oh god, i'm an infomercial. I APOLOGIZE.

i have this weird complex where the less i post, the more i feel like the subsequent post needs to be Extra Good! or Extra Interesting! to make up for all the blank blog time. which then makes me feel like nothing is Good Enough! to post, which just makes me go longer & longer between posting and BLAH BLAH I REALIZE NO ONE CARES. anyway! hello! you all look very pretty today. have i told you how nice that color looks on you?

i made out REALLY well for my birthday this year, folks. in addition to my sister's hilariously awesome gift to me, my extra-lovely boyfriend got me a kindle!

i hadn't done too much research into getting one for myself, mainly because i figured i spend all day looking at a computer screen; why would i want to do so when i relaxed with a book as well?

SO. INCORRECT.

i don't know how they do it (magic?) but this is not at ALL like looking at a computer screen or any other electronic device. it literally looks like the words are printed directly onto the surface of the screen, with no backlighting or anything. it's astounding. i've actually found myself reaching up to the corner of the screen to turn the page, because it's that much like reading a regular book. except, you know, ONE MILLION TIMES more convenient. i am in love. IIIIN LOOOOVE.

i know this is going to sound like a compensated product review (it's not) but i can't seem to stop myself: you can download books instantly. which means you can finish a book halfway through your commute, pick out a new one, have it delivered to you, and start reading the new book, all in like 2 minutes. you can read while you eat, because you don't have to do the awkward one-hand hold while you try and eat a sandwich with the other hand and turn pages with your thumb without losing your place with the other; you just lay it flat on the table next to you and push the "next" button intermittantly. i just can't get over how much i love it.

and granted, it's only been a short time so far? but i am reading WAY more now. carrying around an 8.5oz device rather than an entire book means i'll take the kindle with me on the metro when i'm headed to happy hour to meet friends, whereas previously it wouldn't have been worth weighing down my purse for the 15 minutes i'd be able to use the book. and when you turn it on, it goes immediately to the last page you read, so you don't spend 5 minutes hunting around for where you left off if, like me, you never manage to use bookmarks.

so i guess my point is that if you were on the fence about kindles? do not be! they are marvelous! you will love one!