There are many many reasons I think the Kindle is better than DTB (dead tree books).
1. Instant access to books, magazines, newspapers. Yes you can get these things delivered to your house from the local library, but how long do you have to wait for that to happen? What if the book is out? What if you finish a book and they library is closed and can't get the book to you for a few days? Granted, most people are not in urgent need to have a book delivered within seconds, but it is a nice perk. As soon as I finish a book I can get a new one.
2. It is much easier to hold than a DTB. Next time you are starting or finishing a 700 page book think of how awkward the book feels with 20 pages on one side and 680 on the other. Opps whats that? You dropped the book and were not sure your exact page? Have fun spending 15 minutes trying to figure out where you were. That won't happen on a Kindle. I can read one handed with my Kindle. I can hold it on one hand and changed pages with the same hand. For anyone who likes to read in bed with a hand behind their head they can instantly tell how great a feature that is.
3. I can put it in a ziplock bag and read in the pool or bath.
4. Books are cheaper than buying the DTB versions.
5. They are better for the environment. OK this one is actually up for debate. I can't honestly say they are better for the environment because they do use chemicals and batteries that are not the best things in the world. They do save the need to cut down so many trees though and save on gas and trucking of DTB to get them to from printers to distributors to stores to you.
6. I used to have rooms filled with nothing, but books. When I would move I would dread packing and lugging those heavy boxes. When my basement flooded it was the books that got soaked that were the biggest pain in the butt. My Kindle can store 3,500 books at a time and Amazon will store an unlimited amount so your virtual library can be as large as the Library of Congress and take up the amount of space that your Kindle takes up.
7. When I travel it is so much easier to take a Kindle than to pack books. What if you are going on vacation and are not sure what you will be in the mood to read. What if you have limited suitcase space? The Kindle takes care of all of those problems.
8.
The Gutenberg Project is a place where you can download 33,000 books for free (legally). And these are not unknown books. Things like Pride and Prejudice, A Tale of Two Cities, The Bible, Moby Dick, The Divine Comedy, and many others are there.
9. For those with failing eyesight, the text can be adjusted to fit your needs. If can be made smaller or larger just like in a word.doc. The Kindle will even read to you if you want. Personally I do not like or use that option. The voice is robotic sounding. But if you have trouble seeing then this could be a feature that comes in very handy.
If you are an avid reader than IMO you would be crazy not to at least check one out.
