Use Kindle to Hack Your Reading Habits

Count me among the fans of the Kindle 2, Amazon.com's next-generation e-book reader.

As an avid bookworm, I wasn't sure if I'd find the electronic reading experience preferable to paging through a new paperback. But I gotta say: It's great.

Within a few minutes of flipping through a newly purchased book, I pretty much forgot I was holding an e-reader and got lost in the story -- exactly the way I do with a real book. Soon thereafter, it occurred to me that Kindle was actually enhancing my reading habit. How?

1. Adjustable font sizes customize how fast, or slowly, you can get through the book.

2. Its easily portable size means that it's now a permanent resident of my bag. Couldn't do that with a real-life version of "Infinite Jest."

3. When I finish one book, I can download another pretty much instantly. No more waiting for the UPS guy or heading out to a bricks-and-mortar bookstore.

4. No need to lug multiple books on vacations or extended trips. Sweet.

5. I'm saving money. I buy, on average, probably 150 books a year. Assuming 50 are hardcovers (approximately $26 each) and the rest are paperbacks (at about $8 a pop), that sets me back around $2,100. (Hopefully my husband, who loves his library card, is not reading this.)

The Kindle 2 cost me about $360, and Amazon.com sells New York Times bestsellers and new releases for $9.99 each. Paperbacks run about 20 percent off list price, or $6.40. So do the math: If I buy the same number of books, the total outlay ends up around $1,500, including the Kindle. That's $600 in savings. Ka-ching.

6. Finally, you can read Word documents on the Kindle. That means if I'm running out to lunch and need to scan a client report or review an article, I don't need to print it out or bring my laptop -- and Kindle lets me annotate text and make notes, too.

Are any of you Kindle fans -- or detractors? Tell me whether Kindle has helped or hindered your reading habits in the comments section.