Kindle Amazon’s #1 Gift for Christmas

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External ImageAmazon has announced that during this Christmas season, the Kindle e-book reader was the “most gifted item” in the company’s history — and on Christmas Day, the sales of Kindle e-books were actually higher than traditional books. This is quite a milestone, and signals that consumer acceptance of the Kindle and e-books in general is picking up speed.

I absolutely love my Kindle 2, as I’ve written several times, and highly recommend it to anyone who’s hooked on reading. Here’s my review of the Kindle 2, for more details.

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38 comments
1 reine.de.tout  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 8:44:31pm

My dentist and my doctor both saw mine and went crazy over it; I believe both of them had this on their Christmas list.

2 Dancing along the light of day  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 8:56:22pm

I'm going to have to look at what the booklist is.
I. want. one.
And, an iphone.
toy envy!

3 Achilles Tang  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 8:57:11pm

My daughter's boyfriend got his, with our contribution; but I didn't get mine. *sob*

4 Randall Gross  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 8:57:53pm

I'm a bit surprised that this milestone came this year rather than next, but I sure was expecting it.

5 reine.de.tout  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 8:58:44pm

re: #2 Floral Giraffe

I'm going to have to look at what the booklist is.
I. want. one.
And, an iphone.
toy envy!

Flo!
I have 'em both.
And love both of them.
When I got my iPhone, I thought it would be more than I really needed.
But I use it for so much . . . it's great!

6 reine.de.tout  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 8:59:38pm

re: #3 Naso Tang

My daughter's boyfriend got his, with our contribution; but I didn't get mine. *sob*

That's just not fair!

7 Achilles Tang  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 9:01:46pm

re: #6 reine.de.tout

That's just not fair!

I have LGF. No time to read all that other stuff anyway....

8 rqballjohn  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 9:01:49pm

I loaded Kindle for PC on my mini Dell and I just use that as a kindle. I am cheap. Works good for me.

9 What, me worry?  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 9:06:39pm

Kindle 2 was the major toy last year. Love it!

This year was a new HDTV... wowser. I didn't know what I was missing.

10 Dancing along the light of day  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 9:11:30pm

re: #5 reine.de.tout

Flo!
I have 'em both.
And love both of them.
When I got my iPhone, I thought it would be more than I really needed.
But I use it for so much . . . it's great!

grrrrrr...
LOL!
Maybe for my birthday!

11 freetoken  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 9:11:52pm

If the rumor of Apple's "Slate" (or "iSlate") are true, I wonder if people will prefer such a device over the Kindle (or any other dedicated reader.)

12 Randall Gross  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 9:24:03pm

The Futurist has some interesting thoughts on this here.

13 reine.de.tout  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 9:26:57pm

This video appears to show 2 security force guys taking off their helmets and joining the crowd - one at about 3 minutes in, the second at about 3:40 in.

14 reine.de.tout  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 9:28:36pm

And Andrew Sullivan seems to have a clip showing a Basij joining the crowd.
wow

15 Our Precious Bodily Fluids  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 9:28:47pm

I LOVE the concept of the Kindle, but for me it's still too expensive for what it is.

It, or something very much like it, will be cheap and ubiquitous before too long. I can remember when CD players cost ~$700.

16 What, me worry?  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 9:31:27pm

re: #11 freetoken

If the rumor of Apple's "Slate" (or "iSlate") are true, I wonder if people will prefer such a device over the Kindle (or any other dedicated reader.)

I saw another reader while shopping for the TV in Costco. I thought it was a Sony though. Was very small.

17 Dark_Falcon  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 9:35:34pm

re: #14 reine.de.tout

And Andrew Sullivan seems to have a clip showing a Basij joining the crowd.
wow

If those sorts of defections become widespread, then the regime is in deep trouble.

18 What, me worry?  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 9:36:52pm

re: #15 negativ

I LOVE the concept of the Kindle, but for me it's still too expensive for what it is.

It, or something very much like it, will be cheap and ubiquitous before too long. I can remember when CD players cost ~$700.

It's absolutely worth the money IMO. Getting books in an instant is probably the biggest plus, but often they're free or crazy cheap. $5. Internet access, newspaper d/l, navigation is easy.

