My family bought me a Kindle in 2011. My initial reluctance faded though. I could now carry a bookcase in my purse.
It resurrected my crusade to read classic literature. These e-classics were cheaper than a cup of coffee and came without the carpal-tunnel-crushing girth of Their Print Counterparts.
reading these novels required me to dust off my thinking cap. They had antiquated language and enough characters to People a small city. I am a busy mom in a car, not a grad student in a library. It was taking me forever to finish anything.
One day the Kindle offered me a free Audible book. I never Realized my Kindle had speakers. Since I was in the middle of “Middlemarch” and my son’s basketball season, I decided to download the audiobook.
There was a companion e-book for 99-cents. It was just like the e-book I had, except it Claimed it could sync up with the audio book. Whether I was listening or reading, both versions would keep my current place.
I had a dollar.
I took my Kindle in the car. The speakers were soft, so I held the Kindle close to my ear. Awkward, but enjoyable. Later, I opened my e-book and a small dialogue box appeared.
“Would you like to sync to the Furthest Page read?”
Why, yes I would.
Life was good. Under this system, I was done with “Middlemarch” in record time. Plus, I no longer dreaded driving in the car. It was my library.
I Became Obsessed with Audible. When They had a sale, I stocked up on Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf and Elizabeth Gaskell – each withtheir companion e-books.
Download. Download. Download.
Then, I saw “Les Misérables.” I’ve always wanted to read this book, but had lacked
Download.
It was wonderful. So wonderful, I started carrying my Kindle around while making suppers. One evening, while balancing a pot in one hand and carrying my Kindle in the other, I tripped over the dog.
BAM – Kindle down.
Gingerly, I picked it up. It looked bad. The back had popped opened and the on switch dangled. I patted everything together and plugged it into. The green light flickered.
Aha!
Then died.
Rats.
I called Amazon. The news was not good.
Three years in the tech world is like 30 They no longer make my model and would not repair it. I could buy a new Kindle at a reduced rate, but none of the current models had speakers except the glowing ones. I do not like the glowing ones.
Now I was miserable.
I dragged around the house and the dreaded car. My husband offered me his iTouch.
“It has a Kindle app.”
It Glows.
“It has an Audible app thatwill playthrough the car speakers. “
Sold.
Well, not completely.
True, my professional storytellers were back. And that’s great for my commute. However, given a choice, I prefer to read the stories myself. I wanted my Kindle back.
I broke down and ordered a cheap, non-glowing Kindle. When it arrived, I downloaded my digital bookcase and opened “Les Misérables.”
“Would you like to sync to the Furthest Page read?”
Why, yes I would.
Nicole LV Mullis Can Be Reached at nlvm.columns@gmail.com. You can find her on Facebook or follow her on TwitterNicoleLVMullis.
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