Surprise Val! Your holiday wishes have come true! This year you've received a Kindle 2 for the boat! Our family loves books. At any one time, there are 7 books going and about 2 books a week are completed. We simply love books, and both our daughters, copying mommy and daddy, enjoy books too. KJ can read simple ones, while Dy simply goes page by page looking at the letters and pictures. We read every night.
Our joy, however, creates an issue as it relates to load capacity on the boat. We simply cannot have a full library on the boat. This is where an ebook reader comes into play. These remarkable devices can store over 1,000 books on them, and the device weighs less a pound!
Not only are these devices small and easy on the eyes, but there are many free books out there, including classics like the Scarlet Pimpernel.
As a geek, when Val shared that she wanted an ebook reader, I was pretty jazzed up. Lots of research and reading went into buying this device. There are a number of options out there, not just within the Kindle product family line. After weighing the pros and cons, I elected to buy her the Kindle 2. Not only did the Kindle support more formats than any other product, but the Kindle 2 can operate internationally. Good for us! The Kindle DX cannot. Another Kindle 2 win was its size. The DX was too big to just sit in a hand and be enjoyed while bobbing up and down on the seas. Another reason for the Kindle 2 over the Kindle DX is the navigation buttons are on both sides, so as the device is passed hand to hand, like a paperback, the buttons are easy to access. The Kindle 2 can also run longer on a single charge than the Kindle DX.
These ebook readers are definitely the way of the future. Val's device is remarkable and is a must for anyone who enjoys books and is planning on a long voyage.
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I think this is perfect for cruisers, but what will happen to the Cruiser Librarys in all the Marinas? Will they go the way of the local newspaper? What will Cruisers leave behind to trade with their buddies?
ReplyDelete@jomamma: :) I suspect the cruisers library is safe for the next 10 years, but they will indeed go the way of the local newspapers.
ReplyDeleteAs neat as Val's Kindle is, the books I enjoy aren't available on it yet so we will be lugging along good ole' fashioned books too .... to help restock the cruisers library.
Interestingly, there is a capacity to "share" books with the Kindle, for finite amounts of time (I believe it is 30 days). Val can lend her ebook to some else who also has a Kindle. As I understand it, the ebook disappears from Val's Kindle but shows up on someone else's Kindle for the lending period of time.
Maybe someone will set up a virtual library for Kindles .... and maybe they will have virtual clubs and marinas can set themselves up as a lending club location. Okay, my geekness and technology futurist job functions are popping out! :) Time to return to holiday mode and not think about work. Thanks for the comment jomamma!
I knew some geek (thank goodness for them) would come up with a solution. As much as I like books and love my own personal library, I'm looking at the possibilities of getting a Kindle or something like it. I probably have enough knitting books and magazines to sink a boat the size of yours.
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