Saturday, April 23, 2011

Confessions of a Kindleholic

Last night, like every night for the past several months, I meandered into my bedroom, checked the closets for spies from the paperbook industry, and slipped under the covers. Peering out from my hiding place, I quietly reached over and snagged the 7.5x4.8”, 8.5 ounce techno-beauty from my nightstand (aka ugly red chair). As my heart skipped a beat, I flipped open the black leather cover. After surveying my surroundings one last time, I celebrated the “all clear” by sliding out the light extender, and signing in to my sexy little ereading device.

Hi, my name is Mark. I’m a Kindleholic.

I don’t remember the exact moment when I crossed over the line from oh-that’s-an-interesting-little-toy-for-non-literary-purists to food-optional-air-optional-kindle-required, but I do recall why I began the journey. Several months ago, a good friend challenged me to stop making excuses and get on with my writing career. After licking my wounds, I began exploring e-publishing and e-readers. My suspense/thriller, The Father’s Child, needed a place to spread its fledgling wings and soar out into the readersphere, and devices like the Kindle could help make that dream a reality.

Sporting my naiveté like a gold medal, I e-trotted over to Amazon and took a look around. I reminded myself that my over 25 years of technology expertise should make successfully uploading my file and becoming “e-published” a breeze. After many tears, some therapy, and a few choice 4-letter words repeated often and with great conviction, I’d completed my task. Now I wanted to see the results.

Thanks to Amazon, ebooks can be purchased once and then subsequently read on your smartphone, computer/tablet, and/or Kindle device. Within minutes, I’d purchased the first copy, downloaded it to my PC, and began reading. For those of you who’ve read long works of any sort on the computer, you know how tired your eyes can get trying to track the thousands and thousands of pixel refreshes. Knowing that the Kindle used e-ink technology that refreshes only on a page turn (unlike the iPad or Nook Color or computer), it took me mere minutes to rationalize my purchase…fine, it was seconds, but it seemed like minutes.

At this point in my process I wanted the device for only one reason: to check out the look and formatting of my new novel (see IRS deduction). When I pulled out the sleek pearl reader I thought I heard angels singing…turns out the neighbor dog had cornered a Siamese kitten. In any case, I love technology with a simple, intuitive interface and my new toy, I mean necessary business appliance, fit the bill perfectly. It’s pretty straightforward – a 6” diagonal grayscale screen covers the top 80% and a small keyboard with a few control buttons fills out the bottom. The right and left edges sport easy to access paging buttons (forward and back).

After I registered the device to the same email account I used for Amazon ebook purchases, it magically synced via WhisperSync, making any books previously purchased available on my Kindle (complete with bookmarks). Without further delay, I moved down to my new novel and selected it. I thought I heard the same dog terrorizing the poor little kitten but it turned out angels were actually singing…at least that’s the way I remember it.

After I scanned through my book, I noticed that my new little friend could directly access the Amazon bookstore. How convenient! Several purchases later…well…my name is Mark, and I’m a Kindleholic.

16 comments:

S.L. Pierce said...

Great post Mark. You are so funny. I'm also a Kindleholic but it's Amazons fault for making it too easy.

Thea Atkinson said...

I aleays love your posts mark. this one on Kindle addiction is no exception

Mark Adair said...

Thanks Sheryl! Nice of you to stop by. I'm still surprised by how much I like that little techno toy.

Mark Adair said...

Thank you, Thea. Always good to hear from you. Hope you're having a good weekend.

Kate Farrell said...

You are a wonderful writer! What satire for our times, when literary folk are supposed to LOVE the smell, feel, and coziness of print.
You've gong over to the other side...and Google knows it!

Mark Adair said...

Hi Kate. Thank you for the fun comments. Torn between 2 lovers - the book and the ebook. :) I just checked out your blog http://katefarrell.blogspot.com Interesting post.

Unknown said...

Very good, Mark. Like you I'm a Kindleholic (lovely new word) and I dread my OH seeing the new credit card bill LOL. Maybe Kindle could add a "scratch and smell" app to please those who miss the smell of books.

Mark Adair said...

Hahaha - scratch and smell. That's funny, Susan. Hey I noticed you're a fan of The King's Speech. I saw it just last weekend. I enjoyed it, front to end. :)

Jeanne Jusaitis, mizitis@comcast.net said...

Loved your funny Kindle post. I just got mine and haven't used it yet . . . still a little techno-hesitant. I have a feeling that I, too, will have no control over myself once I'm Kindlized. Also loved your Chapter 2. I'll have to take my first baby step and order it on my Kindle.

Mark Adair said...

Very exciting, Jeanne! Thanks for stopping by and for reading my sample from the prior posting. And thanks for the feedback.

"techno-hesitant" "kindlized" - that's funny. The dark side is calling you - Jeanne, Jeanne, come play with us...too creepy?

I do hope you enjoy it. It's quite the handy little friend...I mean device. :)

L.C. Evans said...

Thanks for a good laugh.

Mark Adair said...

My pleasure, LC! Thanks for stopping by. :)

Suzy, The Grey Brunette said...

What a brilliant post! I've also written a novel and decided to give it a go as an ebook. Of course you need a Kindle if you're to become a Kindle author so I'm as happy as Larry tonight... I ordered mine this afternoon (and I've just spent a good hour on ebay buying a cover for it too!)
Good luck with your book! (if u fancy featuring on my website, let me know)
Best wishes
Suzy
http://suzyturner.blogspot.com
http://suzyturner.com

Mark Adair said...

Hi Suzy. Thanks for sharing. Very exciting about your new adventure into indie pubbing, Kindle, etc. If I can help you out just let me know.

Just checked out your website - looks interesting. I'll send you a note. Thanks. :)

deb aka Kindle Virgin said...

Obi... see, I wasn't lying. I'm here. Loved the post.

Mark Adair said...

Hahaha. Deb, you lurker you. Thanks for dropping by! Kindle Virgin today, famous author tomorrow. :)