Kindle Love

After resisting for a long time, I broke down and bought a Kindle earlier this summer. I wasn't sure I'd like the digital format, since I'm a big fan of the tactile quality of paper pages.

But.

I love my kindle. I wouldn't have made it through my hospital stay after the c-section without it. (And since the c-section was entirely unplanned, it was fortuitous that I had my kindle with me with multiple reading options). Now that I'm regularly feeding a baby, I love that the kindle stays open, unlike a regular book, so it's easy to read with one hand. I realize these aren't the reasons most people buy a Kindle, but they've worked for me.

There are a few drawbacks. 1) It's way too easy to buy books on Amazon with their 1-click option. I'm not sure I want to know how much money I've spent on books in the last two months. 2) It's also harder to get library books on Kindle than it is at the library. 3) This probably isn't a drawback for a lot of people, but I have a bad habit of reading ahead in books (yes, I'm one of those annoying people who will sometimes read the ending before I finish the book). I like to be able to see the shape of a book as I read. It's really hard to read ahead on the Kindle--which is probably a good thing in the end.

I also like that the Kindle helps me remember what books I've read, since the list is handily available when I turn on the device.

Here are some books I've read in the last two weeks:

Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen. I'd heard good things about this book and I loved it. I loved the language and the characters, but I especially loved the historical detail she put into the novel. I'd never known much (or cared) about the world of the train circus, but she made me care. It was fascinating. (It also clarified one of the words from the movie Dumbo that I'd never understood as a child: the men putting up the tents sing that they're "happy, hearty, roustabouts." Roustabout was a new term for me).

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson. I wasn't sure I'd like this, given what I knew of the content (rape, among other violent acts). I'm not normally a fan of gritty books, either. But I enjoyed this one. I thought Lisbeth Salander was a fascinating character, and I found the psychological mystery that takes up most of the book an intriguing one. I'm not sure that I'd hunt down the other books in the series, but if I come across them at the library I'd probably pick them up.

A Bone to Pick, Charlaine Harris. Second Aurora Teagarden mystery. While I like the characters here, this didn't seem like much of a mystery, which was a little disappointing. I was also frustrated by the fact that, after ending book one with Aurora in the enviable position of having two men vying for her affection, book two picks up with both relationships out of the picture. I would have liked to see that development, instead of having it happen of stage, as it were. I still think I'd read more, since I'm a sucker for cozies.

Speaking of cozy mysteries--I also read the newest Donna Andrews' Meg Langslow books: Some Like it Hawk. While I always enjoy reading about Meg's zany family and friends, this book just wasn't quite as much fun as others, although there were parts about the premise (the town archivist has barricaded himself in the town archives for the last 12 months after the evil financial company takes over all of the public town buildings, like City Hall) that were funny.

Finally, thanks to Amazon's 2.99 price for most of Georgette Heyer's Kindle books, I've been rereading some old favorites of hers: Frederica, Death in the Stocks, and Duplicate Death (although I have to say I like her regencies more than her mysteries).