My Mom's Kindle

It's been over three years since my mother died. When I returned home to sort through her things, my father gave me her kindle. His voice broke as he explained to me, "She read this thing all the time. She had over two hundred books loaded onto it. Maybe you would like to read them." I thanked him, and agreed. She had been an invalid for several years, and every time I went to visit her, she was reading her kindle. It was like her companion.

At first I had trouble understanding how to use it. I played around with the buttons, and  started reading one of her books. It was one of the most depressing things I had ever read. It took place in Chile, and was very political.  I would force myself to read it, and then feel terrible. I eventually put the kindle in a drawer and forgot about it. I decided we must have very different tastes in reading material.

Last night I was chatting on the phone with a neighbor. She had seen me reading a library book on my porch, and mentioned that she really liked her kindle. I confessed that I had one, but didn't really know how to work it. I didn't understand what the symbols meant. She offered to help me, and gave me the phone  number of Amazon.com. I didn't realize that it was through Amazon.

This morning I decided to call them and see if I could get it transferred into my name. The man on the other end of the line talked me through it, and it was fairly fast and easy. I was surprised at how quickly I was able to grasp how it worked. He was a patient and helpful teacher. I started reading another book that my mother had bought. This  one is about dogs, and I absolutely love it. Everyone in my family loves dogs.

I see now why my mom and my neighbor were (and are) so enthusiastic about their kindles. I remember that Oprah Winfrey used to rave about hers, too. I think it will be great to take traveling. It's light, and it will save me storage space in my home. I just ordered a new book from Amazon.com and had it delivered. It feels exciting to have a new toy. (Especially now that I know how to work it.) How about you? Do you have a kindle?

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