I spent months trying to decide if a digital reader of any sort would appeal to me. I’m pretty old-school, and my biggest expense in life is my books. Price, feel, convenience…all of these were considerations.

I finally broke down and bought the Kindle2, partly for the lack of backlighting. It was a selfish birthday gift to myself, but man, is it worth it.

I cannot explain just how much I love this little device. I have bad wrists, and reading on the Kindle doesn’t cause me any wrist strain. I can read for many hours straight with no eyestrain. LESS eyestrain than reading a book. I don’t have to worry about running out of reading material or having room for the many books I read.

I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get past it being…a machine. Slip into the story. NOT SO!!! I have actually found myself trying to turn a page! I’m reading more (which is saying something, since I already read like a fiend), and so are my children.

My one issue is that we only have the one. My thirteen-year-old thinks its better than sliced bread, and I can’t keep her off of it. We schedule time to share, and the darned thing literally runs non-stop. Her school grades have improved since she’s reading more, and she’s caught up on her book reports. The downside to that is that she now refuses to read print books. She says they are old-fashioned, and the Kindle is the only way to go.

Now that I have one, I will NEVER be without. It is by far my favorite toy, and there aren’t enough words to explain how you just slip straight into the book and don’t come out for hours. Checking my email on it is a plus.