My new travel companion

Yesterday, my dad surprised me with a Kindle (an ebook reader) for my birthday. "Here," he said, interrupting my Netflix watching session, and presented me with a box. "For your birthday." "Whaaaattt???" I gasped, totally caught off guard not because my birthday is still weeks away, but considering everything my dad has gotten me in this past year to celebrate my college graduation (a new digital camera to replace the one he got me for my 18th birthday that was stolen on my 21st birthday; and a three month trip to Vietnam), I really did not expect nor even want him to get me anything. (His reasoning, I kid you not: Since you're at home all day without a job, might as well do something.)

When I started opening the box and saw the keyboard, I thought he got me one of those huge novelty calculators--as a joke, because I'm bad at math. Then I opened the whole thing and saw the "amazonkindle" logo and I was totally surprised. "WHHHAAAT?" I continued gasping. "A Kindle??!!!" This gift really came out of the blue because I had never, ever considered getting an ereader. When they first came out a few years ago, I really didn't get them. I thought, "Why would anyone choose to read a book on a screen versus a hard copy? How can you even compare the feel of a digital gadget to holding a book?"

There is a feel to holding a book that makes the reading experience so much more enjoyable. The distinct smell of book paper, made even more distinct if the edition was old; the feel of the textured paper as you skim through a page to find that quote you loved but had forgotten to drot down; and the satisfaction of a page turn, the corner tenderly between your fingers while you quickly finish the last words on the page, in anticipation for the next scene of events.

Then, I traveled. I will admit, the need/enjoyment of a hard copy book in hand is lessened when you have to lug it around in your backpack, straining your back because you can't just bring one book while traveling, you have to bring at least three for variety. Along with the back strain, it takes up valuable souvenir space. When I went to Vietnam, I was only able to bring with me four books due to luggage space limitations--all of which I finished in 2 weeks. Two of them I enjoyed and the other two I hated, but had to read out of boredom. When I left, I had to leave them all behind (it was painful letting go of the two I enjoyed...painful!)

So when my dad gave me the Kindle, I immediately thought of how wonderful it will now be to travel with the world's library at my disposal, to entertain myself even in the most excruciating of wait-times that is intrinsic to travel--all in a compact, lightweight device.

I've spent all of today playing around with it, figuring out all the buttons and downloading as much free books of interest as I can...and I got to say, despite my bias for hard copy books, this thing is freaking amazing. It is super lightweight (lighter than a paperback), which is perfect for travel.

For comparison, I set it alongside my travel books.

I love travel guides, but hate transporting them around (especially Euro travel guides; they're heavy). With the Kindle, I have all sorts of travel guides at my disposal that I can whip out while lost, roaming the confusing labyrinth of streets and not look like a tourist.

One single battery charge lasts up to one month, so I don't have to worry about charging it on short trips. And most importantly, the screen really reads like a book. The screen utilizes high-contrast e-ink, which does a good job of replicating the look of book pages, so when I'm reading, it doesn't tire my eyes in the way an LCD screen would (ahem, Ipad).

At this angle, it looks like any paper copy.

In all, I'm loving my Kindle so far. This thing is made for travel/commuting, or basically any context where lugging a bag of books around is not feasible. This is surely going to become a much cherished travel companion.