I turned 30 a few weeks ago (wahoo!), and Hubby got me something I never would have imagined owning, and certainly never would have spent the money on myself. That's right--I actually got a Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)"!! I originally started looking at them because of this review . He saw me looking at them, and completely surprised me for my birthday!

What I love about my kindle:

*It holds up to 1,500 books. The first thing Dave got for me was a study Bible. It has all the notes, commentary, maps, etc. at the click of a finger. But I also have lots of other books that I'm reading at the same time. So if I'm sitting at the doctor's office, I can pull it out and study my Bible, read Josephus (I got that for .99! Totally fascinating!), or a Christian fiction novel I downloaded for free.

*Most new releases are 9.99, which may not be a great deal (I buy my books at the thrift store or get them at paperbackswap--I'm a thrifty book buyer!), but there are literally thousands of books you can download for free. All public domain books are free. And Amazon randomly offers newer books for free, too. Also, a lot of older books are really cheap.

*It automatically holds your place in every book you're reading. You can also save notes and underline parts that you like for easy access.

*I can use this for homeschool. We read a lot of public domain books online, but we have to sit at the computer to read them, which can get really annoying. But with the kindle, I can download them onto there and it's portable.

*I also download a lot of e-books that I never get around to reading because I have to sit at the computer to read them. There is a free computer program called Mobipocket that will convert any e-book into a kindle-friendly format. It only costs $.15 to put them on the Kindle, and then I can read them anywhere! You can also directly download word and pdf files.

*There is a free web browser, with constant internet access no matter where you are, and no monthly fees. Its really slow, but you can browse the web, look up a map, check your e-mail, etc.

It's still not quite the same as having a paper and ink book in your hands. Nothing electronic can ever measure up to the pleasure of holding a book. But this is still an amazing product. And for someone who reads and uses books as much as I do, definately a good buy.