Review of Kindle Paperwhite with Case, Stand or Cover

Amazon Kindle Case, Duragadget Stand, Verso Marbled Blue Cover

When my 2010 Kindle died on the beach, I replaced it with the new Kindle Paperwhite ($139 with wifi and without advertising). This time I got a 2-year warranty to protect the fragile screen. Although I prefer reading real books at home, I like the Kindle for reading on the go and for digital galleys. I missed not having one when I was waiting for the new model to be released in October.

Low setting in Amazon case folded back

The Kindle Paperwhite has some good new features. The reader still uses e-ink, but it has added a built in light for night time reading. The sharper text is illuminated sideways to avoid the eye fatigue of backlit screens. The lit screen appears bright white like paper, but you can adjust the lighting so the screen looks more like newsprint or the old Kindle. Unlit is easiest on the eye, but it's nice to have options. I thought I'd miss the old physical keyboard, but the new touch screen one is easy to use and the menu simple to navigate. The Kindle Paperwhite is also smaller and thinner without losing any screen size.

High setting on Home Page in Amazon case open

Not all of the new features are improvements. I miss the old page turner buttons as it's too easy to skip a page accidentally with a touch screen. Another feature I dislike is the promotion of Amazon books on the home page (even in the "no advertising" models), but you can hide it by selecting to display "list view" instead of "cover view." All-in-all the pluses outweigh the negatives, but I wouldn't rush out and replace your old reader before it breaks. It bothers me that these ereader screens are so fragile. A book can last centuries.

Because the Paperwhite is smaller than the Kindle 3 with keyboard, I needed to purchase a new case. If you had the later generation Kindle touch model, you might be able to reuse your old case. I tested three covers which would suit different reading needs.

Amazon case is 1/2 inch; Durgadget stand and Verso cover are 1 inch thick approximately.

The least bulky, lightest weight and most protective cover is the Amazon Kindle one ($39.99 available in 7 colors). It has the added feature of a magnet closure that automatically turns the reader on and off. This is a big plus as the on-off botton is tiny and hard to use. The rigid edges protect the Kindle on all sides while leaving an opening for the charger. The design is nice but a bit corporate in feel with good quality leather. The cover bends back for easy hand held reading but doesn't work as a stand. There is one major design flaw: it's really difficult to get the device in and out of the case.

Adjustable Duragadget Stand

Since I like hands free reading, my personal favorite was the Duragadget Cover with Stand ($30.59 in 4 colors). It's adjustable and sturdy enough to sit in your lap while still providing good protection. Of all the cases I tested it was easiest to get the reader in and out of the case. It was also the cheapest. However the functional design and cheap leather were not especially attractive. I'm going to ask my daughter to decorate it with silver ink as a Christmas gift.

Verso cover folded back

For pure beauty I fell in love with Verso Marbled Blue cover ($39.99). The fake leather looks and feels real. The gorgeous Italian marbled paper design reminiscent of a journal bought in Florence. Even the spine has nice old book detailing. The biggest downside is the cover has no closure. Also it's extra bulky and awkward to hold when you bend the cover back (photo at right). It's best when held like a book in two hands. I'm tempted to keep this cover to dress up my Kindle just for fun.

The Kindle Paperwhite is only two months old so I suspect more cases will be designed to fit the new dimensions better, but these three were the best options I found so far. When I ordered a Kindle Paperwhite for my mom earlier this week, it was on backorder until December 19th. No wait for books at our local independent bookstore, and they shall outlast the Kindle by decades.

Reviewer's Disclaimer: all cases and the Kindle were purchased by me without compensation. I returned the cases I didn't like for a refund.

Traveling to Europe with Kindles

Elba Island, Italy at sunset

Before leaving for our one-month vacation to England and Italy, we gave our kids early birthday presents of Kindles. Since the Amazon account was in my name, all my ebooks were automatically archived on their Kindles. When I buy a new ebook, we can have it delivered to all three devices (or select just one) for no extra charge. This had the added advantage of being able to read one book simultaneously. The kids and I had many wonderful conversations over shared books, something I’d missed since they became independent readers.

Hill town of Elba Island

 Elba Island, Italy

The Kindles were great for travel! Our bags were much lighter, and we never ran out of reading material. Since the kids’ Kindles were wifi only, we had download books before leaving home. I also uploaded our itinerary and other important documents. Kindle did the conversion via email for free. Even abroad, I could download books anywhere with no surcharge via 3G on my Kindle and then transfer ebooks to the kids when we found wifi. Wifi connections in Europe were harder to come by, rarely free and often unreliable.

