Take your books cruising? - or 'Go Kindle'?

7:52 AM Fri 15 Jan 2010 GMT

'Take you Kindle cruising' .

When we left for our recent three year circumnavigation which took five years I, being a great reader and anticipating many long days at sea, took just over 400 books with me, arranged nicely in the book shelves around the walls of our cabin.

As the books were loaded in Sydney Harbour, and the yacht sank deeper and deeper in the water, the harmony within our crew of two became somewhat fragile, requiriing some ongoing delicate negotiation to avoid most of the books going for a swim, followed closely by the would-be reader.

Today, cruising sailors can avoid any such disruption to boat harmony - just 'Go Kindle!'

The newest Kindle is just as thin as most magazines, it's lighter than a typical paperback, and, in the cheapest version, can contain up o 1,500 books that can be downloaded in under 60 seconds by its own 3G wireless, with no PC required.

On that longer holiday, or when you're crossing oceans, you can choose from thousands of books that are held in the Amazon library.

Kindle best sellers - .. .

Better still, it reads like real paper, so you can read in the cockpit. The glare does not affect the display - even in sunlight. Wherever you come from, if you have 3G network coverage, you can connect.

In the newest version of Kindle, you can read for up to one week on a single charge of the battery. The previous version only allowed you to read for four days before recharging the battery.

When you are thinking of choosing a book, Kindle will allow you to download and read the first chapters for free before you decide to buy.

The library, which consists of over 400,000 books, includes 101 of the New York Times? Best Sellers, plus many international newspapers, magazines, and blogs. But whether you prefer biographies, classics, investment guides, thrillers, or sci-fi, thousands of your favorite books are available.

Price and availability of books varies according to the country you are in, but in Australia the prices are much the same as the USA. The base price is US$259.00 for the six inch version (holds 1,500 books), and $489 for the nine inch version (holds 3,500 books.) To buy a book is generally under US$10 and much cheaper for some.

You'll need to go to the website to get the most comprehensive information, but it certainly beats loading down the boat with 400 books.

by Nancy Knudsen