Introduction
Greetings!
As someone with a pre-Kindle Kindle obsession, I decided to write a blog to help me sort out if, I mean, how the Kindle will change my reading habits. You can expect me to write about what I read on a given day day, what medium, estimated time spent reading, commentary on the content, and observations on all manner of things. It’s been awhile, so we’ll see how scholarly I get and what conclusions I am able to draw. Thank you for joining me!
In the spirit of the “Amazon.com: The Post 2/2 Kindle Delivery Group – kindle Discussion Forum” (a.k.a. Where the hell is my Kindle!), “I’m 3/7” – in more ways than one actually, but we’ll get to that later.
My New Obsession
So, as I await the arrival of my new instant-library-in-a-box-that-goes-anywhere-there’s-a-Sprint-signal I find myself obsessing how great this new piece of electronics will be. (Though I accuse my husband of being a gear junkie, I have to admit I get the bug too!) I imagine all the great books I can read instantly…oh, wait, don’t I have a pile of books on my shelf that still need reading? Correction, that I can read instantly when I am not at home, ha! Then there’s the gadget factor as who doesn’t love pushing buttons- a love that starts somewhere between 6-11 months of age and is practiced a lifetime. Then there is that another toddler emotion begging to get out, “I want my book, but for the time being, my Kindle, now!!” Yes, instant gratification. Why do I have to wait so long that I actually need an online support group? I ordered my Kindle on 3/7/08 and have to wait how long? 6-8 weeks?! Is this Amazon’s way of building anticipation and creating even more buzz? It’s only day 4 of my wait, do I really have to wait up to a month or more? Will I get my Kindle before I leave on my trip to Virginia and Cancun… Oh, sorry, wrong forum. Let there be no doubt about my needing a support group!
About Me
I’m 37 with an MA degree in Mass Media and Communications from Temple University. My professional career has been spent at various large and in some cases, infamous telecom companies in either Marketing or Quality Management capacities. Ever since college at Drew University where I spent 2 years in a paid internship at Bellcore (“paid” was of utmost importance and garnered bragging rights in college, especially at $10 and hour ) I have been fascinated by communication technologies. Back in the late 80’s and early 90’s I was working with room-sized video conference and an internal html before the WWW hit the screens. My focus was and continues to be mediated communications. Now I won’t pull out McLuhan just yet, you know, “The Medium is the Massage” guy, but I am sure I will revisit! (No, that was not a typo.)
Now the fact that this paragraph comes second is a testament to how serious I am about this blog. These days I don’t get to talk much about professional careers and mediated communications. Most new introductions start something like this, “I’m a stay-at-home Mom with 1 and 2 year old daughters. (We’ll call them “A” and “K”) My husband is a senior management level sales professional with the largest public company in the world and travels a lot, so often I am a Monday-Friday single mother.” I make no apologies for my M-F single mother complaints because I get tired and bored and what mother of both a 1 and 2 year old wouldn’t, even with having the greatest 24×7 job in the world. I know I am not a real single mother with all those worries and am aware of how lucky I am to get to play with Play-Doh ever day of the week without having to worry about how much it costs, but 10 diapers a day is still 10 diapers a day.
Let’s see, what else, currently I reside in a SE suburb of Seattle, WA. I’ve lived in Santa Clara, CA during the dot come boom and left at the bust, lived in Northern, VA for 5 years and grew up in Southern New Jersey halfway between Philadelphia and Atlantic City.
Gardening is my hobby and in my opinion the Pacific Northwest is the best place to grow just about anything, except tomatoes. I held the position of President of the Lake Wilderness Arboretum Foundation for 2 years and am just crazy for plants. I’m not a landscaper and my yard more resembles a plant collection than manicured garden though I don’t live in a jungle, yet.
Finally, I read at least an hour every day of varied content and media.
What I Will Never Read on a Kindle
The daily newspaper. I love the concept of electronic news and often read The Washington Post online, but what happened on the morning of March 7, 2008 (ironically, the same day I ordered the Kindle) has cause my strong bias toward the print version of a daily paper.
I was reading The Seattle Times in the morning with breakfast as I do every morning when my not quite 2 and a half year old daughter started browsing through the paper with me. I didn’t pay too much attention and would have almost missed this “first” had she not pointed out Garfield. Yes, K had rifled through the paper and found the comics. I took notice because the rustling stopped and it was too quiet. As any parent knows, quiet is always a sign of trouble with toddlers around. There was K, sitting in the kitchen chair with the weekday comics page spread out in front of her, intently looking at all the pictures. When she saw me looking she started to point out the big cat, the people on the phone, the little boy eating, etc. Garfield IS funny.
So in the interest of raising two well-aware children interested in current events, the world around them and reading, I will continue to set an obvious good example by reading the print version of the daily paper. At least until I know the girls are hooked. After all, the ink smell and smears I could do without.
What To Expect From My Entries
What I read on a given day day, what medium, estimated time spent reading, commentary on the content, and recommendations on all manner of things.
Pre-Kindle Reading Habits
Reading habits as I perceive them to be as of today, March 12, 2008.
Regular scheduled reading
• The Seattle Times print edition though I share articles with family and friends via the online edition (daily)
• US News and World Report print edition. Used to read Time Magazine, but they changed their format which I didn’t like and so I am trying US News but will go back to Time as I don’t like US News’ content as much. Too political. (weekly)
• People Magazine print edition (weekly)
• Martha Stewart Living print edition (monthly)
• Reader’s Digest Print edition (monthly)
• The Week print edition (weekly) and online (daily) updates that arrive via email linking to online content.
• Various catalogues that arrive in the mail (daily)
• News searches and browsing online (daily)
Book Reading
• Non-fiction books, usually biography/autobiography (approximately 3 per year)
• Fiction books, romance, suspense, young adult (24 per year)
• Children’s books (daily)
Where I Buy My Books In Order of Most to Least
• Costco
• Barnes and Noble Online (I’m a Barnes and Noble paid member)
• Baker Street Books in Black Diamond, WA which is once of those GREAT not yet extinct private book stores that used to be a very old bank I believe. Lots of atmosphere and old wood trim, cozy chairs, and a good smell. A wonderful, eclectic inventory of new and used books that I happily pay full price for even knowing I could save $8 per book at BN.com but it’s worth it to keep such a treasure in business.
• Barnes and Noble store in Issaquah, WA
• Amazon.com is listed last as I’m already a member of Barnes and Noble and only buy from Amazon if buying non-books as well
For Comparison To see How Things Change Once I Have a Kindle…
On my nightstand right now:
- The Last Kashmiri Rose by Barbara Cleverly
- National Park Ranger: An American Icon by Charles R. “Butch” Farabee Jr.
- Latest Issues of:
- Martha Stewart Living
- The Week
- People
- Reader’s Digest
Finally, here’s an article worth mentioning as to the Seattle influence on what books YOU read:
Seattle helps shape what nation reads, March 11, 2008, The Seattle Times
Thank you for joining me on this journey of discovery and how new technology impacts my reading habits. Oh, and here’s why I started this site…
Today’s Reading List
•Seattle Times, entire March 12th issue (PRINT)
•US News and World Report, entire March 10th issue (PRINT)