Beachside restaurant on Elba Island

Even my husband, who has an iPad2, covets a Kindle now. Mine was a gift from him. Kindles handle challenging light really well. Font size could be adjusted in dim light or if reading glasses were misplaced. You can even read outside without glare, just like a real book but unlike the iPad.

Figuring out how to charge our devices while abroad took some ingenuity. Kindle Help was not helpful but, I figured out that the Kindle’s charger would work in Europe with standard adapter plugs. We also got a car USB charger. The Kindle battery is meant to last a month with wifi/3G turned off, but on vacation we had to recharge about every 10 days. Reading more hours and using Amazon Kindle case reading lights ran the batteries down sooner.

Kindles should be ideal for travel guides. We could all simultaneously reference the Lonely Planet Guide to Italy without having to lug around the heavy 900-page guidebook. I used it to find affordable hotels and restaurants and to look up historical information on site. However, the maps were illegible and several links didn’t work. Then there were formatting issues: Kindles are designed for sequential reading, not for jumping around. Also, many guidebooks, like the Michelin ones, were not available on Kindle.

Only recently published books and classics (often for free!) are available. I had chosen the Kindle because it had the most titles of any ereader on the market, but it wasn’t enough. One of my favorite novels ever, A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, would be perfect for the Kindle since it’s nearly 1,500 pages, but it was not available as an ebook. My 16-year-old son bought a used paperback copy at an English bookstore in Florence and lugged that brick off camping in the wilderness too. He’s my son!

There is an educational advantage to the Kindle’s limitations. Although my son figured out how to use his Kindle to get on Facebook, it was difficult to navigate without a real web browser.  This summer was spent offline.  Usually an X-box player, my son read more novels for fun on vacation than he had all year. His favorite ebook was The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer, 600-page historical fiction. To his surprise, he also liked Looking for Alaska by John Green. My son usually avoids young adult fiction, but he opened this favorite book of mine thinking it was a travel book. He got caught up in the story of a wild girl (called Alaska) and a thoughtful boy. He went on to read Paper Towns, also by John Green, but said it was too similar. On this trip, my son read more than me!

My 13-year-old daughter’s favorite ebooks were Beauty Queens by Libba Bray and the Dairy Queen trilogy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, all in young adult fiction. My daughter liked the Kindle so much that she took hers to camp. Ereaders are allowed with Wifi off, but we’ll have to charge it on visiting day. I sent her with a few real books, as a back up.

Ereaders aren’t for everyone, but I suspect their popularity will rise as the publishing world adapts to the internet age. We’re getting a Kindle for my mother-in-law for Christmas since there are limited large print books at her public library. My mother, however, didn’t like the feel of a Kindle and preferred to lug real books around Italy.  Although I love my Kindle for travel, I still buy real books from independent bookstores to read at home.

Bookstore at Portoferraio, Elba Island

Related Posts:

Review of Kindle cases

Reading a Room with a View in Florence

Elba Island

Good Summer Books

Deer Isle, Maine

The best summer books are fun, easy reads but still well written. They must have appealing characters, good pace and sensuous details. Humor helps too. Below, I’ve compiled a list of recent titles for adults, teens and tweens. Enjoy!

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell (historical fiction, 2010)
David Mitchell is one of my absolute favorite authors. In his fifth novel, we travel back to Japan at the turn of the 18th century. The Dutch hold the only Western trading post on an island in Nagasaki Harbor. Jacob de Zoet is a young clerk hoping to make enough money to marry his sweetheart back home. The corruption and depravity of his co-workers shock this son of a minister. Orito Aibagawa, a scarred midwife apprenticing with a Dutch doctor, wins Jacob’s admiration. He wants to save her, but this independent woman has other plans.

Mitchell’s plot stretches to almost Stephen King extremes and at other times gets bogged down in historical detail, but it’s all well researched. This fascinating novel defies expectations and stays true to Japanese culture. My husband, who teaches Japanese Politics at Bowdoin College, enjoyed this book too, now available in paperback. Our two favorites of Mitchell's works are Black Swan Green set in 1980's Britain and the genre bending linked stories of Cloud Atlas.

An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin (commercial fiction, 2010)
I expected a novel written by a comedian to be funny, but I did not expect to be blown away by his mastery of art and the New York art scene. The narrator, Daniel, is a journalist obsessed with a beautiful, smart and manipulative woman. Lacey starts at Sotherby’s and works/sleeps/cheats her way to opening her own gallery in Chelsea at the turn of millennium.

Martin’s story follows a loose memoir style and lacks resolution. Although not especially well crafted, this novel is still easy to read or to listen to on CD as I did. The author is an art collector, owning an impressive collection of Hopper paintings and was himself a victim of an art hoax. An Object of Beauty offers an insider’s glimpse into the high-end art collectors’ world.

