Hello, how are you? How was your weekend?
I saw the news about the new Amazon Kindle lineup and felt really excited about the new to market e-readers. My Kindle is one of those objects that are quietly a part of my life, somewhat a core reminder of my desire to read more when I was younger, and now a supportive anchor in that pursuit.
The First Kindle
I bought my first Kindle when I was an undergraduate, the Kindle Keyboard (3rd Generation) that was released in 2010. It featured a 6-inch E-ink Pearl display, physical QWERTY keyboard and 4 GB of storage. I love paperbacks but I remember feeling sad that the books I enjoyed reading were turning into yellow pages. I thought to give the Kindle e-reader a try, with Amazon’s promise of reading that is soothing for my eyes.
It was amazing, and very gentle — almost paper-like — and I loved “flipping the pages” with the forward click. The features that won me over most completely were the weeks-long battery life and the ability to carry a bunch of books in my bag. I remember reading on the subway the e-book, “The History of Love” by Nicole Krauss. I was reading and flipping and reading and felt breathless as the story flowed on. And I missed the train station that I was supposed to alight at. The e-reader was a small item, but for a reader it felt enormous.
Early Motherhood buried my Kindle and I
This subtitle summarises it all.
The Covid-19 pandemic hit the world and I gave birth to a little human. I only read the physical book “The Baby Whisperer” and nothing else. Literally, the days were short and the nights long. It was during this period that navigating full-time working motherhood consumed me while my marriage broke down. I do think the pandemic awoken parts of us that otherwise would not, and also broke down parts of us that needed to go.
Returning to Reading — and Buying My Second Kindle in 2024
By 2024, life was beginning to settle into a new shape. I saw my Kindle when I was moving houses and wanted to return to books to nourish myself. I am not a bookworm but I was taught and believed that literature can help heal and shape each person. My Kindle had served me faithfully, but it was time for something new.
I browsed Amazon and decided to get another Kindle, this time the 2022 release, 11th Generation, Amazon’s lightest (158g) and most compact 6-inch basic e-reader. It has a glare-free touchscreen with sharp 300 psi resolution and an adjustable front light. With 16GB of storage and a battery life of up to 6 weeks, this means I could have the company of thousands of books on a long road trip (on my Wishlist, with my son).
The e-reader was really sleek and light, the suede pocket that I bought to hold the e-reader is probably heavier than the e-reader. The touchscreen streamlined the reading experience altogether and I quickly fed the e-reader with the books I wanted to read. It felt like I was returning to an anchor, to calm in my life.
I love audiobooks, no doubt about that. Audiobooks grant me the freedom and convenience of listening to books on the go. My Kindle accompanies me with a different selection of books, while waiting for a friend to turn up, on long flights, and at night (if I can stay awake, free of K-drama).
And Now There’s a Colour One
Just a couple of days ago when a friend shared that she bought the Kobo, I was glad to learn that the Kobo supports e-books from local libraries. It was then by chance that I searched online to see if I could link local titles to my Kindle and saw the new Amazon Kindle lineup. While I thought other e-readers and gadgets had flooded the market, the Kindle remained popular with double-digit growth globally in the past 3 years!
The new family of Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Coloursoft are said to be thinner and lighter with new displays and edge-to-edge colour! And I was so excited to see the Kindle colours (Seaglass green!) and especially Kindle Coloursoft which can deliver rich, paper-like colour. I have not decided whether I need one of the new family members yet — my 2024 Kindle is still very much my companion — but I would be lying if I said I was not tempted.
Still Reading
My Kindles — both of them — have been present for some of the most significant seasons of my life. They have held books that comforted me and challenged me. I do not think technology replaces the magic of books, I still purchase books when they call out to me at the local bookstore (a dangerous place, like the nursery with plenty of beautiful greens) — I think, when it is done well, it just gets out of the way and lets the books do their work. For me, the Kindle has always done exactly that. And I suspect, whatever comes next, it will continue to.
Do you use an e-reader? How has it been for you?
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