I received a Kindle from my parents for my birthday last year. At the time, I was living in Eugene and thought it would be a cool device to have, but wasn’t really sure how much I was going to read. I only had a five minute commute to work and reading while driving was out of the question anyways, but would read it whenever I had some down time around the house.

A few months later we moved to New York and the Kindle completely changed my reading habits. I suddenly had about 45 minutes a day of waiting for and riding the train to and from work. I instantly became an avid reader. The Kindle has allowed me to always have a book (and a backup book) with me. One of the best things about my Kindle is that it fits so nicely in one hand which lets me to read with one hand and hang on to the rail with the other.

Over the last six months of very active reading, I have read a very good mix of books – a couple technical books, a few generic fiction books, two biographies and various other books. My favorite books to read so far have been the classics. Up until now I haven’t been much of a reader, so I have a lot of catching up. Besides being important texts in our society, these books are generally free either directly from Amazon or through various public domain book sites.

I am really looking forward to the next couple generations of reading devices. Adding more social activity, like book lending from the device, would really be amazing.

I really love having my Kindle each time I take the train. It turns my boring commute into a productive and enjoyable few minutes to escape before and after work.