My Book Club and My Kindle – The Limousin Book Club Reviews Kindle

If you are a lady who reads living in a foreign country who no longer have access to library books in English, what do you do to get great books free? Form a book club. That's exactly what Ladies in Limousin did. We take it in turns to host the event every month, and we chat about all manner of things (Loose Women ITV - eat your hearts out!), over a simple lunch. Then get down to business. Books. By bringing our favourite books, giving a brief review of the book and why we like it, and offering to lend it to others, we manage to increase our pool of great books by 1000% - or so.

That was before Kindle, Dear Reader!

A few weeks ago one of our number asked the question of where we store our mammoth stocks of books. Well, it is true that we are all running out of space - just multiply one book or even two a week x 50 years. This begged the question - should we all invest in Kindle? At this point several members owned up to having a Kindle and just loving it! I'd thought that it would be hard on the eye, imagining that it would be like looking at a computer screen. Not a bit of it. It's a lovely, soft image, easy on the eye and a joy to read.

It's not only the Limousin Ladies that like it

"Kindle is Amazon's No. 1 bestselling item for two years running. It’s also the most-wished-for, most-gifted, and has the most 5-star reviews of any product on Amazon. Now it's even better" This is what Amazon has to say. I know the Lemming theory - but with millions of people buying Kindle, we'd have heard by now if they were dissatisfied.

Reviews on Amazon's Kindle page:

"Amazon's newest Kindle is the best e-book reading device on the market. It's better than the Apple iPad, the Barnes & Noble Nook, the various Sony readers…" - Fast Company

"New Kindle leaves rivals farther back." - New York Times

Below I've made a list of all the reasons that make us Kindle fans ....

But first, a little about me

I moved to Limousin, South West France about eight years ago to run painting holidays, a bed and breakfast and holiday cottage, Les Trois Chenes, The Three Oaks . Now, after all the building works are finished and the painting courses and holiday accommodation is getting going, I have a little time to pick up a book again - or should I say my Kindle?

I'm not a technically minded soul - so no techy stuff from me. This is just a list of why we love our Kindles from the point of view of a reader and a fan.

1. Small and portable. Like slipping a book-case or ten into your handbag
2. Easy to use - ready to go straight from the box
3. Easy to read, even if you can't see so well
4. Saves storage space in your house
5. You can read it with one hand
6. You can store an enormous number of books on it
7. You can access books cheaply and for FREE
8. You can access the Internet - order your shopping or tweet your thoughts

Interested? Read on ....

The new Kindle is only 8.5oz and one third of an inch thick - smaller and lighter than most paper backs. If you are trying to take advantage of all those great low cost flights, taking the train or have your car full to the gunwales with the kids stuff, then perhaps you'd value being able to slip a light, slim Kindle into your handbag, but have the luxury of being able to read what you want when you want. It's a ladies' privilege to change her mind.

2. Easy to use - ready to go straight from the box

As a low-tech person one thing I really love is that Kindle is ready to use right out of the box - no setup, no software to install, no computer and (in my case) no husband required.

3. Easy to read even if you can't see so well

It's easy to read, even in Bright Sunlight (imagine lazing on the beach, or on the lawn with your Kindle). The screen reads like real paper, with no glare. New Kindles have improved contrast and crisper fonts for better clarity.

Need larger type. The days of being restricted to a few large type books in the library are over. You can adjust the size of type on the screen.

Don't want to read at all? Your Kindle will read to you! With Text-to-Speech, Kindle can read English-language content out loud to you.

4. Saves storage space in your house

Most of us here in rural France have barns, which is just as well as our French houses are fast filling up with books! Kindle will save us.

5. You can read it with one hand

This might seem a bit odd, but as someone who used to read standing on the London Underground trains, hanging from a leather strap with one hand, surrounded by a sea of people and desperately trying to read a book, the fact that you can hold and operate a Kindle with one hand is a boon. Surely, that wouldn't apply here? But now I have my pointer, Molly to stroke, I like to read when I relax with a glass of wine on a summer evening, or while I eat lunch. How many of you have tried propping the book on the butter dish and holding the pages back with the salt and pepper pots?

6. You can store an enormous number of books on it

On the New Kindles, you can store up to 3,500 books. You can choose from over 700,000 books, including 107 of 111 New York Times Best Sellers. You can also choose audio-books, periodicals and blogs. Just a note of warning - For non-U.S. customers, content availability varies. Check your country on Amazon's Kindle web site page.

7. You can access books cheaply and for FREE

This is one of the things I like best! You can have access to over 1.8 million free, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 books are available such as Pride and Prejudice. Find out more here. Not only that, over 550,000 books are $9.99 or less, including 73 current New York Times Best Sellers. Again, though, if you are outside the US, please do check out this information carefully.

8. Last but not least the new Kindle has built-in Wi-Fi

This means you can shop and download books in less than 60 seconds.Kindle also has built-in Twitter and Facebook integration so you can share with friends.

Too much information? Not enough?

I've tried to keep it short and describe advantages from a user point of view. Other things that I also like the sound of is long battery time, (up to one month) and you have access to Dictionary and Notes. If you want to read the complete description on Amazon - go here.

I think not!

You might think that I am one of those proud Kindle possessors. Sadly not. I fiddle, swipe and drool over the other members' digital readers. But what would I like for Valentine's Day - you've guessed it - a lovable, adorable Kindle!