My Kindle Experience

Never fails that when I'm about to go on a trip I'm nearing the end of one book and end up having to pack at least one other book in my carry on to make sure I don't get stuck in an airport with nothing to read.
By the end of the trip I'm lugging around some dead weight from the book(s) I've finished.
The Amazon Kindle looked like a great solution to this problem. I've been interested in the Kindle since they first came out a few years ago. The first generation seemed a little pricey and a little clunky to me so I resisted buying one (not to mention they were sold out for quite a while as well).
The 2nd generation came out and it was more refined, thinner and all around just looked nice. I kept looking at them and thinking "should I?" I'm very much in love with the tactile feeling that a real book can give you. The smell of the ink on the page, the texture of the paper and so on. Could I give it up for a thin piece of electronics?
When faced with the potential of going on a business trip for a few days back in August I thought it would be the perfect opportunity. I ordered a 2nd gen Kindle which arrived a few days later. I unpacked it and turned it on to read a personalized welcome letter. How thoughtful. I was struck by how light the little thing was. Next I noticed that my natural resting position for my thumb was just about right over the "next page" button. I thumbed through the user's guide and was amazed at the clarity of the text on the page, even in bright sunlight when I'm sitting on the back patio.
I ordered a couple of Kindle "books" next some I paid for and some that Amazon was more less giving away (can you buy something for $0.00?). I'd have to admit that it took me a day or so to really get used to reading on the Kindle. There is a bit of an automatic impulse to turn a page the old fashion way rather than pressing a button. After a while it became second nature.
Furthermore, I'm not sure they even thought of this, but I even noticed that when lying in bed reading that because of the space taken up by the keyboard at the bottom of the unit that it positions the screen right at a comfortable spot in front of you. One of the things that always bugged me about reading in bed was that you had to hold the book up to read the lower part of the page. Might not seem a big deal...but when you are reading something like Robert Jordan's "The Lord of Chaos" weighing in at over 1000 pages in paperback...it takes it toll on you.
I even noticed that with "next page" buttons on both sides of the device you can read on you side quite comfortably, switching hands whenever on gets tired.
Anyway, I've had my Kindle for several months now. I've read a handful of books on it and I'd have to say I'm quite addicted to it now. I love being able to take one device with me that has enough to keep me occupied if I get stuck in a Denver airport in a snowstorm.