So this morning there was a big surprise at Savidge Reads HQ and one which half thrilled me and half really troubled me. After The Beard and I had been unwrapping Valentine’s Day presents (Happy Valentines to you all) it came to my last one and when I opened it I got rather a shock, as you will see…
Yes, that’s right, what you see before you is a Kindle. Officially now my Kindle I suppose. Now then, I will admit I had been muttering on and off about how I wish I could read in the night, lamps keep The Beard awake, as do audio books oddly (and they also play on when you have fallen asleep) the book light I got kept falling off, I had also mentioned how unfair it was that some classic books are out of print but available for e-readers and indeed had bemoaned the fact that when I go to Grans I go for a week, have a six hour journey each way and get laden down by the inevitable eight books I have to pack. Yet having so ardently berated these devices I had sworn I would never buy one, which I suppose I have stuck to, or indeed own one and never would I have thought that the Beard, despite much joking, would get me one. So there is some confliction here. There will be rules, and as Granny Savidge (almost gleefully) said this morning on the phone, there will be much explaining to do. But not today… Okay? Ha!
Savidge Reads 
I have been toying with the idea of getting one of these. I find it delightfully ironic that my book is only available as an e-book yet I don’t have an e-reader! Anyway, I hope you let us all know how you get one with it 🙂
Get ON with it! Get one with it, jeez. It’s Thursday . . .
I have an older model, Kindle 3, and I LOVE it. I’m not sure my credit card does though. 😉
Oh my goodness gracious! I cannot WAIT for the next episode of The Readers!!! Now I think I may be the last hold out in the world! 🙂 “Middlemarch” awaits!!!
Oh my gosh that made me smile Simon!
I must admit to loving my (old style) Kindle very much – I don’t think it’s changed my reading habits too much – if anything I read more as you can have a new book instantly, which is the really fun bit. I still buy new books, hunt through charity shops, and borrow from the library, and i bet you’ll be the same. So just enjoy it, guilt free!
Thanks for starting my day off with a huge laugh! Full marks to your valentine for such a perfect gift.
*gasp*! Enjoy it, Simon. Don’t make up rules, just consider it part of your reading on a whim thing for this year, and read your books in whatever format is most convenient in each case. There’s nothing to say you can’t read on your kindle while travelling, and read a nice, thick hardback when you’re at home (although, I have to say, my cat loves it when I read on a kindle at home, as I can read one handed and pet her with the other hand!)
What a great gift–enjoy it!
Congrats! I have an older Nook, but mostly use my ipad (a hand-me-down) to read ebooks, since I am doing it at home. I mostly have free books on mine, so it is not costing very much. You will learn when you like an ebook and when you would prefer a real book. However, don’t think that you won’t still be packing books when you travel-although maybe not 8.
OMG, Simon!! I’ve been alerted from all the way across the pond (cheers, Chris!) to your moving across to the “dark side” (welcome!), but what shocks me more than “IT” that shall not be mentioned by name, it the fact that you and The Beard not only celebrate Valentine’s (come on! So cheesy!), but exchange giftS – PLURAL!!! I don’t think I’ve ever even received a card or flowers on Valentine’s – well, fair enough, I do think it’s a load of bollocks – but giftS….. I may have to review my opinion now! 😉
Whatever you do don’t download ANGRY BIRDS, you reading will suffer…believe me!!
Congratulations on the new addition to the family, you will probably be like the rest of us e-reader owners and flip effortlessly between them and our beloved paper books!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
woo hoo!! like you, i was a kindle hold-out for the longest time until (also like you) i was gifted one. i would have NEVER purchased one for myself, being a creaky old technophobe dinosaur. however, i am now very thankful for it and use it all the time – especially on travel, which i do quite a bit of for work. i still mostly read printed books, but it is nice to have the kindle as well. don’t worry if you hate it and love it at the same time, dearest simon. you are allowed to feel both ways about it. life is not simple. you can love it some days and hate it others – that’s okay. just give it a whirl when you are in the mood and see how it fits into your life.
what a great gift ,all the best stu ps you can get tv and films on it if you don’t want to read of it ,
Welcome to the dark side! I was very anti-eReader for a bit then I got myself one for commuting and I will never look back. I still do most of my reading the ‘old-fashioned’ way but there is nothing better than having unlimited books in your hand without the weight that would come with it..
Give in gracefully. I’ve not spent more than 20p on a book for my Kindle – it fills in the gaps basically.
This made me chuckle! I have a kindle but still love paper books too. I think the two can go hand in hand. Cannot wait for the next episode of the readers where you explain all! 🙂
Oh Simon, you’re on the slippery slope now. 🙂
Seriously, give it a try. I might work for you, it might not. And having the option of another (hopefully convenient choice) never hurts.
Let us know how it goes – as I’m sure you will. I, too, am looking forward to the next episode of The Readers even more than usual now.
I’ve had my Kindle two years now and got a Kobo Glo for Christmas and I also have an iPad – all of which I read books on (the nighttime reading is just fantastic as you can read fro as long as you like and really get comfy as it is so less bulky than a book) BUT there is no way I would or could give up ‘old fashioned’ way for anything. What I do is read alternate books as paperbacks and then one on on an e-reader. I send many a happy hour browsing through all the free and Kindle-only editions of books. Enjoy!
I didn’t want one but when we took a long trip to S AMerica last year w/ no books in English to buy that were good and maybe not at all we both got a Kindle Touch. Not as fancy as your Fire one but we both loved them. So many free and inexpensive books. Really like it. Must move with the times but of course I will still keep my thousands of books I have in the house. There is room in life for both.
There’s one thing I don’t understand: how is it going to help with the ‘lamps keep The Bears awake’ problem? Isn’t reading on Kindle like reading on paper?
Wow, Simon! This post was enough to bring me out of my lurking corner to comment on your blog. First, cheers to The Beard for such a great gift! Second, I was also a physical book-snob until someone gave me a Kindle–the “old fashioned” kind with a keyboard, not a Kindle Fire.
There are things you can get through Kindle that you can’t get through regular books. I use the ambiguous term “things” because it really is a different form of reading than conventional paperback. For example, one of my favorite new Kindle offerings is Kindle Serials, in which you pay a flat rate to recieve a book in serial form, just like old 19th century reading. You can even get a few classics in serial form for free, and you will recieve them much in the way they were published years ago. I know there are some Dickens offerings for this.
Then there are the Kindle Daily Deals which have contributed to my magpie tendencies. For example, a few days ago you reviewed Human Remains by Elizabeth Haynes. The book sounded great, so I checked to see if it was available for Kindle (it wasn’t), but Haynes’ earlier novel, Into The Darkest Corner was available as a promotion for her new book. I got it for only $1.99. Come to think of it, you may end up having issues with the Kindle Daily Deals and your reading on whim year. Ummm…good luck!
Oooh, lovely! What a generous Valentine’s gift. I am a fellow Kindle-sceptic and in fact my Mum has just upgraded to a Kindle Fire and lent me her old one, so I will be testing it out over the coming week. Interestingly she has neglected to sever its connection to her Amazon account which could end up being very dangerous…