By Joanne Lee
Straits Times Online Editor
joannel@sph.com.sg

 

I READ my first book this weekend without touching a single page - a single paper page, that is. I got a Kindle!

Well, a Kindle 2 to be precise: Amazon’s e-reader device that lets you buy books direct from the online shop and download it in a manner of seconds.

Technically speaking, Kindles are only available - and only work properly - in the US. Through a platform proprietary to Amazon called Whispernet, users can download content without a computer if they have WiFi access. Thing is, Whispernet is only available in the US at the moment. 

To a bookworm like me, a long-time customer of Amazon by the way, it’s been cruel and unusual punishment for Amazon to not share its magic with the world.

But like any bit of technology that is highly desirable, the IT-savvy have managed to get around the problem - and I’m extremely lucky to have tech-savvy friends. Then again, it's got nothing to do with hacking, cracking or jail-breaking the way Apple fans did with the iPhone before it arrived on our sunny shores.

Here's a hint: You just get a friend in the US to buy the Kindle 2 for you, then download the digital books from Amazon to your computer and upload them to your device the old-fashioned cable-and-wires way.

Obviously, it’s not the same as reading a physical book. Curling my hand around the single page device needed getting used to as it kept slipping in my favourite foetal reading position. Then there was the initial confusion of hitting “next page” and “previous page”, and figuring out how to bookmark my place. Having long nails didn’t help with the navigation button either.

Happily, I managed to sort the teething problems out after a couple of hours into my first virtual book - a book I might not have bought because it was a first-time writer.

And that's the beauty of these e-readers. Because digital books tend to be cheaper than physical books of the tree variety, it's less expensive to try out new authors - especially now that secondhand bookstores don't seem to buy anymore.

Also, I can even surreptitiously read some trashy bestseller in public without being discovered since no one can see the cover!

And best of all, when I’m off on holiday next week, I don’t have to weigh myself down with holiday reading. All I need is my trusty Kindle which now hosts 10 books.

Now, all I have to do is exercise discipline when it comes to that “click to buy” button!