I'm glad this Kindle Horrible made it to the top of my queue. I recently pre-ordered my Kindle 2. Doolies will be receiving the hand-me-down device so she can finish the Twilight series. So lucky!

I purchased the Kindle about six months ago, and I'm halfway through my eighth book. I'm still not fully digital as I intermix a small pile of dead-tree books between Kindle books.

Overall the Kindle experience has been pleasurable. The screen is crisp and easy to read. The feeling of the ePaper (or is it eInk?) is more similar to reading paper than computer or cellphone screens. The screen reads great even in direct sunlight. A warning to bedtime book readers: you still need a light to read the screen. The battery lasts about a week, even with heavy reading (supposedly the Kindle 2 lasts two weeks). You can also browse and purchase new books and magazines wirelessly. The wireless is free; the purchases are usually not free--although you can find most out-of-copyright classics for free.

Reading a short Dinosaur Lethem novel is as easy as an oversized history book. I usually have two to three books going at a time: an evening non-fiction book, a "literature" novel, and a trashy novel. Travelling with the Kindle is incredible. I no longer have to lug three books and magazines in my backpack. The Kindle packs light and gives me choices on what to read. There are two drawbacks. Technically you can't read it during takeoff and landing because it's an electronic device. Don't tell anyone. And the Kindle 1's buttons are oversized making it too easy to unintentionally flip pages. It looks like they fixed this problem in the Kindle 2.

I try not to evangelize Kindle too much. It is still too expensive for non-early adopters. With that said, I'm not going back.