The fourth most-read article on our www.SuccessNet.org website amongst thousands of others was entitled The Top Ten Reasons Why eBooks are Better Than Printed Books. I wrote the article in July of 2006—almost a year and a half before Kindle Books debuted from Amazon. It was controversial and had the most comments (pro and con of any other article on the site).
What I learned in launching my latest book—first as a Kindle and then as a paperback, a few days later—was that fewer people than I thought use Kindle. Many of them believe that you have to have the Kindle Fire reader in order to access Kindle Books.
And that’s simply not true. I’ve never owned a Kindle Reader. But I do have the free Kindle reader app on my computer, my tablet and my phone. In the past three months, I’ve read over 25 books. Twenty three of them were Kindle—and I read them all on my phone—mostly while riding the exercise bike.
Like I said in the 2006 article, “As an avid reader and author, I have a great appreciation for the printed word. I love books—especially hard-bound printed books.” And that’s still true today. Outside of our home, my physical library is my most valuable material possession.
That said, here’s why I’m so big on Kindle.
Accessibility
Not only can I access a new book quickly (I can be reading it in 2 minutes or less), but I can access it no matter where I am. My Kindle library syncs every few minutes and if I was reading a book on my computer, when I look at it later on my phone, it picks up where I left off.
They’re simply more portable. When I travel, I don’t need to lug books with me. I can have quick and easy access to all the books in my Kindle library.
And when I’m in a situation where I need to wait for something or someone, I take out my phone and I read. No wasted time.
Cost
Kindle books tend to be less than $10—often in the $1-$6 range.
In addition, we’re a member of Kindle Unlimited for which we pay $9.99 a month. With this membership, we (my wife and I share an account) can borrow up to ten books at a time. Amazon now has over 2 million Kindle books available to borrow. And that number is growing fast.
Updated Info
You can choose whether or not to receive updates automatically for your Kindle books. With this setting enabled, books on your devices will receive the latest version with corrections and improvements when it becomes available from the publisher or author. Try that with a printed book.
Since most of my reading is non-fiction, this is a truly valuable feature.
Environmentally Friendly
Kindle Books use almost no natural resources. By using these eBooks, we save trees, help reduce pollution from pulp mills and eliminate the waste eventually going into landfills.
Hot Links
When reading a Kindle book, URLs are clickable and can quickly take you to the intended reference. No having to type a long website address from a printed book.
Easy Lookup and Review
When you’re looking for certain information within a book, you can easily find it using the find feature. Type in a word or phrase and boom, there it is. It saves time and aggravation looking for something in particular.
When I want to quickly review a book, I can skip from highlighted section to highlighted section—my highlights as well as the highlights that other readers have marked.
The technology has come a long way since that article in 2006 and it will only get better. If you love the tactical experience of a book and the feeling of turning the pages, I understand. You’ll certainly want to have your printed books.
But I really encourage you to try the Kindle experience as well. Don’t miss out on all the practical benefits of Kindle books.
Recommended Reading
Best Life Book Series
The path to your best life is through your Compelling Core Values, your Empowering Purpose, your Meaningful Mission, your Vital Vision and your Solid Goals. And this series has a book for each of them. Pick out individual ones or get the whole series.
