I got my Kindle a year ago for my birthday. For the previous two or three years I hadn't received a birthday present, because I had requested none. I'd rather get something I want and will use, than have to ooh and aah over another popcorn popper, pressure cooker, or vacuum cleaner.

It took me a while to get really friendly with my Kindle. At first I would read with it only sporadically, usually books that were out of print or unavailable (like the first of the Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith).

Then during the summer I took the Kindle with me on our trip down the Danube, along with books in hard copy. I found myself more and more enamoured of the Kindle, as I read increasingly freely with it. Turning pages and marking my place for comments became second nature, and I enjoyed being able to check out the current top bestsellers at any time.

The battery lasted (without recharging) the entire week and a half I was out of the country.

Turning a page is immediate, as opposed to taking several seconds for other readers. True, you can't share a book with someone else using a Kindle, but the other devices only allow you to share a book one time (during which time you can't read it yourself). And that screen on the other reader! Color below, black and white above; too busy for my preference. I don't read books for the joy of pretty colors.

So I'm happy with my Kindle. I have about 32 or 33 books in the queue, some free, all the others less than $10, waiting for my reading pleasure.

Read on!