The Kindle has been a game changer. I don’t really know why I never purchased one earlier. Maybe it was too ugly or too expensive. Eventually I ran out of excuses to not buy one. My last, “Yeah, it gets really heavy after a few hundred books” just incited bemused looks from my friends, and I knew I was going to surrender. So, like any good tech-minded guy, I purchased one for myself during the holidays.

In the past three weeks, I have read two fiction novels on the Kindle. Leisurely, mind you. In the past five years, my list of completed reads has been absolutely zero, so I consider this an infinite improvement. It’s not to say that I don’t read. I do, of course, but it is not the same as reading for pleasure.

The Kindle Lending Library, so far, has been an excellent aid in choosing books. For one, of the thousands of books available, you can choose one to “borrow” the first of each month. In addition, most books have been reviewed by other Amazon.com customers, so you can clearly see which eBooks are highly rated. Not wanting to get bored of reading, I cherry-picked novels that were 4.5 stars or more. For December, I chose HUNTER by Robert Bidinotto. And this month, I’m reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It has been a page-turner thus far, and it comes in a trilogy. So, my borrowing schedule on the Kindle is booked for the next two months.

While the fourth-generation Kindle may not be the most highly rated eBook reader right now (the Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch seems to have the edge), I enjoy the overall convenience of using my Amazon.com account to enjoy an integrated buying experience. Amazon extends the experience even further: with Kindle apps for the iPad and my computer, I can read my books on virtually any platform.