I recently read this blog post about a reader/writer who has fallen in love with their Kindle. It’s making me rethink my thunk on Kindle: No way – don’t like a book retailer dictating a reader to me; feels too oligarchical to my silly American feelings; and Amazon “cheats” by releasing books on Kindle three days before print release dates.  I just felt skeeved out by all of it.  And then I read posts like that.  Now I don’t know WHAT to do and need some feedback from you folks… 

I used to read eBooks on my Palm device, but the screen is too small and the battery too short-lived for it to be a long-term ereader.  So I invested the relatively small amount of change in a eBookwise.  I like the eBookwise – long battery life, nice screen, but it’s a gigantic hassle to load books on it that aren’t exactly the correct file format.  And if the line breaks in a book are hosed?  Fageddaboutit.  Just too nasty to read.

I lust after the Sony Reader, but even I can’t justify the kaching kaching kaching (that’s three kachings, if you’re counting).  That sucker costs some serious money.  Ouch!

So.  Kindle?  Anyone have it?  Do you like it?  How easy/hard is it to load books?  Is it light enough to hold for long periods?  It seems to me the color of the device would be off-putting – I mean, white?  For a HANDHELD?  Ick.  I keep my hands clean, and even *I* can make something look like poo after a few months of use.  There’s a reason why handheld devices are black or dark gray.

What do you folks think?  Should I do it or just wait a while?