me!

2. It's a touchscreen, so instead of pressing a button to turn the page I just tap the screen.

3. It has a built-in (adjustable) light, which has been such a convenience because my cat loves to position herself on my stomach while I read at night and does not like it when I shift over to turn off my lamp. I actually feel like I can fall asleep faster now reading with just the backlight on, and it certainly makes the creepy story I'm reading right now that much more disturbing. (Good or bad thing? I'll let you know...)

4. I can highlight any word or section and instantly translate it into a foreign language. I'm a language lover- I've studied Latin, French, Spanish, Swahili, Thai and a teensy bit of Arabic at different points in my life- and one of my goals is to make sure that I continue learning French this summer, so this feature will definitely come in handy for that.

5. When you tap a word to look up the definition, it saves it to your personal vocabulary builder. You can then look up alternative uses for those words and practice them with flashcards. I'm much more apt to look up a word when the definition is immediately available (not that it would take so long to google it on my phone) and I love learning new words, and I've already added a few to my vocabulary this week!

Needless to say, I am so in love with it.

Do you use an e-reader? What do you love most about it?

Books vs. E-Books

I'll admit that I've owned a kindle since they first came out on the market. I know that many of my fellow bibliophiles viewed the birth of the kindle as something akin to the arrival of the antichrist. At first I was eager to show off my new device, but soon I was experiencing a feeling of guilt over it...was I abandoning books for this? For something that represented the threat to the world of libraries and bookstores? I went back and forth between feeling bad for not using my kindle enough to feeling like I was abandoning books, and by proxy, abandoning part of my identity as a reader. After many years (and immense growth in the e-book market), I've come to settle my dilemma. There are pros and cons to both physical books and e-books, and I now use my library card and kindle in equal measure and my reading experiences are considerably more happy for it.

Mostly, I use my kindle when carrying books is inconvenient. This includes during the academic year when I am already lugging around binders, textbooks, my agenda, and any number of other supplies. In that case, using my kindle is so much easier. In past years I've even used my kindle as a electronic textbook. I also use my kindle whenever traveling. That way, I can carry multiple books at once, and even download one in case I finish my current read. The e-book market is expanding considerably, and in the years since I first received a kindle, they've become more like tablets than readers. That is where I find fault in them now, as a big part of the draw is that the screen is much easier on my eyes than a traditional electronic screen. As a student, I spend a considerable part of my day on the computer and I know that my eyes are suffering for it, so reading on the specialized "paper" screen helps give my brain and eyes a break from all that stimulation. At the moment, I carry a second generation kindle, but the only one I would considering upgrading to is the paper white, as it is smaller (even more convenient) and maintains the specialized screen.

That being said, I will always be loyal to books. Though I love my kindle and couldn't imagine traveling without one, there is no better feeling than bringing home a big stack of books from the library or bookstore and physically turning the pages. There's something about the smell and feel of books that makes reading so much better. Besides that, books are great conversation starters. When a person is holding a book on the metro or in a waiting room, it's much easier to comment on their reading when you can read the title first. (Even if I've never heard of the book, there's always a comment to be made about the cover art.) Plus, I love the sight of them on my shelves, nightstand, and pretty much every other surface in my room. It was Cicero (the great Roman orator) who said, "A room without books is like a body without a soul." That just about sums it up.

What do you think of e-readers?