8 Years With My Kindle

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I have been planning this post since February 2022, exactly 8 years after I first purchased my Kindle Paperwhite 2 back in 2014. I finally got the chance to write it now because I'm done catching up on my book reviews 😂. As of today, I have bought a new Kindle Paperwhite (review for that one will be coming soon in a separate post) and have sold my 8-year-old one second-hand 🥲. It was actually quite difficult to let the old one go because it's been with me for so long and I feel quite attached to it. However, I realize that I have no need for 2 Kindles and hopefully the person who purchased my old Kindle will get to love it as much as I did. I've shared my Kindle experience in 2015, so let's consider this an updated version of that post 7 years later 😉.

 

✦ My Thoughts ✦

 

It's been so long since I last talked about my Kindle, so there has been some changes regarding my thoughts about this device. At the end of my Kindle Experience post, I said that I don't think Kindle can replace physical books completely. One of the reasons why is because back in 2014, I tend to read paperback books than e-books. Over the years, I started reading a lot more e-books on my Kindle—especially when I moved into a small apartment and have no space to store physical books. In the past 8 years, I think I've read more than 100 books on my Kindle and have come to enjoy reading e-books more and more since then. I absolutely love the convenience of bringing a Kindle with me wherever I go, because sometimes paperbacks can be quite a hassle to carry when I'm out and about. So I'd say that for me personally, Kindle has almost replaced physical books completely. More than 50% of the books I read this year are in e-book format, while the rest are Indonesian books because not all of them are available as e-books. However, I'm really happy to see that some publishers have started moving in that direction, like Gramedia Digital for example. Hopefully more publishers will do the same thing in the future 😊.

 

 

✦ 8 Years of Usage ✦

 

To be honest, I did not expect my Kindle Paperwhite to last this long 😂. The first thing that I have to say is the fact that the Kindle is not as fragile as I thought it would be. When I first bought it, the seller warned me that the screen can crack if there's too much pressure on it. Thankfully, even through numerous falls and being sat on, my Kindle survived for 8 years without the screen cracking (don't follow my footsteps please) 🤣. During the first few years, I diligently used a case to cover the screen—but then I found out that the smart cover actually drained the battery because the Kindle automatically turned on when the flap is slightly opened in my bag. Later on, I ditched the casing and luckily there's been no issue whatsoever. Even when I dropped my Kindle (excuse my clumsiness), the body of the device doesn't get any scratch or dent due to its durable material 😉.

 

The features that I use the most on my Kindle is definitely the built-in dictionary and highlights/notes.  It's very helpful to look up the meaning of unfamiliar words because it allowed me to understand the context better instead of just guessing its meaning like I used to do when reading physical books. Along the way, I learned a lot of new words which then helped me grow my vocabulary as well. I used the highlights/notes feature mostly to help me write my book reviews. I took notes of my thoughts and feelings as I'm reading the book and I can easily look back on them to refresh my memory.

In terms of usage, the only sad thing about my old Kindle Paperwhite is its decreasing battery life 🥲. In the early days, the battery would last more than a month without getting charged. However, I did use my Kindle a lot more in the later years so I guess it makes sense that the battery drains faster. Since last year, I need to charge my Kindle at least once or twice a week if I'm reading on it regularly every day. It's not a huge issue since I have to charge my phone every night 😂, but I do realize that the battery power doesn't last as long as it originally should. Aside from that, my Kindle also experienced a slight lag which mostly happened when I'm flipping a page, highlighting text, or typing notes. Sometimes a hard reset helps get rid of that problem, but more often than not I have to bear with it 🤣. Other than that, my old Kindle still functions well and served its main purpose.

 

✦ Selling My Old Kindle ✦

 

Is it necessary for me to sell my old Kindle? The answer is no. I think if I hold on to it, my old Kindle Paperwhite would be able to reach its 10th year anniversary 🤣. Earlier this year, I was actually intrigued by the release of the new Kindle Paperwhite (11th generation) and watched a lot of reviews for it. At that point I started wondering if I should upgrade my Kindle and had a discussion with my husband about it. And then I started comparing the 11th generation to the previous (10th) generation, including the price and all of the features. Long story short, my husband convinced me to sell my old one and purchase the 10th gen as an upgrade. I'll share in detail why I decided to buy the 10th gen instead of the newest edition on my review for it, to avoid this post getting too long 😆. Even though my old Kindle was completely fine and it was quite difficult (emotionally) to let it go, I'm now really happy with the decision and hope the new one will last even longer than its predecessor 🥳.

 

 

✦ Conclusion ✦

 

After 8 years of having a Kindle, I don't think I can live without this device anymore. It completely changed my life 😂 (a little dramatic, but it's true) and it's definitely one of the best purchases I've made. Everywhere I go, I always bring my Kindle with me even though I might not have the time to read—I consider it a necessity like my wallet or phone. For me, the advantages of having a Kindle outweighs the disadvantages that I listed in my Kindle Experience post. It has certainly been a wonderful 8 years with my Kindle and I'm looking forward to read even more books with the new one 🥰.  I still find joy in reading physical books occasionally, but if we were to live in a world where physical books doesn't exist anymore, I think I would be okay with that 🙈. Do you own an e-reader or read e-books regularly? Feel free to share your experience with your e-reader in the comments below because I'd like to know if anyone else feels the same way like I do 😆.

 

by.stefaniesugia♥ .