Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I finally got a Kindle because I had to take a 3-week trip to Rotterdam from California. I knew I would never be able to carry as many books as I would need, especially since we were going to need to carry a number of things back with us. It was a long flight with layovers both ways, and sleeping was nearly impossible in the cramped plane. I loaded the Kindle with e-books (I had a collection by one of my favorite authors, and there are lots of free books to download, and I decided to try Kindle Ultimate while I was at it) and packed it into my computer bag. It saved my life during the flight and the trip both. My husband thinks I should have gotten the one with its own lighting, but now that I'm home again, access to a reading light is not an issue. The text is amazingly clear--really, my graphics geek husband marveled over it--and being able to adjust the size means that even if I've forgotten my reading glasses, I can still read. (They don't always make it from one room to the other.) The faint gray tone to the background seems odd for a moment, but then completely natural. Battery life has generally been very good. It helps to actually turn the screen off when not reading. I don't mind seeing the ads, but they do use up power. I left the Wi-Fi turned off the entire time I was in Rotterdam, and I think that helps save power, too. I got the power adapter, but since that only works in the US, I just charged the Kindle by connecting it to my computer. Now that I'm home, I have the power connector next to my bed, so I can charge while reading. I expect to be buying e-books rather than paperbacks from now on, which is just as well, as even my abundant shelving is starting to overflow. I only wish I could "rip" my existing book collection to Kindle format.