The Ocean Agency

Two months ago, I received a birthday present that was quite possibly the best gift I’ve ever gotten.  It was an Amazon Kindle – and despite being a complete book nerd, prior to my Kindle ownership I was a staunch advocate of buying actual books.  After all, a small black and white screen couldn’t possibly replicate the experience of reading and marking up an actual book, could it? No way, no how.

After a few hours (and more than a few dollars) with my sleek, shiny new Kindle, I was converted and quickly became a Kindle brand ambassador. I’m pretty sure that everyone at The Ocean Agency is tired of hearing me say “if you had a Kindle…”, but it really is pretty much made of awesome if you’re a book geek/English degree holder like me. Here’s why:

• Volume – I like to have lots of reading options at hand, and with the Kindle I can carry them all around with me. For instance, I have the complete collections of Mark Twain, Ayn Rand, Kurt Vonnegut, and more on my Kindle, along useful-for-work books like Groundswell, Trust Agents, and others.
• Instant gratification – instant downloads vs. waiting for Amazon to ship or going to the bookstore and hoping they have what you want in stock. No contest here.
• Price – books are usually cheaper, and sometimes much cheaper or even free. Plus its probably better for the environment since no trees died to bring you your Kindle.
• Search – instead of using tabs, bookmarks, highlighters or other methods of marking key pages and quotes, you can just use the search function.
• Stealth – don’t want people on public transportation or in the coffee to see that you’re reading say, the Sookie Stackhouse novels? With the Kindle what you are reading is your business.
• Shareability – maybe not everyone is enough of a book geek to have Kindle buddies, but I am and sharing books between friends is easier than ever. Also, you don’t have to worry about your friend losing/writing in your actual books, if that concerns you (I always figure books belong to the universe and if my copy gets gone, I’ll just get another one, but to each on their own).

So here are my reasons why the Kindle is awesome. Any fellow Kindle owners? Please share the love in the comments – links to your favorite Kindle books are highly appreciated!