It rained last night and it was raining when we got up. We're tucked into the trees, so the rainy skies make it seem really dark and good for sleeping in. Even when we got up, we didn't do much until it cleared up.
This is our last full day here in Greenville, Maine. We've really enjoyed our stay. But today we weren't up for getting into a big hike or a long drive on gravel roads.
Instead, we took our loungers and our Kindles over to the Greenville Junction harbor park between Currier Flying Service and Kelly's Landing. We thought we'd just sit out in the sun, watch any float plane and boat activity, and read.
Yes, I now have a Kindle, too. A birthday gift from my folks. :)
Even though it was windy, reading is no problem with the Kindle. And you can see it just fine in the sun.
You can set your font size and line spacing making it easy for anyone to read.
Since Linda & I are on the same account, I can read the books she has downloaded and she can read the ones I've downloaded. So far though, I've just downloaded book samples.
You can download samples of each book (a few chapters) and see what you think before buying.
I'm checking out Thoreau's "Maine Woods" and two books on Teddy Roosevelt.
You only need to be connected to the internet to download books, so once you have downloaded a sample or bought and downloaded a full version, you don't have to worry about having Wi-Fi/internet access.
The less expensive Kindles ($139) have Wi-Fi connectivity capability. You just connect them to a Wi-Fi source just like you would a laptop. That's what we do. With our routers, we have our own internal Wi-Fi hotspot through either our satellite internet connection or through a cellular connection. You can also connect through a campground Wi-Fi or other Wi-Fi source.
Of course, there is another version that has both Wi-Fi and an internal 3G modem, so the Kindle itself can connect to the internet as long as you are in a 3G service area. These currently run $189.
The above models are ad-free. But both models also have less expensive versions with ads (identified as "With Special Offers" by Amazon). The Wi-Fi version With Special Offers is $114 and the Wi-Fi/3G version With Special Offers is $139.
I have the $114 Wi-Fi with Special Offers version below.
The ads certainly aren't annoying enough to me to pay $25 more. Just my opinion. :)
Linda absolutely loves her Kindle, and she is reading books faster than ever before. I'm really starting to see why she likes it so much.
They are compact, easy to use, lightweight, can be read with one hand, have built in dictionaries (put your cursor on a work and the definition appears), have long-lasting batteries, are readable outdoors or indoors, have a text-to-speech feature so it can actually read out loud to you (not available for all books), and much, much more.
Now, it does not have built-in backlighting, so you do have to have an external light to read in the dark. You'll want a cover for the Kindle, and some come with lights and some don't. The ones that come with lights use the Kindle's battery to power the light. That does have an effect on the battery life, but I'm not sure how much. We have an external LED light that has it's own battery and is made for the M-Edge covers we have.
A big drain on the battery is leaving the Wi-Fi or 3G turned on. So when we download our books, we immediately turn the Wi-Fi off until we need to download another.
Anyway, that's a very, very brief overview of the 6" Kindle. There is a larger, 9.7" Kindle for $379.
We sat out there reading for about three hours occasionally looking up to watch the boats, the gulls, and the fishermen that happened by. As it got later and the wind picked up, it started getting a little cool sitting out on that exposed peninsula. So we packed it in and headed home for the day.
We made a grocery stop and then Linda prepared some leftovers, while I went back into town to top off the diesel on the truck.
And that was about it for today. Hopefully, we'll get moving early in the morning and get on the road toward the coast. We really had a great time here at Moosehead Lake and we'd come back in a heartbeat. But there is more to see and experience and we're ready for that too. :)
"The core of mans' spirit comes from new experiences."
Into The Wild - 2007
Glad you had such a great time there. You made me want to visit it too. I love my kindle too... and like Linda I am reading more books then ever and I thought I read a lot before! lol
Have fun & Travel safe
Donna
Posted by: Donna | Sunday, July 31, 2011 at 09:53 AM
I use my iPad which has a kindle and other ebook formats. So far I've just gotten free books. There's so many of them.
Posted by: Pat | Saturday, August 06, 2011 at 03:45 PM