Kindle Paperwhite: My Thoughts on E-readers

I bought an E-Reader.
It was not an easy decision to make since it it quite a financial investment (at least with my budget). For almost a month I was debating wether or not I should buy one. I researched all types, looked a reviews and made quite a few pro and contra lists. In the end I decided on the Kindle Paperwhite. But before I get into the review: A few thoughts on E-Readers in general.

I always thought an E-Read was not for me. My opinion was formed on the believe that that I:

• A) Would miss holding a physical book
• B) Would not like reading on a computer screen. (This point was a strong one. I already read quite a few E-books on my phone and did not quite enjoy the reading experience it gave me.)
• C) Wouldn't be able to grow my physical book collection. 

I was quite stubborn in my opinion for several years even though many people told me that an E-Reader would be good for me. My opinion begann to change this April. I have been traveling a lot this year. And carrying books is very heavy. Then a friend of mine decided to move abroad in a country which main language she can't speak. As an avid reader herself she was afraid of not finding books she could read there, so she decided to lend out an E-Reader and test it for herself. She did not like it in the end, but her experience with the E-reader opened my mind to the benefits of E-Readers.
The strongest arguments for it were (at least at that time):

• A) Its space efficent
• B) I can read everywhere regardless of the light situation
• C) E-Books are way way cheaper than physical books

Then my aunt invited me to spend a week at her farm in the middle of nowhere. With nothing to do but read. I knew, that I could never carry as many books as I could read. So I decided to invest. I thought, that if I did not like it, I could always resell it. As mentioned above I researched quite a few products but in the end I decided on a Kindle. Mainly because I already owned quite a few E-Books via the Kindle app.
After I decided on the brand, I needed to decide on the product. There are quite a few Kindle models on the marked right now. I was torn between the Kindle and the Kindle Paperwhite. In the end, the Paperwhite in white won. It was a bit more expensive, but I wanted to make sure that I was buying a quality Item.

The Kindle with its Display turned off

It took two days to be delivered and it came already charged and personalized. It also came with a charging cable but no adapter which is to purchase separately. I did not do that since I already had enough USB adapters.  

I choose to buy the Kindle with integrated Ads, because it was 20€ cheaper. The advertisements are only visible when turned off or on the homepage. There is an option of turing the Ads off by paying the difference. So far the ads do not bother me at all:

Once the Kindle is turned on. One is welcomed by the homescreen. Here one can see: their own library (the three recent reeds are visible), ones wishlist and recommendations based upon ones reading taste.

If you open up your library, you can see all of your purchased and lend books. 

There are many options on how to sort the books. I choose by Titel

Since the Kindle can also open other documents there is an option an showing only books or documents.On the upper end of the screen is the Navigation bar with symbols to return to the homepage, return to the side before and the quick settings. Here the Kindle can turn into Airplane mode, be synchronized and all settings can be reached. Here one can also adjust the lightness of the screen  

The Kindle offers an option called quick settings. Here one can adjust the lighness of the screen, the Airplane mode. From here one the generell settings can be reached.

In the generell settings almost everything can be altered to fit ones needs.  

So much for the settings. The usage is very self-explanatory. But what about the reading itself? Once you start a new book, the Kindle will give you some information on it, like the author a short summary and the usual reading time.

A normal book page looks something like this:

It is very close to a normal book page. With some additional features. On the bottom left corner you can decide whether you want to see pages, positions or reading time. I like to know how long it will take me to read a book, so thats my default setting. 

Another handy feature is the dictionary. I like to read english books but english is not my mother tongue. Its very cool, that I can just click a word and then get an explantation or a translation. 

The feature I like most is, that once you mark a quote it gets exported into a document called: my clipboard. There you can see all the quotes you have marked in all the books you have read. 

Overall I am very happy with my purchase. I read a lot more now. Simply because I can take a lot of books everywhere I go. Some of the critiques I have are:

• Even if you mark something by accident its still in the clipboard and can not be removed. (Pls. tell me that it can!)
• Its black and white. (But those beautiful covers.)
• Pictures can't really be shown. They are just far to little. 

All my initial worries, but one, proved unnecessary. I like holding the Kindle way more than holding a book. Its so much lighter! I also do not have a problem with reading from a screen. Through the lightning settings it feels just like a book. I still get lost in the stories just in the same way as before. The one not so good thing is, that I can not grow my physical book collection. But I plan on buying my favorite books in physical once I am in a more financially stable place.

(also: its better for my overflowing bookshelf :P)

Do you have an E-Reader? If so, what model do you have? Let me know.