A shaman once told me that buying a Kindle would ward off all the evil spirits. So you see, I had to get myself one because I am quite an expert in attracting everything bad.

Kidding! Here’s the true story…

So I got a Kindle as a birthday gift last year, lucky me! Before that, I was skeptical about whether I would ever be able to get used to reading ebooks. I hate ebooks, with all my heart. My hatred was fuelled by the experiences I had while reading books on a laptop or mobile phone. I never experienced the paperback screen before.

Like every reader out there, I love the texture and scent of both worn, aged books and new releases. I am obsessed with words and I am obsessed with pages. Every time I tried to read an ebook, which was mostly on my laptop, I would end up DNFing the book. I was therefore quite scared of getting a Kindle. I always thought it would be the device that would end up resting on my top shelf for eternity.

The bottom line, which I am adding at the start of this article, is that I have NOT bought a single physical book since I got my Kindle. Why? Because I cannot imagine not reading on Kindle now – quite an unexpected turn of events, right? Below is the list of why this happened:

A Kindle is far more comfortable than a physical book in terms of:

• lightweight design
• adjustable and glare-free screen for any lighting
• readability
• storage

These are the main reasons that make a Kindle more comfortable than a physical book. It is very lightweight and the updated generations have paperback screens. Your Kindle screen will look and feel like a book. There is no glare, no irritating pixels, and no harm to your eyesight. And the experience is amazing in daylight, it is literally a book in hand.

The readability is great because there are multiple options to set font style and size, set margins and alignment, etc. It gives you a lot of options to customize your experience. The most amazing thing is adjusting fonts, I mean, all of us are pretty tired of tiny little fonts that are barely readable.

Kindle has great storage! An 8 GB Kindle can easily store 3000-6000 books. Storage is something you never have to worry about in a Kindle; they have amazing capacity.

Apart from these, the comfort level of the Kindle is better for many other reasons too. You can read in any position, at any time. There is no need to carry all the pens and highlighters to annotate the book. It has a pretty good battery life. The instant access to dictionaries, translations, and Wikipedia makes it worth it. So yes, a Kindle is much more comfortable to use than a physical book.

Another major benefit of a Kindle is its portability. I cannot take 10 different books for my 10 different moods on a 2-day trip. But I can take my Kindle! Also, it is obviously easier to carry a lightweight gadget in my bag than a book. I will be doomed if I ever feel like rereading The Count of Monte Cristo; that thing is literally a weapon!

Kindle has a good battery life, which means I can charge it at home and just carry it with me. It will be good for 3-4 days even if I am reading non-stop. Many of the Kindle devices are waterproof as well which means you don’t really have to worry about anything.

It is better if you have an internet connection. The browser and Wikipedia don’t work without it. But you can surely read and access all the books in your library without the internet. Kindle dictionary also works fine in offline mode which makes reading very easy and effective. So the portability aspect is really helpful.

One of the misconceptions regarding Kindle is that it is not economical. The thing itself costs around $100 if you are buying the most basic one. A Kindle subscription is $11.99, the books cost around $10 or more. So my concern before getting a Kindle was also the economic aspect. I love spending on books but it surely seems a bit extravagant to spend this much.

Anyway, I cracked the code, here’s how:

• You can convert any PDF book to a Kindle version for free. Just search for “pdf to mobi converter” in your browser. It will do the trick. I read Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry using the same trick.
• Kindle has many free books, and Amazon keeps updating the list. I got Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert for free, and it is now retailing for $14 on Amazon.
• Amazon offers daily and monthly deals that are updated regularly. I got my copy of Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too by Jomny Sun for only $0.99 and it is now retailing for $7.99.
• Kindle Unlimited is an amazing way to get access to thousands of books. If you think $11.99 is too much, subscribe for a month and then unsubscribe for a few months. You can read pdf books, free books, or books bought from deals during this phase. After a few months, Amazon will offer you a great deal; I got 3 months subscription for $5. Also, for the newbies, Amazon offers a free trial which is so worth it.

Overall, I found Kindle to be cheaper than physical books. It has amazing deals, a pretty good subscription plan, and lots of free books too. Also, the physical copies are not that cheap either if you are buying the original ones. A single copy might cost you around $9-$12 which is equivalent to a Kindle Unlimited subscription so in the long run, Kindle is very economical.

One of the most underrated aspects of a Kindle is its reach. By reach, I mean the access it gives you to millions of books. Book ban is not a novel concept. We have all heard of it and experienced it multiple times in our lives. Many famous books, like Animal Farm, 1984, and Lolita, are still banned in some countries. The list goes on and on.

Kindle will give you access to almost every book out there. I have not experienced any bans whatsoever. Also, there are many books that might not be available in your country for various reasons. You will not have to experience that with your Kindle.

After using Kindle for a year, I can assure you that it’s worth all your money. I appreciate a physical book and I still like the way it feels to physically hold and read a book. But a Kindle is more practical; you can read more, it’s easier to carry, and it has multiple options. By the end of the day, we are all readers and all we want is to be able to read more, and Kindle does that for you.

So yes, coming from someone who used to hate ebooks and is still deeply in love with pages – a Kindle is a more practical option for a reader.