It really isn't the most attractive of machines. I would go as far as to say it was a bit ugly.
The joystick controller seems a daft option now that the Sony offers touchscreen technology.
The main menu is a bit loose and messy compared to the Sony Reader's neatly boxed layouts - but more on Kindle vs. Sony later.
The keyboard is very fiddly to use. Adding anything more detailed than a quick note is a pain in the arse.
There is a NEXT PAGE button on both sides of the machine. As a right-hander I use the one on the right. However, the only PREVIOUS PAGE button is on the left. A tad annoying.
White?
As this is a US machine being sold in the UK it comes with a stupid American plug. Hardly the end of the world but worth noting.
Although the wireless functionality is enabled the web browser is not turned on for UK users. If I am reading a text, especially a downloaded magazine, with hyperlinks they are of no use to me.
The ability to download samples of ebooks is a wonderful way to try out new stuff.
You can store as many samples as you want and read them at your leisure wherever you may be. That beats the bookshop or online experience, albeit just on that one score.
E-ink display is very easy to read with no eye strain.
Reflection or glare isn't really much of a problem.
Battery power is nice and long.
The Kindle allows you to subscribe to a range of magazines and newspapers and have them delivered direct to your machine. I have tried this out and will report back in a separate post.
The shopping experience is quick and simple.
Being able to immediately download a book you have just heard mentioned on the radio or featured on telly or read about somewhere is most satisfying.
Other documents - Word and PDF files for example - are easy to load on to the device.
It is slim and portable, as easy to carry around as one of those old-fashioned books.
The inbuilt dictionary allows you to check the definition of any word in an ebook. A fucntion I wish I had when reading many a book in the past.
The Qwerty keyboard allows you to annotate texts, adding comments that are saved, but hidden, within the document for you to access later.
HarperCollins, my fine and upstanding employer, gave a bunch of people in the business an Amazon Kindle for Christmas. The idea, and a very sensible one it is too, being to get editors and others using and reading eBooks on a daily basis.
And what better way then to give them a nice freebie?
I have been living with my Kindle for a month now and am going to write a few posts by way of comment and review. Some of you may remember I did a similar thing when I got hold of a Sony Reader, the collected posts from that time can be viewed here.
Partly out of laziness - I can't be bothered to type it all up - and partly as there is some stuff it is just better to show you, I have recorded a few short videos.
The first of which is below.
Do you think I'll get the job on QVC?
More posts, videos and other stuff to come over the next few days.
Run Lola Run Watched this again for the first time since it was on in the cinema all those years ago. Still very good, if a bit dated. (****)
Kung Fu Panda 2 It looked stunning but there were zero laughs, no sense of real danger (not even mild peril) or excitement. It was just sort of there, on the screen, playing itself out. On a more interesting note, it is the most successful film ever to have been directed by a woman. (**)
Police Story Frenetic, and hardly the most subtle piece of film making ever, but great fun. (***)
Yogi Bear Quite possibly one of the worst films I have ever seen. (*)
Solomon Kane Enjoyable action adventure but never quite makes it to amazing. (***)
Soap Weird but quite touching Danish drama about a woman who moves into a flat above a transsexual and the relationship that blossoms between them. (***)
The Joneses A great idea. Lacked any real emotional clout so struggles to be anything more than just OK. (***)
The Chemical Brothers: Hanna Recently watched the film for the second time and had forgotten how good the soundtrack was. Now getting played a lot, especially when doing the dishes. (****)
Joining us will be Shelley Harris, author of Jubilee, and Vanessa Gebbie, author of The Coward's Tale.
Click the link above for more details.
A Random Pick From My Shelves
Kenneth Robeson: Man of Bronze The first in a cracking, if cheesy and dated, pulp series from the 30s. My dad read these when he was a teenager and I did the same. (****)
Jon Gower: Too Cold for Snow This has a quote from Richard Ford on the front. I do hope it isn't as dull as The Sportswriter.
Julie Myerson: Then She appears to have written a sci-fi novel. I had no idea it existed until it was sent to me.
Gully Wells: The House in France: A Memoir I have never heard of her but this memoir features Martin Amis, Mary Quant, Iris Murdoch and Bertrand Russell so it might be quite interesting.
