Alright, I want your opinions. Do you prefer a paper book or an E-Book? I am 100% a paper book kinda girl. I love the weight in my hands, the way the page feels when I flip it and even the smell of books! (Yes, books have a smell and if I could get that in a candle I would without a doubt.) However, I respect that online reading has a place. When we were going to Hilton Head for a few weeks I packed my kindle (its an original one so it doesn’t have apps, it has a standard look of a book) and with space being limited I wanted to maximize my book abilities while packing the least amount of things.
I’m okay with my kindle because it isn’t a tablet. I can read in the sun and it won’t make it miserable to try to read or have to watch out for the glare. Don’t get me wrong, I am a dedicated iPad fan (I’m actually working on this post from my iPad) but you can’t read very well in the sun with it. I know you can switch the screen to black and the writing in white but it still is just miserable to read on for me. I need the original devices to make sure that I can actually read and not spend the entire time squinting at my screen.
As I mentioned previously my Kindle is a first generation Amazon Kindle. This is actually my second, I stole mine from Grant who never used it and I’ve had his since maybe 2014. He never used it and I needed one. It was a match made in heaven, his kindle got use and I got a new to me book reader. That book reader has been to Canada, Indiana, North Carolina and South Carolina. I still preferred paper books but when I traveled this was my go to packing strategy.
However, the unthinkable happened… I was lounging out by the pool when I went to turn my kindle off it looked kinda funky. I thought, oh well, I’m sure its nothing. I’ll charge it and reset it when I get back inside. I went in to charge it, reset it and put Grant to work on fixing it. About thirty minutes later he gave me the news…. It was dead. I honestly was really torn since we are away we couldn’t hit up the library and everything is closed still. I could read on my iPad but I hate doing that; it just doesn’t work as well.
This left me with the next decision. What do I do now… I went on Amazon and read review after review for different book readers. I was torn between two, getting a new Kindle or the Kindle Paperwhite. They both have the screens I like (e-ink) that makes it look like real paper so your can read in the sun and it won’t make you need to squint. The Kindle itself is cheaper (coming in at 89.99) which is always nice, it has 4GB of storage which is plenty but it felt really small to me. I decided to go with the Paperwhite instead. It has 8GB of storage, a slightly larger screen and the best part it is waterproof and considering I’m primarily reading at the beach/pool the waterproof is a big win. It is slightly more expensive (this one costs 129.99) but not having to worry about it getting wet and replacing is really nice! The Paperwhite also is completely flush on the screen so if you get sand on it you can just wipe it off instead of having to be careful to not cram more sand into the device.
I have had my Paperwhite for about a week now and I can honestly say I really like it. I do miss the included 3G built into the device to download books directly from the reader but with WiFi pretty much everywhere its not a big deal.
Overall, I still recommend a real book first but if you don’t want to carry multiple books then I highly recommend the newer Kindles. Both the Kindle and the Kindle Paperwhite. I think the Paperwhite works best for me but both are great options.
If you want to get the Kindle Paper Weight click Kindle Paperwhite below, by clicking this link and buying through my Amazon Storefront I will receive a commission. Kindle Paperwhite
If you want to get the Kindle Paper Weight click Kindle below, by clicking this link and buying through my Amazon Storefront I will receive a commission. Kindle
The Real Elle Woodz 