Look What Showed Up

Yes that is David reading to Colin from my brand new Kindle. It showed up this week. Awhile back I blogged about my birthday present gone awry. In fact I broke the bad news to a number of people that their electronics were being held hostage by the pouch and wouldn't be arriving at post as expected, but I never told the rest of my story.

Unlike a number of people who were told their computer/ipad/camera was in the warehouse, I was told mine had been returned and was not at the warehouse, BUT Amazon had not received it back so we were out the money but had nothing to show for it. We held off contacting Amazon to request a refund because there was still so much confusion as to what was going on. What would the new official policy be? What about all those computers and things in the warehouse? Eventually policy was set and cables issued: "No more lithium ion batteries!" There would be a one time shipment to clear the warehouse. That hurt since my kindle was returned to sender but others would be receiving their electronics. The shipment showed up this week and lo and behold there was my kindle, duly stamped return to sender, but obviously NOT returned. I am a happy camper, let me tell you!


The best thing about the kindle is all the free books! There are hundreds and thousands of free titles out there for e-readers. Some are the classics which are no longer protected by copyright law due to age. Others are special offers by publishers to get you hooked on a series or author. I have already downloaded a half dozen free books to read and have a list a mile long of titles I want either for myself or to read to the kids. Here are a few of the free books I already have or will have by the end of the week. Did I mention they are FREE???

A Christmas Carol by Dickens
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Beauty and the Beast by Marie Le Prince de Beaumont
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank
White Fang by Jack London
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco
Alaeddin and the Enchanted Lamp
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
Anne of Green Gables by L. M.
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
The Christmas Angel by Abbie Farwell Brown
Fireflies in December by Jennifer Erin Valent
Run Like a Mother: How to Get Moving--and Not Lose Your Family, Job, or Sanity by Sarah Bowen Shea and Dimity McDowell
Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart
Slow Ride: A Rough Riders Story by Lorelei James
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Emma by Jane Austin
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Irresistible Forces by Brenda Jackson
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know by Hamilton Wright Mable

I still love the feel and the smell of a real paper book. I will always have real paper and ink books around me, I love them and that isn't going to change. It's simply a magical feeling to pull a book off the shelf and fall into a new world. If I had access to a library and a bookstore I might not be so excited about an e-reader but I live a few airplane flights away from such luxuries. To be able to have a new book to read with a few key strokes (and some patience with the internet) is amazing! Even better when the e-books are free.