Left and right this month stores are pleading with you to buy this and buy that.  It’s fucking exhausting, and difficult to separate the worthy from unworthy.  As you know, the recommendations here at Demeter Clarc are 100% commercially unbiased.  I don’t get free shit and then tell you how great it is.  Free shit is always great.  Anyway, I digress. A couple years ago, I received a fantastic gift I didn’t even know I wanted.  When the Kindle first came out, like many folks, I dismissed it for a variety of reasons.  A book lover and collector, I mistakenly believed the Kindle would rob me of the tactile romance with the bound page.  Furthermore, the last thing anyone wants to do nowadays is stare at another screen.Thankfully, the purchaser only listens to about 50% of what I say and bought a Kindle as a birthday gift (despite my vocal knee-jerk skepticism).  Without further historical narrative, the reasons the Kindle rules. You will read more for less money.  New releases are typically $9.99 – $14.99.  The screen isn’t like a computer screen, so stop tripping.  It’s not reflective.  The type is dark, clear, and easy on the eyes.  A favorite feature is the ability to increase font size to avoid eye strain.  Purchasing a physical book, when an electronic version is available, is arguably a waste of the earth’s resources.  On a more personal level, think about your own environment.  Do you need more clutter?  (Paging A&E, we have a Hoarder.)   Even worse, please don’t be that pretentious asshole that compulsively displays every book he or she has read (and several they haven’t) in an obvious effort to appear intellectual.

The minute I actually step into a bookstore, I immediately forget the long list of books I want to read.  Blankness washes over me, and I start roaming around aimlessly.  With Mr. Kindle, not only can you browse in bed, you can download a generous sample right away to see if you like the book before committing.  No need to keep track of a million titles or waste money on something sucky.Obviously, for travel, the Kindle is essential.  Instead of hauling a bunch of books on the plane, all you need is your little buddy.  Upon finishing one book, start another; no need to plug into a computer.  The Kindle is a self-contained mechanism.  The battery life is long and apparently keeps getting longer with each new and improved version.  An early-adopter and heavy user, I still have the dinosaur prototype version.  Other than a crack running through the keyboard, it works well in almost every capacity.  J’adore my Kindle ya’ll.

The truth is that Kindle is worth the investment for avid readers.  Even if they think they don’t want it.  They do.  They just don’t know it yet.  Uncle Stevie agrees.