My Birthday Gift

Yesterday the Highland Games were fun, but I paid for it last night with a glowing sunburn and realizing that I was tired.  A good night's sleep, however, was all that I needed.

Cool weather is still hanging around prompting long sleeves and sweaters in church this morning.  I hope that by this afternoon I will be able to sit outside and enjoy my book.  I say "book" although in reality, I am reading almost everything these days either on the computer or on my Kindle.

I discovered that my old Kindle, which I have had for many, many years, was finally starting to show signs of age.  On the flight back from Wisconsin, it shut down no less than six times.  I was able to reboot and reload it each time, but these shut-downs have been happening for months, so I am glad that Rick bought me a new Kindle for my birthday.

My older Kindle (left) is much larger than the new version.

My new Kindle, the Kindle Voyage, is the newest and lightest Kindle on the market.  As my pictures show, the new Kindle is much smaller than the older model, but is has a screen for reading that actually is slightly larger than my past Kindle.  The Voyage has a 330 ppi (pixels per inch) resolution, so it is very easy to read.  It also has a "nightlight" screen that makes reading in the dark possible.  As with my old Kindle, I also can read this Kindle out in the bright sunlight.

Screen size is almost the same.  The Voyage has no keyboard,
so it is smaller.  All keyboard functions are now available
through the touch-screen.

I did not like the recommended case that Amazon developed for this Kindle.  It had a segmented back cover so one could stand the Kindle on a table and read it hands-free.  I have never had the need to use my Kindle that way, any more than I would stand a book on end on a table, so I rejected that type of cover.

The Kindle Voyage is much more thin and light.  It will
easily fit into a large pocket or into my purse.

As the picture shows, this Kindle also is much more thin than my first Kindle.  As such, I wanted a cover that would not add a lot of bulk to the product.  I chose a synthetic leather cover by Fintie that suits my needs.  The Kindle snaps into the cover securely, and it has a magnetic closure that not only opens and closes the Kindle but also turns the power on and off with the same motion.

I am still getting used to the slight "pulse" motion that I feel each time I touch the area on the Kindle that allows me to turn the page, but that is just part of the learning curve.  The Voyage has the same built in dictionary if I come across a word I would like defined, and it has other vocabulary items that I probably never will use.  I can use the Voyage as a mini-tablet to search the Web, and once I figure out how to do so, I will be able to send my books both to my iPhone and to my MacBook Pro computer. I don't know that I would ever want to read a book on my iPhone screen or on the computer, but I have that option if I wish to use it.

Overall, I like my new "toy."  I can still borrow books through the Kindle Lender's Library, and Rick and I can buy books at reduced prices since no paper is involved with their distribution.  Additionally, when I travel I can take an entire library of books with me wherever I go.  This comes in handy when on a plane, in a waiting room, or on a beach.  Ah, technology!

P.S. Speaking of technology, I just received an e-mail that the TSA is having trouble processing my fingerprints, so my approval for the Pre-TSA may be delayed.  Arggh!