Looking for Alaska by John Green (YA fiction for older teens, 2005)
“Pudge” is the new kid at a boarding school in Alabama. He’s a skinny, thoughtful boy obsessed with final last words and the meaning of life and death. He falls hard for wild child Alaska, who introduces him to smoking, drinking, pranks and oral sex. Despite the racy content, this Printz Prize winner delivers a strong moral message in the tradition of Catcher in the Rye. Green’s first novel would be a good choice for teenaged boys especially. It’s one of my favorites and would cross over well to an adult audience. Paperback. I plan to read more of Green's young adult novels.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (YA fiction, 2010)
This teen romance is much better than its embarrassing title and odd premise: an American girl goes to an Americans-only boarding school in Paris for senior year. Why ban the French if the setting is Paris? The best character is half American, ¼ French and ¼ British. Étienne St. Clair is every girl’s dream: attractive, sweet, sensitive and smart. Unfortunately St. Clair has a girlfriend and Anna has a boyfriend back home. They develop a wonderful friendship and explore the beautiful city together. This most sensuous novel will make you drool for Paris. My 13-year-old daughter enjoyed Perkins’ impressive debut as much as I did. It’s been a big hit with YA book bloggers too. Currently in hardback or ebook and available in paperback in August.

A Match Made in High School by Kritsin Walker (YA fiction, 2009)
For senior year, all students are randomly paired in fake marriages for credit. Nerdy Fiona must “Tie The Knot” with Todd, a popular jock, in order to graduate. Her rainbow pride mom organizes the parents in protest. This debut novel is laugh-out-loud funny and has many compelling characters. I loved the multi-faceted relationship Fiona forms with Todd that breaks all stereotypes. A Match Made in High School is a hilarious satire delivered in a true teen voice. Thanks, Keri Mikulski, for the recommendation. Paperback. I love the cover too.

Doggirl by Robin Brande (lower YA fiction for tweens, 2011)
Although this novel is set in high school, its innocence makes it a better match for younger readers aged 10-13. The central romance is not physical and even the flirty seniors never do more than kiss. Note that Doggirl is available on ebook and supposedly a print version is due out this month.

Riley has moved to a new town after being bullied in junior high, although the incident seemed too mild to warrant a transfer. I was puzzled that Riley was not receiving help as her social ineptitude and obsessive knowledge of dogs seemed to point to Asperger’s Syndrome. Still, Riley was a sympathetic character and her dogs were as lovable as Lassie and James Harriot’s pack. Riley’s talent shines when she trains her 3 dogs to perform in a school play competition. The acting and dog training scenes were fun even if the play itself was a clunker. I always enjoy Brande’s engaging blend of science and humor.

In this Doggirl excerpt the teen director is talking to his actors: “’Remember,’ Danny said, ‘if you look stupid, I look stupid. But mainly you look stupid.’”

Reviewers Disclaimer: Doggirl was given to me by the author to review. All other books were purchased by me without compensation.

Deer Isle, Maine

What’s in my beach bag:

Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks (historical fiction, 2011)
A fictional account set on Martha’s Vineyard Island of the first Native American to graduate from Harvard. Hardcover at Gulf of Maine Books.

The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer (debut historical fiction, 2011)
Architecture, romance and genocide in World War II Paris. At over 600 pages, this hefty book was a good choice for my Kindle.

Show Me Good Land by Shonna Milliken Humphrey (debut Maine fiction, 2011)
A murder story with quirky characters set in a town in rural Maine. Hardcover gift from my friend Charlotte Agell.

The Pleasing Hour by Lily King (literary fiction, Maine author, 1999)
An American au pair in France uncovers dark family secrets. Paperback from  Gulf of Maine Books.

The Dairy Queen trilogy by Catherine Gilbert-Murdock (YA series 2007-11)
A farmer girl wants to join the boys’ football team like her older brothers.  Kindle ebooks.

Wither by Lauren DeStefano (debut dystopian YA series, 2011)
A girl bride is kidnapped in a world where no one of her generation lives past 25. Kindle ebook.

Note: I’m taking a blog vacation for the first half of summer. I don’t believe I’ve taken more than a week off at a time in 4 ½ years of blogging. I’ll be back recharged. Next post: July 20th.

What are your recommendations for summer reading? Please leave them in a comment or a post and I’ll add links.

More Summer Reading Posts:

The House of Edward

The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht

I’ve just fallen in love with a brand new author, Téa Obreht. I’m not alone in my admiration. The New Yorker included Obreht in its recent list of 20 best American authors under 40. At only 26, Obreht is the youngest, and yet her voice has the maturity of a seasoned author.

