A few years ago I was given a kindle for birthday present. To be honest I did n't use it much to begin with. I downloaded all the out of copyright free classics but didn't read many; I still preferred the paperbacks for many reasons - the paper feel, the covers, the tangibility.
I was also interested in reading articles of interest on the internet, often posted via facebook or twitter. However this also has disadvantages. Most online writing is cluttered with a lot of distractions - links, adverts, moving graphics, pop-ups, all kinds of annoyances. It also required reading at length off a computer or ipad screen often in an uncomfortable or inconvenient position - not conducive to concentrating on anything of any length or substance.
Then I discovered Readability. Readability is a free app you can download to your desktop (and probably other devices I'm sure). A red sofa appears in your browser and on clicking this the website you are reading is transferred to your kindle! What magic! Even more magic is all the clutter is removed leaving you with the text only. I can now therefore browse the internet and click the sofa each time I see something I want to read later, without the clutter, without the glare, and in comfort on the literal sofa, or arm chair, or bed, or bath. Often I hear about something or someone and just download the wikipedia page to my kindle via the app.
It has revitalised my reading (and in turn my education and knowledge) and given my kindle a new lease of life.
I realise tablets have superseded kindles for some. But there remains vital advantages to the kindle. It is generally not connected to the internet nor has a workable browser (have you ever tried reading Moby Dick on an internet connected device with facebook notifications only a click away?), so the instant gratification temptations of the internet are banished. The screen is also a very comfortable paper white or pale grey - very unlike a computer screen.
I now love my kindle, and love the Readability App. There are troubles in the world but when you can get things this good free...
Download your copy here https://www.readability.com/
Ironically just around about the time I made this post Readability became defunct. After 5 years it has decided to discontinue the service. I don't know why. Maybe they didn't make the revenues - it was free but maybe there was advertising. Or maybe it was always meant to be an opensource free project and the developers have moved on.
ReplyDeleteBut not to worry, after a few days of investigating alternatives (some paid for) such as Pocket and Istapaper I found the Google/Chrome/Amazon send to Kindle extension. I'm pleased to say this is free and does exactly the same job pretty much. Even better keyboard shortcut Alt +K does the job. Fantastic. My off screen reading can continue and that's proving particularly useful as I digest all the articles on the Trump election.