is way too much fun. Way too easy. The perfect vehicle for impulse purchases. Hear about an interesting book on All Things Considered on the drive to work? Buy it with one click!
I haven’t actually done that, but the idea definitely contributed to my buying the Kindle. Before I clicked on the “submit order” button, I spent some time cruising around the Kindle store, seeing what was available–and what wasn’t.
A great many classics are available for little or no money (the price mostly depending on the care someone has taken in digitizing the book) because they have gone out of copyright. I hate the question writers are often asked about what books or authors have influenced them, but it probably says a lot about me that the first thing I downloaded was a collection of the fourteen Oz books written by L. Frank Baum (without illustrations, alas–I couldn’t find any Oz books with their interior illustrations, and if I do I’ll buy them). The second was a (fully illustrated!) copy of The Wind in the Willows. A number of other childhood favorites are biding their time on my waiting list (currently fourteen items long).
Then I decided to try the e-version of a current book, Writing the Paranormal Novel, by Steven Harper. Since this one was going to cost $9.99, I really did “try” it, downloading a free sample. Loved the sample, bought the book.
Rounding out my early purchases, I bought a self-published, electronic-only book by my good friend 
Colleen Thompson. Colleen writes terrific edge-of-your-seat, keep-you-up-at-night romantic suspense (previously from Dochester, now from Harlequin Intrigue), but some years ago she and Parke Roberts wrote an epic fantasy, The Night Holds the Moon. Colleen’s writing career took off in a different direction,so she and Parke recently decided to put the book out themselves I’ve read the beginning, looking forward to the rest. Click on the cover and check it out.
I’m just afraid that the menu on my Kindle will eventually rival the shelves of unread books and unwatched DVDs I already have. So many books, so little time!
Kay Hudson 