Diego Basch

Like most people who work with computers, I own the obligatory devices. Laptop, desktop computer, smartphone. All of them allow me to accomplish different work tasks, with some overlap. They all can be used for fun, of course. The problem is keeping work and pleasure separate, because sometimes it’s hard to draw the line. Is this blog post relevant to work or just entertainment? Who knows.

Enter the Kindle. First off, I’ll say that I’m not a fan of Amazon’s Kindle device itself. What I love is the concept of the e-book reader. It’s a device with the following features:

• It’s very light. It doesn’t weigh more than a typical paperback.
• The screen looks as close to regular paper as possible, and it’s as big as a book page.
• It can store more books than I could reasonably keep at home in a few bookcases.
• I can forget about the battery and not worry about charging it.

These features create a functionality that I didn’t have before. Sure, it was possible to sit at a coffee shop and read on my laptop or my phone. Why didn’t I do it? No need to explain the phone, it’s just too small. The laptop is heavy, and most of the time I don’t carry it in my backpack. Moreover, I’m the kind of person who can’t stand seeing the battery indicator decrease like a burning fuse. It drives me crazy to know that I have 57 minutes left before I have to start a Quest for the Holy Outlet. The Kindle does not consume power while you look at a page, only when you flip. I never turn it off. I can’t remember the last time I plugged it in, probably about two weeks ago.

But here’s the most important reason I love it. I cannot do work with it (sure, it’s possible in theory but it requires too much effort). It’s the first device I’ve owned in a long time that is just for leisure. Right now I’m dreaming of going for a several day, back country hike outside of cellphone range. I normally don’t take books on long hikes because they are too heavy, but I would love to take the Kindle along and catch up on my reading.