I Have Been Kindled

I have a new toy and I am in love with it.

Rinar bought me this wonderful invention for Valentine's Day. Isn't it a beauty?  I was especially interested in getting one when I realized that I could get audio books on it. There is a plug for earphones and I knew that I was getting ready to drive a whole lot by myself with our move to Reno and my brother's wedding in Oregon.  My kids would be well-fed on mindless cartoons to keep them in a zombie-like trance for most of the journey, but I dreaded the thought of subjecting myself to having to listen to it as well. It makes every mile seem like one hundred.

However, this time was different. I actually looked forward to an endless barrage of pavement because I was really getting mostly uninterrupted reading time.  

Alex Haley got me from St. George to Oregon, then down the Pacific Coast Highway, to Sacramento, Reno, and Las Vegas again.  He stayed with me all the way back to Reno, via St. George and ended on the playground in front of our corporate housing apartment complex.  It was a wonderful adventure, as I listened to over 30 hours of Kunta Kinte's compulsory journey to America and all of his succeeding generations.  Roots was wonderful.  

I also joined Ray Bradbury's Farenheit 451 as Guy Montag took me on a quick book burning adventure while exploring the many little haunts and playgrounds of Reno.

I then had to make a hasty journey back to Utah for my grandmother and was able to listen to The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. It was especially cool that while I was driving through the deserts of Nevada, the Walls family was probably driving on the same roads 30 years before.  It was a wonderful book that kept me company all the way there and back.

Now I am tackling The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot and I am totally fascinated.  Tonight I plugged myself in and watched the Lakers lose to the Mavericks as I listened to the author's travails at trying to make contact and build a relationship of trust with the Lack family.

Besides my audio book obsession, I have read a slew of classics that I have downloaded for free or for very little: A Room With a View, The Adventures of Sally, Heart of Darkness, White Fang.

The great thing is that I can keep it in my purse and when the need arises, I have access to an endless array of books, whatever I feel like at the moment. Technology is a beautiful thing.