I Have a New Way to Get My Thrills

Free Kindle books!

I love downloading free Kindle books and then watching to see what price they go up to.  It gives me a thrill to see how much money I saved by getting it free. 

The thrill is enhanced with the book turns out to be really good.

What Wonderful Technology

A storm woke me up in the middle of the night last night and I when I went back to sleep I had a horrific nightmare, so I decided to stay awake and read. The only thing handy was my Kindle2, but the only thing on there right now that I wanted to read was a sample I had downloaded last week.

I pulled the sample up and read it, and really enjoyed the story, even though I am pretty sure I read it out of the library a couple of years ago. When I finished the sample, I still was not sleepy, and I was back to nothing handy I wanted to read. I laid there for a few minutes and decided that if I got up to look for something I wanted to read I would probably 1) wake myself up so much I would never get back to sleep; 2) risk waking up the oldest and not get back to sleep. I was getting extremely frustrated.

Then I thought, what am I so frustrated about. I turned my K2 back on, went to the end of the sample I had just completed and clicked the button and before I could get my pillows adjusted the full book was there for me to read. I read until about 6:30 a.m., then I slept until my alarm went off at 7:25 a.m. What wonderful technology.

More on Kindle2

My love of my Kindle2 grows each day.

I was so worried that I would spend all that money and be unhappy. Not true. I haven't even begun to use all the features available on my K2, but I already do not want to be without it.

One of the things I was really worried about was how it would interfere with some of my reading habits, because, yes, I am a bathroom reader. Always have been, always will be. However, I was freaked out over the idea of taking such an expensive "book" into the loo. I have a nice chair (no, that is not another word for toilet, I have an actual chair in there), and sometimes I sit in there to read when I am not feeling well and feel the need to be close to the commode.

I finally decided to take the K2 into the bathroom yesterday. Now I like my bathroom because the dressing area is carpeted, and when my back hurts at night I go in there to read because I don't want to wake the youngest walking around the bedroom side of the house trying to find a place to lay and I don't want to go to the trouble of opening up the living room side of the house (which we close off at night). K2 was really great for reading on my back on the dressing area floor when it hurt last night. I could hold the K2 over my head and read without the normal wrist strain I get with big books while my back got the support it needed.

This morning I read while brushing my teeth because there is a ledge next to my sink that allows me to keep my K2 safe from water, but allows me to stand up and read while brushing. I have always done this with non E books, but I would get frustrated because I would have to move my book weight around so I would not miss words, and sometimes a paperback would slam shut losing my place. With the K2 that is not an issue.

Now I probably will not do my hair while reading on K2 like I usually do with a regular book, mainly because I would not want to get hairspray on my K2 screen.

The cover for my K2 came today and since I bought the one that is Kindle2 compatible, my K2 snaps into the cover. I am really happy with the weight of the cover and how it works, however, like many reviews have stated, I wish it had a tab or some type of closure so that the cover won't come open in my purse and allow things to fall into the cover and scratch my K2 screen. Many users have attached a velcro type closure onto their cover, but I like the smoothness of the cover when I hold it, and I am only worried about it in my purse, so no velcro for my K2. I believe I have come up with a solution for my problem, and will share it when I have it all worked out.

I have used the web browser a couple of times and I really like that feature. I have not tried the MP3 player because the oldest will have to show me how to do that.

I know many reviews complain about the robotic sound of the text-to-speech feature, but I have heard worse. I wish it was Sean Connery or George Clooney reading to me, but I can always use my imagination. To date, I don't know why I would use that feature very often. Maybe when I am in the middle of an exciting part of the book and need to pick up the youngest at school I could have it read the rest of the chapter to me. Or if I am cooking and want to hear my book.

I don't regret my decision to purchase the K2. Tonight I sat in the church parking lot waiting to see if anyone showed up for a meeting and read on my K2. I became so engrossed in the story that I stayed longer than I intended. I probably would not have stayed so long with a regular book as it is awkward for me to normally sit in the driver's seat and read because I have to have the seat so far forward to reach the car pedals and I don't like to readjust my seat. The K2 can be held in one hand to the side, or right on the steering wheel because the K2 is so thin. When I am reading a big thick book, I cannot read in the driver's seat at all because I cannot hold the book high enough for very long, and if I try to hold it down lower where it is comfortable there isn't enough room.

One thing I was a little worried about before I bought the K2 was how I would know how far along I was in a book. I like to know just how much I have to read to finish a book so I can plan my reading time. If I am close to finishing, I will allow more reading time in my day. I did not need to worry, because there is a little read out on the left hand bottom of the K2 that tells you. I am currently 39% through "The Lost Quilter."

To date, I am still thrilled with my purchase.

Here it Comes - Kindle2

Thanks to a generous birthday gift from my boss, and another cash gift from a loved one, I ordered my Kindle2 today. I even got enough to spend the extra $6.99 so it would arrive on my birthday-which is tomorrow.

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!

Kindle2 or Not

Sunday afternoon while I was cleaning out some shelves I found a container of change that I had started a while back but had not labeled for a purpose. I decided to make it a Kindle2 or Not project. Since I am still not sure the Kindle2 would be the best purchase for me, I thought that it would be good to save for one and then decide. I counted up the money in the container, threw in some money from a recent rebate, and my youngest threw in some "just because" money, for a total of $66.72.

My boys are behind my project 100%. In fact the youngest looked around outside his school today and found sixteen cents to add to the container.

I think it is good for the boys to see me save up for something I want that is expensive. It shows them that you don't have to run out and buy something just because you want it.

Some people have told me it is silly to save up money this way, and say I will never get $359.00 just by throwing some change in a jar. Evidently they have never saved up for something this way before, but I have done this many times. There is something about saving up every little penny to make a purchase that makes the item much more valuable once you have it in your hands.

The problem comes in trying to decide what money goes into the container. Since junk food often calls my name, I have decided that any time I am able to put off the urge to buy something like chips, candy, etc. then the money I would have spent on the junk food will go into the container. Found money will also go into the container. (I know that a lot of people do not pick up the pennies on the ground, but I do.)

In the meantime I will be researching and deciding if I really will get my money back through the purchase of a Kindle2.