Paperwhite Came to the Rescue--Reb MacRath
I'd said goodbye and good riddance when my good old Kindle Fire reader died, full of downloaded ebooks that I couldn't read. Months, then years, had passed till I stopped thinking about it and its too tiny screen and dismal display. Though I'd taken to the concept of being an indie writer, there wasn't much pride to be found in seeing my work on that Kindle. And I never thought to replace it.
Speed forward to this October as I planned for a train trip that I planned to take,. Four days on an Amtrak superliner would leave me loads of time to read--but not enough room in my luggage. So I checked my options on the Kindle store--where the Paperwhite stood out. Particularly the new 12th generation, 16gb with a 7" glare-free display and up to 12 weeks battery life.
The long story short: I went for it. And when it arrived, it was love at first sight: from the near-instant downloads to the higher contrast ratio to the quicker page turns to the electronic ink display. It's super-thin, slipping easily into all my jacket pockets. And...the purchase included a free trial of Kindle Unlimited.
But enough of the technical details which many, or most, of you already know. Let me list a few personal reasons why the Paperwhite matters so greatly to me.
1) It's brought me back to reading--with greater pleasure than before. With restricted mobility after a total knee replacement, I'm limited in what I can carry in a back pack or my walker. In addition to the common Kindle controls of font and type size, the light display enables me to read in any light, even total darkness. Furthermore, I can turn from one book to another without ever losing my place.
2) There's a far greater sense on the PW of reading actual quality books by real writer who chose to fly the indie sky.
3) Kindle Unlimited might not work for everyone because not all books are published on Kindle. For new bestsellers, text books, literary novels we need to pay whatever price has been set by publishers. But the number of books that are included in KU is astonishing. And up to ten at a time can be borrowed for free. So KU and free sample chapters afford us the chance to try before we buy.
4) /As both a writer and reader, I embrace the chance to discover new writers and broaden my writing and reading networks.
5) Finally, as I continue to explore this slender beauty, my confidence and sense of mastery grow. I've barely scratched the surface look forward daily to learning even more.
This is my report.
*****
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