Normally I write reviews on new eBooks, mostly written by new, unknown or obscure authors so others may learn of these extraordinary people and find enjoyment in the stories by these previously unknown purveyors and creators of the realms of the ImagiVerse.
With this post I am writing a review of e-readers in general, and of course, the Kindle specifically, since that is the device I personally own.
A year ago I recall being in a discussion about e-readers. I stated to others online that I love real paper & print books and would miss the smell of buying a new book or even reading one from the library and that I would never get a Kindle or any other e-reading device. No matter how small, compact, efficient or easy to carry these pieces of technology may be. I had no use for them or desire to even try one.
Then my wife got me a Kindle for Christmas of 2010. I was enamored right from the start and since then have only gotten more enthusiastic over this slim little device that allows me to hold literally thousands of books in one hand while easily reading the current book that holds my interest. And to think this device is even smaller than the case that holds my favorite movie DVD.
If I so desire I can put my Kindle down or turn it off and when I pick it back up I never lose the place where I was reading last. Even if I were to decide to stop one book and start another, once I return to the former book it is still on the exact page where I last left it. With paper books I constantly lost my bookmark in one manner or another or dropped the book and lost my place while reading, not to mention dogearing many pages when it hit the floor. I have yet to lose my place with my Kindle and it is so easy to hold I also have yet to drop it (Knock on wood).
Yes, there is the slight difficulty of not being able to as easily flip back to a previous page to check something out, since there are no page numbers and I can only "flip" back one page at a time (perhaps I could do otherwise, but not knowing exactly what page I am looking for makes it difficult to ""flip" multiple pages), but that is an extremely minor problem. In reality I love my Kindle and would not trade it to go back to paper & print books, mainly because with print books I usually only take one book at a time to work with me (Or the doctor's office or anyplace else where I may have one of many appointments and need of something interesting to read while waiting around). If I finish that book on a break I have nothing else to occupy my time on my remaining breaks that day. With my Kindle I always have another book or twenty on hand to choose from and begin reading immediately.
The covers of the books I download are not in color, as is the case with certain other e-readers, but how often do I need to look at the cover, anyway? That is simply a teaser to help in my selection of the book. Once I have the book on my Kindle it matters little what the cover looks like and color is no longer a factor. Besides, the resolution on my Kindle is so excellent that even black & white and gray-tone covers look superb.
This is such an excellent device that my son's girlfriend recently asked me many questions about my Kindle Experience and later my son asked me to order one for his girlfriend's birthday (Which is next Wednesday). I did. It is on its way as I write this review. We both know she will be as thrilled with hers as I am with mine.
What about the cost of eBooks, you ask? Most eBooks are priced far cheaper than most print books, except those published by the traditional publishers who are also trying to keep their feet in the door of this future wave. Those publishers tend to over-price the eBooks they control and are stupidly pricing their authors out of existence. With all the Indie Authors published online at Smashwords, Amazon and other online venues, who know enough to keep their prices low so more copies can be sold of each eBook and more readers can realize the value of buying a greater volume of eBooks, and with so many of these new, Indie Authors proving themselves as adept and worthy as those "famous" authors under contract to the traditional publishers (My condolences, to those contracted authors, by the way), costs to the readers are minimal. I personally have spent money on more eBooks in the last three months than I have on print books in the last five years. This is because with eBooks being so inexpensive I am able to purchase more of them than ever I have with paper books. Also, there are plenty of free eBooks online in various venues (Especially on Smashwords.com). No one ever has to use the excuse of not having the money to buy eBooks with the volume of outstanding FREE Indie Authored eBooks on the market.
If you or someone you know has been vacillating over buying an e-reader - stop your indecision and get one ordered right now. You will not be sorry. Unless you are someone who doesn't actually love reading to begin with, in which case, why are you even bothering to read this review? Go back to your idiot box and veg out. Books are for intelligent people with open minds and a love for something new to constantly challenge their imaginations. E-readers are for intelligent people who know that this is the way of the future of books and reading and that relatively soon the traditional print publishers will be out of business and e-reading will be the only and best manner available.
The e-reader- the revolutionary device that will not only change your way of reading, but will encourage you to become even more daring in challenging your previous horizons. No, neither Amazon nor any other e-reader manufacturer has paid me in any way to write this review. This is strictly from my own unending, childlike enjoyment. May it never wain.
Jacob Drake
Author, Reader, Lover of books in any form.
Now leave me alone so I can get back to my current book.
With this post I am writing a review of e-readers in general, and of course, the Kindle specifically, since that is the device I personally own.
A year ago I recall being in a discussion about e-readers. I stated to others online that I love real paper & print books and would miss the smell of buying a new book or even reading one from the library and that I would never get a Kindle or any other e-reading device. No matter how small, compact, efficient or easy to carry these pieces of technology may be. I had no use for them or desire to even try one.
