Some posts ago, a commenter asked how I was enjoying my KIndle. And I never got around to answering.

But the answer is: I LOVE IT.

Here's the thing: it isn't a book. It doesn't feel in your hands like a book, or smell like a book, or sit upright in your bookcase enhancing your decor and making your guests admire your literacy.

BUT.

My problem is two-fold: I travel a lot, and I read very fast. My worst fear (and it has happened) is flying to the west coast and finishing my book over Denver. For that reason, I have always taken MANY books, or LONG books, on lengthy trips...Ken Follett's "World Without End" (1024 pages) to London not long ago; Vikram Seth's "A Suitable Boy" (1349 pages) to Hawaii once. Those suckers are HEAVY. And even so, I had to make my way to Waterston's, in London, before retuning home, to get something to read on the plane (had finished the Follett) and in Hawaii...same thing, but harder; try finding a great bookstore at Kaanapali Beach.

(Okay, please don't write me in outrage if you live in Lahaina. I KNOW they have bookstores there)

So: for me, the Kindle is a godsend. You can download many books at a time into it, wirelessly.. Sitting here at my computer this morning, I went to Amazon.com, found the books I wanted, bought the Kindle versions, then walked into my kitchen, (you can see the Kindle lying there beside today's NY Times) and the books I had downloaded were there in my gizmo, ready for a plane trip to LA in the morning.

To download a book costs slightly more than a paperback and considerably less than a hardcover book.

The Kindle itself costs too much. Around $400. But like all technology, it will come down in price.

It is very lightweight....fits in my purse...and a battery charge lasts a good long time.

It is very easy to use (I turned mine on to take these photos, and it opened at the page in "Girls Like Us" where I had stopped reading on my way home from Philadelphia Thursday). You can change the type size to what feels comfortable for you. When you finish a book, you can delete it, but you still OWN it, so you can get it back from Amazon if you want to re-read, or to loan your Kindle to someone.

Downside? No pictures. I'll have to go to a bookstore and lurk, looking at the photos in "Girls Like Us," which is about Joni Mitchell, Carole Young, and Carly Simon.

So the answer is: I LOVE IT. And no, I do not get a sales commission from Amazon.