A NEW TOY

Christmas came a little early for Patty yesterday, with the delivery of a new Kindle reader from Amazon. She has been dropping hints for several weeks, that perhaps this new way to read a book, just might be something that she would use a lot.

Because we are flying across the country in just a few days, and because my wife is an avid reader, I decided to play Santa yesterday. I/We are often slow to embrace new technology, but when we finally get around to pulling the trigger, we usually discover that we can't live without whatever the new device is. Kind of like getting accustomed to an ice maker, and thinking how did we ever live without one!

After registering the Kindle with our WiFi DSL connection, the first book that Patty downloaded was Big Lake by our pal Nick Russell. My reading is more oriented toward newspapers and periodicals, but occasionally, I do read a book. I have a feeling that when Patty finishes reading this first novel on her new Kindle, I just might find myself also becoming an e-reader.

Patty doesn't typically buy hardcover, or new books. Rather, she typically finds most of her reading material at thrift shops, used book stores, or on the internet. This new gadget adds another source for purchasing books at a fraction of the new, hardcover book price. In addition to all of the above, by putting on my Santa hat a little early, I'm now a hero!