Ten things you can do with a Kindle (that you can’t do with a paper book!)
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| Spellfall Kindle edition |
This post is intended to balance my History Girls post
earlier this month Ten things you can’t do with a Kindle, and should help sort out the unicorn’s karma. (Most of the below will also apply to
other e-readers, but the unicorn is not an expert so do let him know if any of these are Kindle-only.)
1. Carry your whole library in your handbag. Doesn’t matter
how long all those books are… they'll all fit on your slim e-shelf, and they won't make your Kindle any heavier.
2. Change the text size and/or line spacing, when your eyes get
tired and you’ve forgotten where you put your reading glasses. (Muse: Does not apply
to younger readers of this blog, obviously!)
3. Ask it to read to you. If you turn on the “text-to-speech" feature,
you can even choose a male or female voice and ask it to read faster or slower... with identifiable American accents!
4. Sample the first 10% of a book at your leisure without
the bookseller scowling at you if you decide not to buy it.
5. Buy any ebook in the catalogue - anywhere in the
world if you have 3G - and start reading it instantly (well, within a few
seconds, anyway).
6. Change the font to make a book feel different while you're reading it.
7. Email your manuscript to your Kindle and make notes on it
– great for the final proofreading stage! You can also make digital notes on any ebook
you have bought, without permanently defacing it.
8. Read it in the dark (backlit models only - "e-ink" is better for bright sunlight).
9. Read communally by asking to see which passages other readers
highlight and letting them see yours. (You can also read privately, of course, as you would a paper book, by turning this feature off.)
10. Read embarrassing stuff on the train (no need for a
special adult edition of Harry Potter, or plain silver covers on Madonna's “adult” title… nobody can see the cover while you’re reading an ebook.)
So what do YOU like to do with your e-reader, that you can’t
do with a paper book? (Muse: Keep it clean, please! Remember this is a family blog...)