Have you heard of the Kindle from Amazon.com?  Well I got to see one in action in July and was blown away!  I love to read while on vacation and frequently find myself taking 2-3 books along (towards the end of one, middle of another etc.), and thus find myself packing that many books along.  Well the Kindle 2 can handle that and way more!  It uses 3G wireless and downloads books in less that 60 seconds!  It is small (about the size of a standard People Magazine) and weighs about the same as that magazine!  It can handle 1500 books (I can't ever see myself with that many, but who knows!)  The wireless service needed to upload your books is wide and you can check it out on Amazon.com.  I love the fact that you can purge the book and send it to cyberspace when you are finished reading it.  No wasted trees etc.  I heard a news blurb on a Seattle local station in August stating that the University of Washington is teaming up with Amazon.com and getting text books for students at a discount that are downloadable to the Kindle.  So there is a future without carrying around 40+ pounds of books.  Think of this, you have your laptop and a Kindle with all your text's and you are set to walk out the door, lightweight and portable.  There is a keyboard that allows you to annotate just as you would in the columns of your text's. 

For those of you less techie people, Bev and I have read our books on trips and then left them for the next person, in the airport with a small note on the inside to enjoy it and pass it along.  Again, recycling those trees!  Anyway, I am trying to get the Kindle 2 from Santa for Christmas, I will update and let you know if it lives up to all my expectations!

FYI Amazon has dropped their price on their Kindle from $299 to $259!  Woo Hoo Santa should be happy!

blue sky and tailwinds!

Chris & Bev