There were many reasons I decided to purchase a Kindle - my hands ache when holding a book open, I get headaches from reading stuff on the computer, I wanted something I could throw in a bag and take anywhere, and it holds so many items that I don't have to carry three or four novels with me in case I'm bored or finish one. Nothing could prepare me for the actuality that is Kindle. It integrated seamlessly into my life. If I'm at the desk, it's beside me; if I'm in the bedroom, it's on the nightstand; I even take the silly thing to the john. It's so much easier than a book.

I expected it to be a little awkward at first, but it really *does* get lost in your hands. Suddenly, you look down after a couple of hours of reading, and realize you've been holding it all along and forgotten all about it. I expected to read novels and blogs on it. I never expected to be able to download all the .pdf technical manuals that I constantly have to weed through on the computer. I work effortlessly now, looking at the computer, working through a segment, picking up the Kindle, searching for what I need in the manual, even highlighting it, or putting a note in the manual about how well it works.

Note taking is my big thing. When I'm looking at a book, I always find note-taking to be an instinct I have to avoid. I see it as a destructive process. I don't want to ruin my books. Further, who can really concentrate on what they're reading with a pen in their hand? It's two different mindsets. Yet, with Kindle, I do just that. I read a segment, I find a passage, I underline it. I have an opinion, I drop in a note. A question equals another note. When I don't understand something, the dictionary is right at the bottom of the screen to define the word or teach me how to pronounce it; or I can surf to the web and find exactly what I need.

It's so much better than surfing the web on my phone - and far more practical. For one thing, there's no charge except battery power (no pun intended!). For another, all of my research is in one place. The book, notes, websites and highlights are all together - as they should be.

I know a lot of people complain that it should have a bright screen so that you can read it at night, or that it should have color. I say - nay! The main *strength* of Kindle is that it reads *exactly* like a book. No eye strain. No having to turn away every few minutes to relax your eyes; or ending a session of reading with a headache. No "hot lap" or mousing around to find the right page. It's just like a book. You hold it, you turn the page, it's effortless, you forget it's there. Only what you're reading matters, and that's exactly how it should be.