Let me start off by saying that I am a book purist. I revere books so much that even in college I refused to highlight, underline, or otherwise mark up a book; even a textbook I was paying out the nose for. It seemed sacrilegious to me to deface a book in any way. I also love old books, the way they smell, the feel of their papers, everything. I notice when a book uses a different type or quality of paper and often comment on type settings. Needless to say, when e-readers first came out, I knew I would never like one, would never want one, and hated the thought that paper books would get fazed out to be replaced by gadgets and electronics.
Then, I got a Kindle keyboard for my birthday 6 months ago. It was my wonderful husband's idea and my mother gladly helped, both being avid readers themselves. The most exciting part, was that it was the first time ever that I had a new gadget before those around me did. I felt special. And I've been hooked ever since.
The first thing I noticed was the screen itself, I couldn't believe how much like a printed page it looked. Reading electronically on a back lit screen is nearly impossible for me, but this was as easy on my sensitive eyes as reading a book! I also liked the weight, by the end of the day holding up a book, especially a large trade paperback or hardcover was very daunting, and tremors in my tired hands would make it seem like I was reading in an earthquake, but I had none of those issues with the kindle (though I do occasionally hit myself in the face when reading while lying down. I never claimed to be graceful). And thirdly, what really sealed the deal for me was the vast library of books Amazon has for the Kindle, and they were all at my disposal. Books I had been searching for in book stores for months I could find in seconds. And even more impressive is the amount of free books that are available on the Kindle. Many books I enjoy are public domain, but what I did not expect was how many new, contemporary books were available for free.
In the 6 months I have had the Kindle I have read quite a lot of these free novels and short stories, focusing mainly on newer fiction and I have been so impressed (mostly in a good way, but not always) by the quality of these works, that I have decided to start this blog, something I have never had any inclination to do before. I do still read mainstream books, both electronically and in paper copies (I could never give up my paper books) I will not be reviewing them for the most part, they have enough people talking about their works, they do not need another. I'd rather give props to the independent writers to whom every single reader's opinion counts.
I plan to list a few stats about every book; if it is a novel, short story or collection of short stories, how much I paid for it (many free books are only free temporarily, and often I will purchase others in a series if the first book is free and I enjoy it) if there are obvious typos (I find it Very distracting when reading if there are obvious typos; however, small things like missing a space is often not the authors fault and I will not mention these), genre, and an overall rating based on a school grading system (A for best, F for worst, etc.) to help encourage others to read something, or not waste their time. I encourage any questions, comments or suggestions.
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