Welcome to the twenty-seventh post of the Great Writing Challenge of 2012.
Five days a week for six months, I will be given a topic to write about. The stipulation: it must be 250 words (or more), and positive in tone.
If you would like to suggest topics for me to write about, please email me at TheRebeccaProject [at] gmail [dot] com.

Hello, my name is Rebecca and I am a Kindle convert.

It all started a few weeks ago when my local library was closed for days due to budget-related furloughs. And it’s been months since Borders closed its doors to my little home away from home on Powell Street. So I found myself in an intellectual no-mans land. This was the impetus that led me to purchase my first Kindle.

Making the switch to digital has been a long time coming for an old book lover like myself. I adore the feel and the smell of books, and love the history about them as physical artifacts. So I was skeptical a digital device could recreate that tactile and emotional experience for me.

Just over a week later, I am sold. It’s lightweight, easy to read and I have half a library right here in my back pocket. My bag feels much lighter and I no longer have to worry about the accumulation of library fines. I have stocked my new Kindle with all the classics on my To Read list, with many books published prior to 1923 available for free. Free! I just completed F. Scott Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise, and now I’m tackling Austen.

To Kindle or not to Kindle?

Pros:

1. Ease of use
2. Weight – so incredibly light!
3. Price of tablet – I paid about $86 including tax for mine
   
4. Built-in reference dictionary – a great resource that I’ve actually been using
   
5. Simplicity – you really can’t do anything else on this version of the Kindle, but for someone with my attention span, that’s perfect
6. Perfect for travelling

Cons:

1. The other non-classics I have looked at purchasing can be really quite expensive, considering you don’t get a physical book for that price (Jack Kerouac’s On The Road, $12.99)
   
2. The fact that it’s yet another item that requires charging
   
3.  Not a physical book in your hand
   
4. I like to know what page I am on, and how many total pages are in the book. So far, I’ve only worked out it only tells you what percentage you have read
   

Have you made the switch to e-books?