After months debating whether I should add another tech gadget to my increasing collection of stuff, I succumbed to the temptation and purchased the Amazon Kindle 3. (Talk about maintaining a life of simplicity.)
It took a while to get used to reading on an electronic device especially if you like the feel of holding a physical book and flipping worn-out pages. At first, my head got a bit dizzy from reading small texts in .pdf format. My fingers ached from holding the device. I left the Kindle on the shelves for three weeks thinking I had made another unwise purchase. Things changed when I bought my first Kindle book Marco Polo Didn’t Go There by Rolf Potts and started reading it on my bed the same night.
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Instantly I realized why the Kindle has been Amazon bestselling electronic item and why it is a must-have gadget for seasonal travelers and those who leads a nomadic lifestyle.
It’s easy to drive to the bookstore and get your favorite book locally. Even when you’re lazy to go to the bookstore, you can browse online, buy the book, and have it shipped to your home in a matter of days for a little extra charge. You can even buy used book for a fraction of the cost. But what happen when you live abroad where a lot of good books are not sold in a local bookstore or sold with steep markup price? I lived in the Czech Republic (CZ) where non-bestsellers and older books were not available. Most of the time I can’t buy used books sold by local sellers from USA, UK, Australia or Germany because they don’t ship such items to non-Amazon marketplace (CZ is one of them.) If they do, the shipping and handling fee is equal the price of a used book or half the price of a new book. Amazon’s free-shipping deal applies only to the local country. Ordering a book through a local bookstore costs me twice at much. New books from a local bookstore usually cost more than Kindle books priced from $9.99. There aren’t many used-book dealers here. I rarely sell my books, therefore don’t gain anything back from owning the physical paper versions.
Years of shopping on Amazon and eBay and having to wait one or two months before I can use the items have taught me the skills of self-refrain. Having said that, it doesn’t make much sense to wait for a month before I can read a book. I was amazed at the choice of being able to read my book only seconds after clicking ‘Buy.’ With the Kindle, no matter where you are, you can read your favorite instantly.
Ever since college, I haven’t lived in a single location for more than a year. With all the moving, carrying and throwing, I try not accumulate stuff. This isn’t working very well I must say; I am a woman. Everywhere I go, I collect books and more books. I have two shelves back in my parents’ home and one stack I ‘lended’ to friends before relocating to Europe. If I ever leave the Czech Republic, I either have to sell or give away my current books. Sometimes I want to reread books or use it as a reference, and it is a waste of money to re-buy the same book. If you live abroad, move or travel often, you might be better owning a Kindle and buy digital books instead of owning the hard copies.
Kindle’s built-in dictionary enables instant vocabulary look-up which I find to be a great feature to improve my English. Before Kindle, if I read a book next to my computer, I look up a new word using an online dictionary and either write it down immediately, underline the word on the book or simply do nothing about it. This process interrupts the flow of reading. Now with the Kindle, I understand the word while reading the sentence, double-click to underline and go back later to jot them down once I finish the chapter or the books.
With text-to-speech enabled, I can listen to the book. The automated voice is of course not the same as a human voice reading an audio book, but it is still surprisingly clear. Plus it’s free compared to high prices for audio books; I have nothing to complain about.
I’m becoming addicted to this new tool, toy or whatever you want to call it. Reading it before bedtime and on the metro going to work is certainly taken to a new electro level now.
Unless you’re from the UK, Australia or wherever there is a localized Amazon, you probably will buy from Amazon US website or pay double the price buying from a local dealer.
I'm a motivation explorer, personality type hacker, behavioral investigator and storyteller. I help startup founders, entrepreneurs, and corporate managers to understand themselves, the people they manage and how to get the best of their people. Specialty is in psychological personality types and brain-based methods. When I don't do the above, I hop around planet Earth with TravelJo.com to learn the Art and Science of people from everywhere and to give you all the free travel and tips and advice in many cool destinations.
My name is Cindy, also rhymes with travel junkie. A friend said I was probably a gipsy in my previous life. One of my many secret missions in life is to convert you to run off every once in awhile.
One thought on “Why Kindle Is a Must-Have Travel Gadget”
SamPosted on 8:24 am - Aug 8, 2012
i love the kindle though it’s a bit primitive now. but if you only read books, it’s ok