Kindle Notes

Ever since my last big trip to Kyrgyzstan where I ran out of reading material with 7 hours to go in the Moscow airport, I decided that I needed a Kindle for travel if nothing else. I though it would also solve the problem I have where I like to read recently published books, but don't like handling bulky hardback books. And these aspects of the Kindle are great. There are some other good points and a few drawbacks as well.

Another unexpected feature that I didn't consider was the availability of Kindle for other devices. I downloaded the free iPhone Kindle version and found that it is great for killing time by reading in places where it is difficult to pull a book out: crowded trains, train platforms, lines, etc. The Whispersync function keeps the devices synced up. Sometimes I don't want to carry a book or bag out on my travels and its nice to know that I can catch up on some reading where ever I am.

The first two books I read where Thomas Jefferson: Author Of America by Christopher Hitchens and The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Useable Trim, Scraps, and Bones by Anthony Bourdain. Hitchen's book was for a research project I was working on. On the plus side you can book mark pages and highlight sections and make notes on them. But there are NO PAGE #! The book is divided into Locations-so not sure how I'm going to make citations from this book, it seems there are some examples of how to do it on the net. Also, I find it difficult to navigate the book if you are looking for a particular passage related to your theme. As for pleasure reading, I think Bourdrain's essays were ideal for a Kindle I read most of the book on trains, waiting for trains, walking home, etc... And I could finish several of the essays in one setting. So essentially, I will be using this for convenient pleasure reading. I think it will be difficult to give up regular books because I like to read books that are out-of-print, obscure, rare, and academic at various times. But I think a Kindle overall is a useful tool for enjoying and getting more reading done.

I finished the Bourdain yesterday, so my new purchases are:

The Big Short Michael Lewis

Super Sad Love Story Gary Shteyngart

Hitch 22 Christopher Hitchens

Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power Robert D. Kaplan

All of these books are currently ONLY available in hardback and all were purchased for less than the hardback price. Looking forward to getting to these soon.

Comments

[Phatrick]

Looks like a good reading list. I'd like to read a few of those. I've been reading some of David rakoff's essays in "half empty". Very funny stuff.