To Kindle or not to Kindle?

A friend recently posted that she’d read this book over one weekend, and found it interesting. I’m wary of reading such books, but because she recommended it, I figured it should be worth a read.

I made a mental note to see whether I could borrow it from the library (my Daddy would be proud – he used to tell me I should not buy whatever I could borrow from the library though I really just wanted to OWN those Nancy Drews), since I seldom re-read books these days, and this seemed like something I wouldn’t need to have sitting on my bursting shelves.  Thereafter, I recalled my friend’s comment when I asked to borrow some books from her.  “You can buy the eBook too.”

Apparently those can be read on most devices (e.g. the iPad) and not just the Kindle, but I figured that the Kindle is probably still the best handheld device (read: light! and with the appropriate lighting) for reading eBooks.

So that led to the thought – would the hubby be so kind as to make a present of it to me?  He said I should first check out whether I could download most eBooks in Singapore, since he heard that there might be compatibility / market segmentation issues.

My cursory check online unearthed such info:

Amazon does not ship and sell Kindle & Kindle content to Singapore. Thus, there is no official warranty from Amazon for Singapore users. E-book content may be found on the internet, just google for it.

Amazon Kindle does not support users from Singapore. Therefore, you will have to change your information, while registering your Kindle, to a country supported by Amazon. You may use free VPN service to change your IP to USA’s IP. After doing so, you can purchase e-book from Amazon.

To my esteemed friends who own a Kindle or have extensively researched into purchasing one, could you verify this? Or kindly share how you purchased yours and made it work (i.e. is it quite idiotproof)?  Would you recommend jumping on the Kindle bandwagon?

I’ve erstwhile been a faithful adherent to the “bound paperback” sect, delighting in the smell and feel of a real book.  But space (of bookshelf) and weight (of bag) are making me seriously consider this option.

Grateful for your comments!

(For the record, the hubby did agree, assuming it works easily and is worth the effort, heh.)

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4 Comments

  1. We love the Kindle! I say we, because the hubby bought one for me (to prevent me from buying more books :p), but he ended up running off with it half the time. Both of us were actually old-school and prefer the feel of a book in our hands, but the Kindle is easy on the eyes (and I love that I can read it while nursing, since I don’t need to turn pages!).

    One great bonus is being able to get classics FOC. Also, its great for parenting books and fiction that you might read once or twice, but that does not justify the shelf-space. 🙂

    I know quite a few people who have Kindles and have figured a way to buy books when based in SG, so I think its quite worth the buy if you do read quite abit?

    1. Thanks so much for sharing! Yes, I’ve got some advice from SMB, so now just have to navigate through the variety of kindles (i didn’t know there were so many types these days!) and choose the best one for my needs.

  2. Hi, I’m here again. I prefer the old school version of Kindle as it’s kinder to the eyes. The Kindle Fire was a tad too bright for me, much like using the ipad to read. So, it really depends on your need.
    I read all 3 parts of the Dragon Tattoo girl during my mat leave, while breastfeeding my #2. It’s the best thing ever. 😉

    1. Thanks! I’m leaning towards the Paperwhite now after doing more comparison research. Did rule out the Fire and DX cos just wanted to use it for reading on MRT haha.

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