The Tiger’s Wife (2011), Obreht’s debut novel, is set in a war-torn Balkans country. Obreht, now a New Yorker, was born in the former Yugoslavia. As a child, I once vacationed there and was appalled later at the violence that tore a nation apart. Although the author didn’t live there during the war, it felt like she had. She describes the horrors of World War II and the more recent conflicts in the Balkans with an unflinching eye that reminded me of the authors Geraldine Brooks and Michael Ondaatje.

As The Tiger’s Wife opens, Natalia takes a break from inoculating orphans to collect the physical and spiritual remains of her grandfather, who was also a doctor. His life is recalled in a series of fables mixed with local folklore, reminding me of the novels of Louise Erdrich and of Isabel Allende. His boyhood recollections include a love story between an escaped tiger and a deaf-mute woman (hence the title). There is also a “deathless man” who cannot die but predicts death and a bear hunter who becomes his own prey. Paradoxically, it is easier to believe these supernatural tales when a skeptical narrator offers alternative scientific explanations.

The story is well told:

“There was something familiar about the room and the village, a crowded feeling of sadness that crawled into my gut, but not for the first time, like a note of music I could recognize but not name.”

“I said, ‘I’m sorry,’ and regretted it immediately, because it just fell out of my mouth and continued to fall, and did nothing.”

As you can see, I finally figured out how to highlight quotations on my Kindle. They were very easy to retrieve from an automatic clippings folder. On my third ebook, I got so caught up in the story that the reading experience did not feel that different. After finishing, though, I bought a hardback copy for my home library and another for my parents as a visiting gift.

An e-book just doesn’t feel as permanent as a book. It’s like the difference between an email and a handwritten letter from a dear friend, although an ebook is much easier to read in bits on the go. Am I ever on the go: my daughter has lead roles in 2 plays and is playing lacrosse. I won’t be buying doubles of all my e-books, just my absolute favorites . . . my name is Sarah Laurence, and I’m a book junkie. It’s been 2 weeks since my last purchase. My bookshelves are groaning, and my Kindle is moaning.

Author photo by Beowulf Sheehan

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Kindle 3 Cases Reviewed and Helpful Links for Kindle Users

Although I’ll always be a fan of real books, I love my new Kindle 3. Thank you, Henry, for the best Christmas gift! I’ll be using my Kindle for travel, for review galleys and to have in my handbag when I’m out of the house. I’ll still buy plenty of real books from independent bookstores to read at home and to give as gifts.

Why I chose a Kindle 3

I chose the Kindle over the Nook and iPad because of the larger number of titles (including free classics) available for Kindles and because the backlit screens on the other 2 devices are harder on the eyes. The Kindle screen looks just like regular paper. It did take a while to configure the settings to download ebooks from Amazon, but now it’s one click easy, taking only one minute.

The new Kindle has all the features I’ve been waiting for: visibility in bright sunlight (for beach reading), smaller and lighter (8.7 oz), and an ability to lend books (for 2 weeks.) The cost has come down too. My husband got me the 3G version ($189) so that I can download books anywhere and get newspapers daily while traveling. The cheaper version ($139) requires proximity to a Wifi network for downloads, but you don't need to be connected while reading.

Tip: to save batteries, disconnect from the WiFi when you’re not downloading books. Then the charge should last for a month.

Review of Kindle 3 Cases

Kindle Lighted Leather Cover, Duragadget Case with Adjustable Stand, Timbuk2 Envelope Sleeve

Choosing a Kindle was easy, but finding the right case was difficult. I tried out several cases, but none was perfect. The Kindle Lighted Leather Cover ($34.99, 15 oz, above left) has the best reading light. I like the colorful outside paired with a dark grey interior and secure Kindle clips. Unfortunately, the case is bulky, heavy and has a rough pebble grain in the leather. It would only be worth getting if you read in dim lighting or crave a hardcover book feel. This cover negates the advantage of a lightweight Kindle over a book.

The Timbuk2 Envelope Sleeve ($25, 4.2 oz, above right) and Flapjacket ($40, 6.4 oz, not shown) are both lightweight, durable nylon and stylish, but the Envelope adds bulk plus noisy velcro and the Flapjacket is expensive. Neither one has a stand nor a light.