Then my wife got me a Kindle for Christmas of 2010. I was enamored right from the start and since then have only gotten more enthusiastic over this slim little device that allows me to hold literally thousands of books in one hand while easily reading the current book that holds my interest. And to think this device is even smaller than the case that holds my favorite movie DVD.
If I so desire I can put my Kindle down or turn it off and when I pick it back up I never lose the place where I was reading last. Even if I were to decide to stop one book and start another, once I return to the former book it is still on the exact page where I last left it. With paper books I constantly lost my bookmark in one manner or another or dropped the book and lost my place while reading, not to mention dogearing many pages when it hit the floor. I have yet to lose my place with my Kindle and it is so easy to hold I also have yet to drop it (Knock on wood).
Yes, there is the slight difficulty of not being able to as easily flip back to a previous page to check something out, since there are no page numbers and I can only "flip" back one page at a time (perhaps I could do otherwise, but not knowing exactly what page I am looking for makes it difficult to ""flip" multiple pages), but that is an extremely minor problem. In reality I love my Kindle and would not trade it to go back to paper & print books, mainly because with print books I usually only take one book at a time to work with me (Or the doctor's office or anyplace else where I may have one of many appointments and need of something interesting to read while waiting around). If I finish that book on a break I have nothing else to occupy my time on my remaining breaks that day. With my Kindle I always have another book or twenty on hand to choose from and begin reading immediately.
The covers of the books I download are not in color, as is the case with certain other e-readers, but how often do I need to look at the cover, anyway? That is simply a teaser to help in my selection of the book. Once I have the book on my Kindle it matters little what the cover looks like and color is no longer a factor. Besides, the resolution on my Kindle is so excellent that even black & white and gray-tone covers look superb.
This is such an excellent device that my son's girlfriend recently asked me many questions about my Kindle Experience and later my son asked me to order one for his girlfriend's birthday (Which is next Wednesday). I did. It is on its way as I write this review. We both know she will be as thrilled with hers as I am with mine.
What about the cost of eBooks, you ask? Most eBooks are priced far cheaper than most print books, except those published by the traditional publishers who are also trying to keep their feet in the door of this future wave. Those publishers tend to over-price the eBooks they control and are stupidly pricing their authors out of existence. With all the Indie Authors published online at Smashwords, Amazon and other online venues, who know enough to keep their prices low so more copies can be sold of each eBook and more readers can realize the value of buying a greater volume of eBooks, and with so many of these new, Indie Authors proving themselves as adept and worthy as those "famous" authors under contract to the traditional publishers (My condolences, to those contracted authors, by the way), costs to the readers are minimal. I personally have spent money on more eBooks in the last three months than I have on print books in the last five years. This is because with eBooks being so inexpensive I am able to purchase more of them than ever I have with paper books. Also, there are plenty of free eBooks online in various venues (Especially on Smashwords.com). No one ever has to use the excuse of not having the money to buy eBooks with the volume of outstanding FREE Indie Authored eBooks on the market.
If you or someone you know has been vacillating over buying an e-reader - stop your indecision and get one ordered right now. You will not be sorry. Unless you are someone who doesn't actually love reading to begin with, in which case, why are you even bothering to read this review? Go back to your idiot box and veg out. Books are for intelligent people with open minds and a love for something new to constantly challenge their imaginations. E-readers are for intelligent people who know that this is the way of the future of books and reading and that relatively soon the traditional print publishers will be out of business and e-reading will be the only and best manner available.
The e-reader- the revolutionary device that will not only change your way of reading, but will encourage you to become even more daring in challenging your previous horizons. No, neither Amazon nor any other e-reader manufacturer has paid me in any way to write this review. This is strictly from my own unending, childlike enjoyment. May it never wain.
Jacob Drake
Author, Reader, Lover of books in any form.
Now leave me alone so I can get back to my current book.
* * * * *
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Arthur, a professor of literature, becomes enthralled by the idea of lucid dreaming. One night he succeeds and finds himself in the bedroom of his neighbors, Hector and Eileen. And, shockingly, realizes that Eileen is aware of him. One thing leads to another. Is dream sex cheating? Arthur says yes. Eileen says no. Which one wins? You'll have to read the story to find out.
This anthology contains previously published as well as never before published works. A Walk In The Woods - Flash Fiction Sweet Savage Charity - A Novelette Grindel’s Tale - A Short Story Only In My Dreams - A Novelette Sir Dragonbreath - A Short Story Of Love And War - A Novelette A Slice of Life - A Novella
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From Jacob M. Drake
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From Jackson Williams
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The other, really nice thing about e-readers is that the books on your e-reader take up virtually NO space. My Kindle 2, in any of it's covers, takes up about the space of one novel, and not even one of those epic-length novels that I have come to love.
ReplyDeleteIn it's slimmest cover, my Kindle takes up about the same space as one 200 page novel. The fattest cover doesn't even make the device take up the space of a 400 page novel. Ah.... if only I could get ebook versions of most of the paperback and hardcover books I've got. One could clear a lot of bookshelf space that way... My Kindle 2 has in excess of 800 books on it, with space left for more.