Besides, I'm running out of space for books. I love paper books (funny to say "paper books"), but they're all over the place. If it's not a special edition of some sort, forget it.

The only drawback of the Kindle is when it hits you on the head when you're falling asleep reading. Owie.

19 political lunatic  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 9:53:53pm

Not exactly a bookworm by any stretch, but real books just feel more natural of an idea to me than a Kindle. Low-tech, I know.

20 Bagua  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 10:01:26pm

Happy New Year!

MP3 Audio

- Lightnin' Hopkins
21 Mich-again  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 10:09:49pm

Started reading Freakonomics. Pretty cool book for math geeks. It'll take me a few days to get the time to finish it the old fashioned way. Wish I had a Kindle. So much easier than holding the book and flipping pages all the time..

22 Our Precious Bodily Fluids  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 10:09:51pm

re: #18 marjoriemoon

Hah, funny you should mention that. About the only time I can get around to reading is at bedtime. I very frequently fall asleep while reading, and end up smacking myself in the face with the book.

Bedtime reading is perplexing. One of two things generally happens:

1) I'll read about 3 paragraphs and fall asleep midway through the fourth. When I pick it back up again, I have to back-track several pages to straighten out what was going on in the story before I fell asleep. This is why it sometimes takes me 4-5 months to read a book.

2) I'll get amazingly involved in the story, and unable to put the book down. I'll glance at the clock in the knowledge that I have to get up at the butt-crack of dawn the next morning, and vow to myself that I'll stop reading and turn out the light just as soon as I finish this chapter. BUT THEN, something interesting happens and I must therefore hold out for JUST ONE MORE chapter. Next thing I know, I have to be at work in two and a half hours, and I haven't slept yet.

There's no predicting which of those two outcomes will surface. I've experienced the 2nd scenario with horrible books I wouldn't recommend to my worst enemy, and the 1st scenario with books that are captivating and gripping as can be.

23 Dark_Falcon  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 10:11:51pm

re: #21 Mich-again

Started reading Freakonomics. Pretty cool book for math geeks. It'll take me a few days to get the time to finish it the old fashioned way. Wish I had a Kindle. So much easier than holding the book and flipping pages all the time..

Careful with that one. Its the book that argue that abortion reduces crime.

24 What, me worry?  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 10:30:47pm

re: #22 negativ

hehe It's more like the first one for me!

I've decided I'm going to fashion a bumper to put around the Kindle. Maybe I'll get rich!

25 What, me worry?  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 10:32:49pm

re: #19 political lunatic

Not exactly a bookworm by any stretch, but real books just feel more natural of an idea to me than a Kindle. Low-tech, I know.

It's like Tivo, Ipod, Iphone and all the rest. You never know how you lived without one when you finally get it.

26 shipper  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 11:06:09pm

Cool. Too bad we can't use one on Shabbat, when we do most of our reading. For this reason I didn't seriously contemplate buying one for my husband.

27 shipper  Sun, Dec 27, 2009 11:08:12pm

re: #21 Mich-again

Started reading Freakonomics. Pretty cool book for math geeks. It'll take me a few days to get the time to finish it the old fashioned way. Wish I had a Kindle. So much easier than holding the book and flipping pages all the time..

I've read SuperFreakonomics. It is very cool for all types of geeks, not just the math geeks. I have to read the first one now.

28 JRCMYP  Mon, Dec 28, 2009 6:00:13am

I received the Kindle unexpectedly for Christmas and I love it!

So, I've been reading the reviews on the different covers for it. Who has what cover? It seems that the ones that attach to the Kindle via hooks can crack it...somehow. Anyone have an opinion on that?

And I love Freakonomics. They also have a blog at the NYT.

29 wii42  Mon, Dec 28, 2009 7:03:13am

re: #28 JRCMYP

I've had the Kindle 2 with the leather cover for about a month now with no problems. But, there's nothing that holds the Kindle to the cover other than the hooks, so the back of the cover is free to move away from the back of the Kindle, which movement does cause the hooks to pry on the plastic front of the Kindle. I didn't realize this was a potential problem until reading you just now, but it looks like it could be over time, especially with a user like a kid who's unreliable about keeping that back cover from flopping away from the Kindle when using it. I think I'll jerry-rig a piece of velcro on the back to secure the back of the cover to the Kindle.

