Christmas

I know, I know, you're all thinking - but it's February aren't you a bit late in posting about Christmas? - well I am sorry, I started a new job, had a lot to do and basically just didn't have the time to formulate full sentences. So I am going to write about it now. So there!

For Christmas I received a Kindle (*gasp) I wasn't sure how I felt about it, being pretty much a book person to the core and by book I do mean paper pages and beautiful covers and the new book smell! But it was a gift from my parents and I felt I had to try it out. And as my commute to work has only gotten longer I thought it might be helpful to carry around a tiny Kindle and not a massive novel like Bleak House.

Here are my results:
I downloaded 'Locked In' by Kerry Wilkinson (because it was cheap and at the top of the download list), 'Look at Me' by Jennifer Egan (special price on 12 Days of Kindle) and the Short Stories of Guy Maupassant (currently I am reading Bel-ami).

'Locked In' was fine, it is a totally fine self-published novel. If an editor got hold of it they would improve it tenfold but for 98p I can't really complain. But when I started 'Look At Me' by Jennifer Egan I was breathless, it was such a terrific book I hardly noticed I was reading it on a piece plastic!

So, my opinion of the Kindle:
The Kindle store on the Kindle is rubbish, it doesn't show prices until you click through so you have no idea what you are looking at. To be completely honest my purchases on the Kindle are entirely based on price. I refuse to pay more than £3 - which is awful I know, but if I could get it cheaper in real book format why wouldn't I?
While it is lighter to carry than those massive novels, I have to admit I don't use it all the time. Holding it can be a bit tricky on a crowed train and you have to keep clicking this button at the side of the screen to turn the pages.

But...I don't mind it. I can't curl up in bed with it, I wouldn't dare take it in the bath with me and I am more paranoid with it in my bag. But it really is fine. Not for reading on all the time, but for books I'm not sure about it's pretty good and testing things out is great (you can download a free sample of any title).

But all in all this is not a rave review. Get one if you want one, don't bother if you don't. It won't change your life.