I got a Kindle when it was first offered and then influenced my family and friends to also get a Kindle! I love reading and I am usually reading 3-4 books at a time so Kindle made my life so much easier. Pop the kindle in my bag and no matter where I was or how long I had to wait, I could read, which made everything better. Now I have arthritis in my hands so holding a book is painful but the Kindle is easy. I also have Kindle on my phone so while everyone is on their phone, I am too! I also put Kindle on my iPad so if I have that, I can be reading. Long lines no longer bother me. Waiting in an office no longer bothers me. Sometimes when I am called back to see the doctor or dentist or anybody, I will say: ‘Let me just finish this page.’ When I was teaching and the time would come for ‘Silent Reading’, I would let my students read on my Kindle or iPad. Sometimes they would come to my classroom before school or at lunch to read more when they could. Boys who said that didn’t want to read would find something interesting on my Kindle and start a book! If I had a hardcover or paperback of the book (which I often did), I would loan them the book to take home. They told other teachers who wanted to know what the secret was. Sometimes they would ask their parent to buy them a Kindle so they could read more. Reading is so important to me and I think it should be a part or everyone’s life so Kindle made a difference for me and for my students. It is Revolutionary!!

With Kindle, (1) I can highlight, highlight in different colors to make clear a different assessment ( review this passage later, this is the most important conclusion, and possibly critical to the analysis, etc). (2) cap this method makes possible a much more analytical 1st read of a book, whether fiction or nonfiction. Any book truly worth a 1st read is going to be worth a 2nd read, but that 2nd read is going to be far more accessible, memorable and constitute a set of valuable notes because of my method of using a digitized book. (3) It makes possible review of the book later by way of highlights, and even highlights as colored. (4) Kindle is my library waiting for my attention: as soon as I hear about a book I’m interested in, I add it to my wish list. That is my pending library. Before this method, I had accumulated so many books that there was simply no more room for them. (5) Could I effectively maintain a written list of books I’d like to read, and then get them from the library or buy hardbacks or paperbacks? Yes, but this is so much more facile, and I can carry my entire library around with me in my pocket. Having the image and a brief review of the book in the wish list makes possible a decision among books that I’m going to read next. There are only so many books we can read in a lifetime,. So we need to choose carefully.

There isn’t anywhere else I like to get books, even on apple products. There’s are so many free books you’ll probably never read them all, for every age range. Cheaper than buying most books in paperback, though I do collect some books for when I NEED that physical page feel. Access to listings for used books if you want that instead of the kindle version you can, though it’s cheap, not free. Classics also available free though I have bought a few for $1 just for a certain version or illustrations to show my daughter. If you don’t like a book or version you find for free no sweat you can just delete it, and if you do like it then congrats. Don’t be afraid to browse some regular priced books or even the $1 book selection, though I admittedly filter the books by the star reviews so I don’t end up with a bunch of duds by accident. Definitely nice when the power is out and you want something to do, though a word of warning. Adjust your settings according to your device and it’s battery. I have low brightness and page flip off on my phone but higher brightness and page flip on for my tablet since it can handle the extra drainage. I should also mention they have different fonts you can use for your books including one for dyslexia. I use it because I have weak eyes, would definitely recommend it for the long book journeys. You can add notes and highlight things if you want to as well, so that’s readily available if you need it, too. Ok, I’ve said enough, try it for yourself and who knows how many books you’ll find? Happy reading!

Kindle app is a great reader. However, it contains some extra features which would be AMAZING if they would develop them just a bit further so they could be put to more practical and more productive use. Kindle reader app for me, is more than just a reader like a little kindle device. It’s a productivity and learning tool and with a few little enhancements could be amazingly useful for that. Anyway, updated features are long overdue. 1. It would sure be nice if the highlights had major customizability (best) or at the very least, more color choices. As I’ve expanded my use of them, I have developed a system of highlights that act visual cues for myself for future reference. I have more ideas but the extremely limited choice of colors is frustrating that. 2. The flashcards feature works in a confusing and non-logical way. If I wanted to use the already existing ability to have highlights become flashcards, it only fills one side of the flashcard. It would be better if one could do something like allow me to choose to put adjoining highlights as a pair, the first on the front and the second second on the back. Then I could make flashcards from premises and conclusions in a book. I think that would get a lot of use from people like me who teach. 3. It would sure be helpful if I could select text across a page break with one selection rather than two separate selections. 4. Perhaps an option to read by vertically scrolling text would help with #3?