I love reading; always have. I remember the joy of checking out books from the library when I was a child: the thrill of finding a book that could transport me to other worlds and situations…and the sorrow when the time eventually came to return “my” book. It was as if I had separation anxiety when it was time to return a title I had really enjoyed. What if I wanted to read it again later? What if I couldn’t remember the title or author? I decided early on that book ownership was key.

With that goal in mind, I would use money given to me on birthdays and Christmas to purchase my own books. Once I had a regular job, I also became a regular book purchaser. Even with periodic culling and gifting of the books I chose not to keep, I still managed to amass quite a personal library over the years. Because of the space required by my books, the advent of eBooks was very attractive to me. Early on I committed to the Peanut Press/eReader platform, and over the years I have managed to purchase 503(!!) of them. I particularly like the idea of a virtual library - no trees cut down to support my voracious habit, and no need for additional shelf space. Like many, I wondered why the savings from dead tree books to eBooks were not steeper, but for the most part I kept my grumbling to myself.

When dedicated eBook readers such as the Sony Reader began to appear, I looked at them with much interest, but I never bit. Part of the reason was that I didn’t want to carry yet another device, but the other reason - in all honesty - was because none of them were compatible with eReader and the library I had already amassed; I simply did not relish the idea of moving to another platform.

It wasn’t until Wayne basically said that he was sending his Amazon Kindle to me, and I was expected to try it and give my impressions, that I ever thought I might bail out of the eReader club. Is the Kindle perfect? Heck no. But I found it to be surprisingly compelling.

This review will include not only my experience with the reader, but also Wayne and Ellen’s. After I cover the hardware, we’ll each take turns discussing this wireless reading device…

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I placed an Amazon Kindle order on March 15, 2008. Wednesday I received notice that it was shipping (about one month from order to delivery). It should be here today. Watch for feedback as this device gets passed around the Geardiary offices. And, yeah, I was (and still am) doubtful that a non-backlit screen is going to work well. So - why’d I buy? I’m looking for a way to avoid storing the many books and magazines that I purchase. It’s been two years since I subscribed to a newspaper in large part because I felt that I was wasting paper by collecting and disposing of 3 daily newspapers. I’m not opposed to paying for good content. I am also intrigued by the Kindle’s ability to subscribe wirelessly to newspapers, magazines and blogs. More updates this weekend after I have a chance to set it up. PS: The Amazon site has changed the product status for the Kindle to “Expected to be in stock on April 24, 2008. Order it now. Ships and sold by Amazon.com” - I take this to mean they will have fulfilled all backorders by that date and the Kindle will be available for same day shipping.

Once again, we invite you to eavesdrop on our email conversations…

Wayne: R.I.P. … the Internet slays another print publication…

Mitchell: I was a subscriber to PC World for about 5 years, and then I realised that I was paying for a magazine with content that I had read weeks earlier on the internet.

It really is inevitable I suppose, tech magazines just can’t stay ahead of the game with online news sites getting information out hours after release. They have to wait a whole month…

Clinton: This is the same problem that many tech magazines face. Granted, most have a much smaller circulation than PC World, but the net result is the same: very few subscribers but a massive uptick in online “subscribers”. Amongst us Gear Diary types, I’d be shocked if many of these magazines were still printing this time next year.

Mitchell: Yeah I have the same thought each time I receive various magazines I have subscribed to, they just feel out of date. They have to know the end is coming as well.

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