Amazon’s e-book reader meets the criteria for an digital book reader that I described 20 years ago: easy to use, clear text, substantive capacity, over-the-air downloads.

Kindle 2 Physical Size & Capacity

The Kindle2 is lightweight, 10.2 oz, about the size of a trade paperback book,
8” by 5.3”, and about as thick as a magazine, 0.36”. It was surprisingly thinner and lighter than I expected. This makes the Kindle2 easy to hold and carry. I can slip the e-book reader into my notebook case or keep it in its own leather binder. Either way, it is smaller than all but a few of the paperback books in my library.

I currently have five dozen books installed in the Kindle’s memory, and I have used less than .09GB of the device’s 1.49GB of available memory. This means that I should be able to store about 1,000 books similar to the ones that I have already downloaded. However, the books that I have installed are significantly longer than most books: Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s, the complete collections of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s and Mark Twain’s. Some of the books that I have installed are each thousands of pages in length, so I expect that the average reader will be able to carry upwards of 2,000 typical length books. Not bad for a device that can be carried in purse or computer bag.

Available Content for Kindle

With a quarter million books available from Amazon.com and thousands more available for free from other sites, I have had no problem finding interesting material to read on my Kindle. I downloaded classics that are now in the public domain from feedbooks.com, others from Amazon.com. Most popular books sell for $9.99; however, I was surprised to find that many books cost less, many for under a dollar.

Whether I purchase the books using my notebook or Kindle’s web interface, the books immediately download via a cellular connection to the device.

The device includes a web browser through which I can access Google and Wikipedia, as well as most sites. Some complex HTML designs confuse the device’s browser, but for the most part, I have had no significant problems.

Many of the academic papers that I read are delivered in PDF. The Kindle cannot directly read PDF files; however, Amazon offers a free conversion service: I e-mail the PDF files to my private Amazon.com e-mail address, and the Kindle versions of the documents automatically download to my device within a few minutes.

Change in Reading Habit

What most struck me about the e-book reader is the ways that it has changed my reading habits. I have read a dozen books on the device during the last two weeks. During the same period I read two paperback and two hardcover books. I compared reading physical and digital books during the same period.

I never noticed it before, but reading a physical book presents a few challenges. My thumbs were tired after holding the physical books open; I had never taken notice of this problem before. In addition, I had difficulty taking notes while reading the physical books. When my writing hand moved to the pad on my knee or desk, the book folded over, making it difficult to refer to the text.

Neither of these physical problems occurred while reading on the Kindle. In addition, I noticed that I more closely focused on the content of the text, as the Kindle displays only a single page at a time. When making notes, I could lay the device down and easily write in my notebook. I experimented with the digital notetaking feature of the Kindle, but the device’s keyboard does not lend itself to fast typing, so I kept to my paper notes.

Recommendation

I recommend, without hesitation, Amazon’s new e-book reader. Whether you read books, magazines, newspapers, or other documents–or a combination–I think that you will find the Kindle 2 a welcome tool in your literary kit. Buy the Kindle 2 directly from Amazon.com through this hyperlink: Amazon Kindle 2.

 

John Stossel’s latest book, Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity: Get Out the Shovel–Why Everything You Know is Wrong is a fun, quick read. I learned that the United States spends more on public education than we do on military spending: I am furious that we spend $536 billon each year on elementary and secondary education* and many adults that I meet are poor readers and absolutely horrendous writers. I must incorporate a few hours of basic grammar and composition lecture into each of my university classes, for both undergraduate and graduate students! Give me a break!

This book is a must read for every citizen that desires who seeks to be informed and is willing to have his or her opinions challenged.

*I confirmed this number on the U.S. Department of Education website.

Recommendation: Read Now

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Chesapeake Invader is a difficult read, as Poag adopts a pedagogic writing style that lacks the grace and fluidity of a science writer experienced in writing books for the public.

Rather than putting the meteorite’s impact in either social or geographic perspective, Poag focuses on the technical details of geology, submarine stratification, tsunami and extinction. The later two topics were well developed and offered the most interesting reading.

The details were presented in a clear, systematic manner that, I judge, would be too simplistic for a geologist, yet were presented out of social context, leaving them to be less interesting to the general reader.

Recommendation: Read if you have a particular interst in the subject.

Buy this book at Amazon.com

 

I enjoyed reading It’s Raining Frogs and Fishes more than any other books, this season. It is fun romp through the natural sciences, organized by annual season: spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

Dennis describes natural weather patterns and their effects, including a particularly lucid explanation of the Coriolis effect. As a certified pilot, I have studied weather extensively, and I wish I had read this book, during my training; it is much more readable than the aviation weather texts I have previously read.

The book is chock full of accessible explanations of the causes of heat, hail, and halos.

I judge this is a book that appropriate for each household’s bookshelf; it is a perfect family reading. I have ordered a personal copy for my family’s collection!

Recommendation: Read Now

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I enjoyed this Krakatoa, immensely, just as I have each of Winchester’s other books. I am preparing to watch the Discover Channel special on Krakatoa, and I wanted to gain a factually-accurate, social perspective of the August 27, 1883 event before watching the televised show.

Winchester, in his trademark 360 degree evaluation style, lead me through the geologic and scientific history of this South Pacific area, now known as Indonesia. The volcano does not begin to erupt until page 209—more than halfway through the book. By the time the events of Monday, August 27th are described, I had a firm understanding of the affected people,, both the Dutch colonialists and the indigenous.

Following the detailed description of the events that took up much of the 1883 summer, Winchester explains the social effects the explosions had: the growth of fundamentalist Islam, leading to Indonesia’s becoming the most populous Muslim country in the world, with 170 million members of the Islamic faith.

Recommendation: Read

Buy this book at Amazon.com