Mail

I am notoriously bad at keeping in touch with people. If I cared to psychoanalyze the behavior I'd probably say that it stems from deep seated insecurity. Meaning that I believe a) that people wouldn't want to hear from me if I called and b) even if they did want to hear from they'd change their minds once they did hear from because I wouldn't have anything interesting to say. E-mail has improved the problem slightly though not a whole lot. I do hate talking on the phone and in writing I don't have worry about awkward silences after I say something that no one finds interesting.

I used to be way better at keeping in touch and I have a theory about why. I think it's because I used to write actual letters. When my brother was in the Army I wrote him letters all the time, and he wasn't the only person I wrote letters to back then. I think it was actual pen and ink and stamps that made me a better communicator.

So, in an attempt to recapture that I'm going to start writing letters again.

Kindle

I just bought a Kindle, I've had it a week and I love it. I was really sick last week. I pretty much didn't get out of bed for six straight days except to eat (barely), use the bathroom, go to the doctor, and answer the door when my Kindle was delivered (which was on day three).

I love books. Really love them. I've loved stories (of all varieties) forever, but my love of books was a slow burn for me. It was all movies and television when I was younger. I did get my degree in English but my love of books has even grown, exponentially, since graduating from college. Now, you see, I can read anything I want to read. My reading is simply for my own entertainment (or edification...but voluntary).

I'm the type of person who routinely has two or three books at a time that I'm reading. Sometimes I read one book beginning to end before starting (or going back to) other books, but most of the time I alternate and that may be the main reason I love the Kindle so much. I have, according to Amazon, over 400,000 books at my fingertips any time I want. Okay, in that respect Kindle may not be much different than any other readers, so that can't really be why I love it, specifically, so much.

I like that it is the size of a book. My brother insists that reading on a tiny cell phone screen is great, but I just can't do it. I can't claim its size sets Kindle apart either though. Yes, it is book size (smaller than an iPad and larger than a Blackberry) but there are other readers on the market of similar size (Sony's got one, and Barnes and Noble).

It's not just the size that makes it better than a cell phone or tablet, the back lit thing is also bad. Again, my brother will argue, he thinks being able to read in the dark is great. I'm not going to argue the "it's bad for your eyes" angle (though I am very conscious of what is bad for my eyes) because the real reason I don't like the back lit screen is because it's so unbooklike. Of course, the Nook and the Sony reader both use "E Ink" as well so there, again, the Kindle doesn't really set itself apart.

There is my extreme brand loyalty (I think I've mentioned it). I love Amazon.com. I buy everything that I can there (and you can buy almost anything there). I get that some people are upset about Amazon wanting to enforce low prices on Kindle books, and I even sort of agree. Sure, publishers should be able to charge what they want for their books, or be able to charge as much as people are willing to pay, but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect e-books to be (significantly) cheaper than regular ones either. Amazon, if I recall, is offering a 70% royalty to publishers who sell Kindle books for cheaper so those publishers could make just as much (or more) off the books while charging way less for them so...come on...that's win/win/win, right? I have to side with Amazon on there. Another reason to love the Kindle (and, okay, all e-readers) is that the books are cheaper (especially if you consume books in large quantities, as I do), but a reason to love the Kindle in particular is that Amazon is actually adjusting their business practice to facilitate making the books cheaper and, in fact, attempting to enforce a cheaper price for Kindle books.

Maybe I'm just partial to the Kindle for the same reason that Netflix dominates the video rental market...I give extra points to innovators.

Whatever the reason, I love my Kindle. It made being home sick for almost a week nearly bearable.