2024 Reading Challenge

2024 Reading Challenge
Jill Elizabeth has read 1 book toward her goal of 285 books.
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2023 Reading Challenge

2023 Reading Challenge
Jill Elizabeth has read 5 books toward her goal of 265 books.
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My New Kindle, or Hooray, More Books to Read!

So I received the new Kindle and have downloaded my first books – hooray! So far, I have only added free/open access stuff, a couple of free sample chapters, and the few electronic versions of review books that I have taken on by special agreement. Already I have like forty things to read. Sigh. This is a great thing, don’t get me wrong. But it’s also a little maddening.

Why you ask? Because those forty exist on top of the hundreds (literally) of things at the house that exist in the amorphous and ever-expanding “to be read” pile. Well, to be honest, it’s actually not a pile – that would be impractical, as it would overtake me, the rooms, and anyone visiting. It’s more a series of shelves. Or several series of shelves, to be exact. Seriously – I have a problem.

My name is Jill Elizabeth and I am a compulsive book buyer. Hello, Jill-Elizabeth…

Eek, she said.

I have yet to sit down and read an entire book on the Kindle. Not for any particular reason – more because I’m currently in the middle of a bunch of things that I really want to try to finish this month because, well, I’m obsessed with Reading Challenge numbers, remember? Seriously – I do have a problem, don’t I? Ugh, she said. I am looking forward to reading my first book though, and am rather eagerly and furiously trying to finish the current ones this month so that I can crack open (the files of) a few new books…

Now I know I have waffled about eBooks and eReaders. I am a waffler and at times a technophobe – I confess this freely. But I am inordinately pleased with my Kindle so far. Yes, in large measure that is because of the wealth of free and very cheap stuff I’ve been able to find (a couple of the 4-for-3 amazon.com books I wanted this month were actually free on kindle!). But it’s also because I am in love with my Kindle cover. (teehee)

What a dork, she said.

It turns out that Kindle offers a series of four covers that are based on – wait for it – New Yorker covers! I am a HUGE fan of the New Yorker. I had a subscription for over fifteen years, and only cancelled a year or so ago because I was literally getting buried under piles of unread issues. The blessing and curse of the New Yorker, of course, is the heft of each issue. And I don’t just mean physical weight, but also intellectual.

I was an avid, cover-to-cover reader, you see. A lot of people skip around, marking articles to be read, ignoring things that are not of immediate interest. Not me, no sir. I read every damn page of every damn issue, whether I found it prima facie interesting or not. Why, you ask? Because of the quality of the writing and my innate desire to know things, of course. The New Yorker is a wealth of information on a wealth of topics, and it includes writing by some of the best minds of our times, edited and compiled by minds of equally impressive intellectual substance.

I took a lot of grief for my stance on the New Yorker. I was mocked as a snob and a New York City wannabe. I don’t particularly think either of these was a fair bit of grief, but what do I know… I just found it interesting – even the pieces that I didn’t, if that makes any sense. The New Yorker made me want to learn more about random, esoteric topics and people. And I think I became a better reader and writer for slogging through all those issues for all those years.

Anyway, my love letter to the New Yorker is finished now, I promise. As I was saying before I got lost in my own head (this happens way too often), they now make a select few Kindle covers that look like New Yorker covers. And I was fortunate enough to discover that they made a cover out of one of my favorite covers of all time, by Eric Drooker. It features a cerulean blue background with towering stacks of books. Seated on the top of one such stack is a guy reading. I love this image. It captures how I feel about my “to be read” piles perfectly, and the beautiful blue background just makes the whole image so fantastic looking…

Trust me – it is the perfect embodiment of the opportunity the Kindle represents. The opportunity for yet another set of new “to be read” piles to develop… 🙂

9 comments to My New Kindle, or Hooray, More Books to Read!

  • I got a Nook Color about 6 months ago. I love it! I’ve added a bunch of old classics from Project Gutenberg onto it. I have about 450 books loaded on it right now!!! Some are classics I’ve read before, but some are ones I want to read. I haven’t actually paid for many of them b/c of free promos or b/c they’re from Project Gutenberg. I have paid for a number of children’s books b/c my kids love to use the Nook Color too, especially the Read-to-Me books (I just wish they weren’t as expensive as they are). I still like paper books too. I just love the portability of the Nook Color!

    • The Nook Color looks very cool – I wish the Kindle had touch screen, that’s my only complaint so far. I have a Droid phone and I keep touching the Kindle screen, expecting things to happen! 🙂 I love how the eReaders are getting more kids to read also – that’s a very good thing indeed. I am not surprised to hear the kids’ Read-to-Me books are pricey – all kids’ books seem to be, which I think is a travesty. Honestly, society complains that kids don’t want to read, then makes it insanely expensive to buy them books… The library is great – don’t get me wrong, that’s where most of my books came from as a child, but still there is nothing like owning your own books. Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting Michelle!

  • Jenn C.

    I too love my Kindle cover because it’s squishy! Sad…but true! Glad you found a cover that fits you. I still use the library…but find the authors I want to read are often unavailable. I love that my Kindle is the 3G kind…I can buy books anywhere. Paper books still rule since I like to highlight great quotes.

    • Teehee – we are such girls, eh? 😉 I got the 3G Kindle too – largely because I also wanted to be able to buy books/find something new to read any time, any place… Actual, physical books will always, I suspect, be my mainstay, but I do quite enjoy the Kindle reading experience.

  • Gah, I had almost talked myself into waiting to buy my Nook until I feel less gadget-overwhelmed (I just upgraded my computer and I bought myself a Nintendo DSi for my birthday last month)…but no, I want an ebook reader. *sigh* Portable Project Gutenberg!

  • I understand Jen – the temptation of being able to tote the whole PG library around in my purse AND instantly get almost any book I want into my greedy little hands (god bless 3G!) proved too much for me too… We aren’t weak – no ma’am, we just know what we want. (right?? tetehee)

  • Hi Jill… I am so with you. I received a Kindle 3G for Christmas. It’s white and pretty, and they even bought me a cover with the light, which is an ugly dark blue though.:( Oh well… I love my Kindle and went download happy, and now have a list that will last me for years! UGH! I love reading, but there are endless, wonderful, new books being released. To buy…or not to buy? That’s the question. 🙂 Knowing me… I’ll probably buy. Too tempting. Hopefully I’ll have more time to read. Thanks for your post. I really enjoyed it!

    • Yeah Cameo, just what we all need, right – more books on the “to be read” pile!! It’s nice that they take up less physical space now with the Kindle, but they still take up psychic space because I still want to read them all! 😉 I will keep buying too tho – too tempting by half all the time… Thanks for your compliments and stopping by, and definitely for taking the time to comment!

  • […] have a long-established love-hate relationship with e-books… On one hand, I love them – I can carry thousands […]

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