My Great Kindle Swindle or How "The Last Reel" Took Me into the E-book World

Was I victim to a swindle - a Kindle Swindle? Did Amazon's Kindle e-book device rob me of the joys of reading an old fashioned book? Indeed it has, and guess what, I'm glad I fell victim to an Amazon Kindle Swindle!

The contest seduced me. The Last Reel movie blog asked contestants to write an essay explaining what movie's been most influential for them. I love films. So it wasn't an easy choice to make, but once chosen, I got to work. I won the first prize or runner-up prize, but that's fine by me, because it's when the great Kindle Swindle happened.

Swindle implies one was ripped off, robbed or taken for a ride. Yes, I was taken for quite a ride - a digital journey - into reading's bright and bold future. Amazon Kindle is no new kid on the e-book block. It's been around for a while, however the new Kindle 3 is a joy to behold. It's a gizmo which shall change your reading habits for good.

Let's begin with basics, the literal logistics even. Amazon's Kindle has always been a light, thin device. From the start, the gizmo wasn't big nor heavy. Kindle 3 continues the waif like trend with an even lighter, thinner device than ever. It's sort of like carrying around a mini chalk, or dry erase board. But even compared to those traditional portable communication devices, this feels like a skinny minny to those comparable fatty wattys. You must hold it yourself to truly appreciate the feeling, but I assure you, once you get used to this light reading - in every sense of the concept - it'll be hard to go back to real books.

I love books. But hefting them around - especially more than one - can be tiresome. I'll never abandon traditional reading; the joy of a leather binding, the look, feel and smell of a good book - new or old - is priceless. But the Kindle has made me an e-book believer.

Don't be afraid to fall victim to the Kindle Swindle. You'll only be losing an old fashioned, limited way of reading. It may be the first 'scam' that you'll love, and undoubtedly, you'll want many others to join you in this wonderful digital hoodwink.