Of my sampling, Duragadget makes the most utilitarian and least expensive Kindle 3 case ($18.99, 10.6 oz, above center). This slim leather cover has an integral stand for hands-free reading. The red case is prettier but black was less distracting while reading. The stand was sturdy enough to rest on my lap or armchair. The stabilizer flips up to become a protective cover with a magnetic closure. The picture frame style stands from other companies (viewed online) looked like they wouldn’t balance as well on my lap. I wish the Duragadget had a reading light and a more attractive exterior, but it's still the best option. Thank you, dovegreyreader, for the recommendation.

Options Beyond These Cases: Skins/Decals, including one from Van Gogh, look cool but don’t protect the Kindle screen. At Wired I read about the cheapest case option: an ordinary 6X9 padded mailing envelope! Since the Kindle 3 is so new, there are bound to be more options later. Let me know in a comment if you find a better case.

Digital Galleys for Book Bloggers

As a book blogger, the main draw of a Kindle will be digital galleys. Advanced Reader Copies (also called galleys) are sent free to reviewers like me at high cost to the publishers (more than a finished hardcover book.) ARCs are full of typos and formatting errors so are not worth saving or passing onto others. Frequently publishers run out of popular ARCs and leftovers can’t be sold. It makes a lot of sense to switch ARCs to digital galley format. Go to Netgalley to request free digital galleys from publishers for review purposes.

Useful Links for Kindle Users

The Story Siren, a hub for YA book bloggers, asked her readers to share useful links for Kindle users:

The Social Frog gave the link to Kindle Boards
Catherine gave the link to The Kindle Lending Club on Facebook
Gaby shared the link to a similar lending club at Goodreads
Elizabeth checks eReader IQ daily for posts on free ebooks, price drops and new titles
Anna recommended Books on The Knob for free ebooks

Thank you, Story Siren and commenters!
Do you have more tips or helpful links? Please comment below and I'll add a link here:

David Cranmer commented with a link to Project Gutenberg with 33,000 free ebooks for all ereaders.

What I’m reading and not yet noting on my Kindle:

I like to read the book before seeing the movie spin off. I loved Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day, both the novel (1989) and the movie (1993). Unfortunately my local independent bookstore was sold out of Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go (2005) which is now a movie too. I didn’t want to order the latest paperback edition because I dislike movie tie-in covers so I downloaded the ebook for $5 after sampling the first chapter for free.

It’s perfect reading a futuristic story like Never Let Me Go on a new age ereader. I don’t know what page I’m on, but the Kindle remembers my place. It shows my location by line and percent (25%) of book. Just a few chapters in, I’m very much enjoying my first ebook.

Still, I prefer the feel of a real book and the ease of scribbling notes in the margins. The Kindle allows you to highlight, bookmark and type margin notes, but I haven't figured that out yet. I'm not sure why someone else's highlights are appearing automatically in the text. Very distracting. I know, RTFM. There is a manual pre-installed on my Kindle only I need to read it first before I can skip to the relavent section. Sigh. Good project for a snowy day.

Reviewer’s Disclaimer: I was not paid to review any of the above products. The Kindle was a gift from my husband, and I bought the ebook and cases to sample. I kept the Duragadget case and returned the others.

Storm Watch: a blizzard is due later today with up to a foot of snow predicted. We're thrilled because Maine has had less snow than usual and we're well set up to deal with it. The storms have all gone south and wrecked havoc. My son's first two Nordic ski races were cancelled due to lack of cover, even up north in the mountains. Ironically his race was cancelled today due to the storm. We'll be skiing out back in the woods. I love a snow day as long as we don't lose power.

Book Blog Directories

Christ Church Upper Library, Oxford University

This is a special Blog Watch post focusing on book blogs. My regular weekly blog is posted above or click on Chelsea Art and Lunch. Several book bloggers have been organizing directories which I’ve listed below.

Book Blog Directories:
1. Maw Books Directory: all book blogs
2. BBAW Directory: all book blogs
3. YA Book Blog Directory: Young Adult book and author blogs
4. YA Blogosphere: YA book blog profiles
5. Kidlitosphere: children’s and YA book and author blogs
6. childrensbookreviews: a wiki of children’s and YA book blogs
7. BritLitBlogs: UK book blogs only

The most interesting is YA Blogosphere (#4) which posts detailed profiles of blogs that include reviews of YA books. Hey, Teenager of the Year and The Story Siren have teamed up to create it.

Galleycat showed how distributing free e-book readers to reviewers and switching to digi-ARCs would be greener and save publishers money. ARCs are Advanced Reader Copies.

I usually review 2 Adult or YA novels a month. I focus on contemporary fiction and only blog about books that I love.  Writing quality matters the most to me. My reviews are listed in my sidebar by author along with book blogs that I follow.

If you know of other book blog directories, please leave a comment.  I'm hoping to turn this into an updated index.