But other than that hypothetical problem, that cover works great, as does the Kindle.

30 kellygrrrl  Mon, Dec 28, 2009 7:06:49am

it gives me great comfort to hear that Americans are reading again. I think I'll hold out for the Apple Tablet, at least to compare the two.

31 JRCMYP  Mon, Dec 28, 2009 7:12:14am

re: #29 wii42

One of the reviewers on Amazon made that suggestion (velcroing the Kindle to the cover. There is a new cover that has corner "tabs" and a strap to close the cover but apparently it is still causing the Kindle to crack. I may end up going with a neoprene sleeve--but it is sort of dorky looking. I'd rather have the cover.

32 Ojoe  Mon, Dec 28, 2009 7:33:02am

I would just love the chance to jump an activated terrorist on an airplane & all my guy friends feel the same way.

33 wii42  Mon, Dec 28, 2009 7:41:02am

re: #31 JRCMYP

The leather cover is very nice IMO - does a great job protecting the Kindle, adds nearly nothing to its overall size or heft, looks nice. But more than once I've noticed the kid holding it such that the back of the cover is flopped away from the back of the Kindle. So the kid will get a heads up about that, but I'll probably also try to secure the back of the Kindle to the cover somehow.

34 Right Handed Neutrino  Mon, Dec 28, 2009 7:45:50am

Received my Kindle for Christmas too. It seems pretty cool, but I'm currently plowing through the old fashioned page version of War and Peace, so it seems like I won't have much time for reading anything else anytime soon. I couldn't resist getting the Complete Sherlock Holmes compilation though (the real one, not Robert Downey Junior).

35 Pythagoras  Mon, Dec 28, 2009 11:06:14am

re: #29 wii42

I've had the Kindle 2 with the leather cover for about a month now with no problems. But, there's nothing that holds the Kindle to the cover other than the hooks, so the back of the cover is free to move away from the back of the Kindle, which movement does cause the hooks to pry on the plastic front of the Kindle. I didn't realize this was a potential problem until reading you just now, but it looks like it could be over time, especially with a user like a kid who's unreliable about keeping that back cover from flopping away from the Kindle when using it. I think I'll jerry-rig a piece of velcro on the back to secure the back of the cover to the Kindle.

But other than that hypothetical problem, that cover works great, as does the Kindle.

The cover for my wife's DX has not been a problem at all. At $50, it's a high profit item but worth it. Makes it worry free.

WARNING, a Kindle is a computer at airport security!!! If you don't separate it, things can get interesting, especially if you have a knee replacement and beep the metal detector.

36 Jaerik  Mon, Dec 28, 2009 1:37:03pm

If you don't want to dish out the several hundred for a Kindle until you know you'll actually like reading books in electronic format, the iPhone Kindle app is completely free.

I don't recommend testing out ebooks for the first time on a computer. Sitting at your desk is not how most people prefer to read, and pretty much kills the effect of getting to carry the books around with you anyway.

Personally, I loved the iPhone Kindle app enough to completely forgo the actual Kindle.

37 Charles Johnson  Mon, Dec 28, 2009 2:54:53pm

re: #36 Jaerik

If you don't want to dish out the several hundred for a Kindle until you know you'll actually like reading books in electronic format, the iPhone Kindle app is completely free.

I don't recommend testing out ebooks for the first time on a computer. Sitting at your desk is not how most people prefer to read, and pretty much kills the effect of getting to carry the books around with you anyway.

Personally, I loved the iPhone Kindle app enough to completely forgo the actual Kindle.

I have the iPhone Kindle app too, but I vastly prefer reading on the Kindle; the backlit display of the iPhone is tiring on the eyes compared to the Kindle's e-ink display, and it's much smaller.

38 wii42  Mon, Dec 28, 2009 6:09:59pm

re: #35 Pythagoras

WARNING, a Kindle is a computer at airport security!!! If you don't separate it, things can get interesting...

Thanks for the heads up on that - I haven't tried to fly with it yet, but I will. And that - not dragging along 20 pounds of books next vacation - is yet another reason I'm sold on it.


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