Michael Kimball: Dear Everybody A young man's life told through the fragments and papers he left behind following his death. Inventive and heartbreaking. (****)
Easy Virtue Incredible cast. Based on a Noel Coward play. Directed by the bloke who did Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Very funny indeed and Jessica Biel is a revelation. (****)
Mutual Friends A bit Feist. A bit Seeker Lover Keeper. A bit good. (****)
21st Century Dodos A guide to the many inanimate objects that are sadly on the verge of extinction. The Guardian called it ‘chummy 1970s and 80s nostalgia’.
Brian Aldiss: A Rude Awakening The Horatio Stubbs trilogy ends on a rather grim note. A view of army life in Sumatra shortly after the Second World War. Humid, irritable and dangerous. (***)
Leo Benedictus: The Afterparty Really pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Always slightly put off when something is described as 'post-modern' but this was most decidedly not up its own arse. Intelligent and witty satire of celebrity culture. (****)
Richard Cowper: The Custodians Four long stories, or four short novellas depending on how you look at them, from this 'forgotten' SF author. Three of them were outstanding and the other very good. Out of print but worth hunting down. (****)
Sjon: The Whispering Muse More magical myth and fable from Iceland. Sjon always challenges the reader but he also always delivers. (****)
Margaret Atwood: The Blind Assassin Read this with a few people at the same time and we documented our thoughts on here. Enjoyed it. Could have done without the aliens but otherwise rather splendid. (****)
Brian W Aldiss: A Soldier Erect Starts out as a continuation of Horatio Stubbs' sexual adventures but ends up as quite a dark and grim account of the Battle of Kohima. Some remarkable passages. (****)
Patrick Easter: The Watermen God, this was a much more pleasant read than the Patrick O'Brian I attempted a few weeks back. A most entertaining 18th century adventure caper. (***)
Richard Cowper: The Road to Corlay A wonderful slab of 70s SF/Fantasy. In the year AD 3018, Britain has succumbed to floods and is now split into seven separate island kingdoms. The soldiers of the Church are hunting down member of a peaceful religious sect. Meanwhile, in the early 21st century, a scientist goes into a coma while undergoing a brain experiment. Somehow the two things are linked. Absolutely loved this, got completely wrapped up in it. (****)
Faiza Guene: Bar Balto The story of a murder narrated by the corpse along with all the suspects. Starts off with some real promise but the voices become less convincing as the book progresses and the ending is a terrible let down. (**)
Joseph Conrad: Heart of Darkness I honestly have no idea why this is considered a classic. A dull and plodding build up to one of the most anti-climactic endings in literature. A waste of time. (*)
Brian Aldiss: The Hand-Reared Boy Hugely controversial novel at the time due to its frank portrayal of young men's view of sex and still quite shocking today. Also, very funny and tragic. (****)
Valeria Luiselli: Faces in the Crowd An excellent translation of a highly promising debut. Expect to read more of Luiselli, hopefully translated by Christina MacSweeney. (****)
Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games I crammed this in a little over a day so that I finished it before seeing the movie. A great book, quite thrilling to read. (****)
Miyuki Miyabe: The Devil's Whisper I liked the insight it gave into ordinary Japanese life but as a mystery novel it was far-fetched and easy to second guess. She has better books. Avoid this one. (***)
Chip Kidd: The Learners Worthy sequel to The Cheese Monkeys. No idea why these two books aren't more widely read. They are wonderful. This one is a lo-fi Mad Men. Oddly delightful. (****)
Helen Smith: Alison Wonderland Completely bonkers detective novel cum anti-vivisection thriller cum unrequited love story cum road trip. Loved it. (****)
Maxime Chattam: Carnage 99-page crime novel set in Brooklyn but originally published in French. Brevity comes at a price but it cracks along at a decent page and is thoroughly enjoyable. (***)
Andrew Crumey: Sputnik Caledonia Not quite as successful as Mobius Dick (a book I loved) but still full of more wit and invention than most of the supposedly exciting literary novels I get sent to review. I have no idea why Crumey isn't up there alongside David Mitchell as one of our most acclaimed British novelists. (****)
Mordecai Richler: Barney's Version: A Novel Very different to the film, which shifted time, some locations and conflated characters, but I managed to enjoy this without losing any of my admiration for the movie version. Which is quite something. (****)
