Why I bought a Kindle and should you buy one?
A kindle might be a right fit for you even if you are not an avid reader!
Here’s my experience and how I figured out that purchasing a kindle was a good investment rather than a waste of money.
Why buy a Kindle?
A few months back I came across this trending bestseller called ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear. Taking inspiration from the book, I wanted to inculcate a reading habit. So I started by setting a daily reading goal of 10 mins, which I gradually increased to 30 mins over a period of five months. During this period I read around 7–8 hand-held physical books (For the reader community this might seem like a very low number, however, it was a huge improvement for me; before setting this habit I barely even touched a book in a year!).
After successfully keeping up 5 months of my reading habit, I started thinking of investing in a kindle. Some of my reasons to do so were the following:
Once in a lifetime reads:
After reading a few books I realized that there were only a few books that I would read more than once. Others would just be lying on the bookshelf. Borrowing books or joining a library was a solution to this. However, most of the time my friends/family did not have the books that I wanted to read, and signing up for a library was not economical for an amateur reader like me. As for the books which I would love to own and enjoy reading multiple times, there still existed a major issue…..
Storage:
I would soon be moving away from home for my studies, and carrying all my favorite books (physical copies) with me will not be possible. Moreover, I will be living in a shared space, and storing physical books would be a huge inconvenience.
Convenience:
Personally, I love to read from a physical copy but only when the book’s dimensions are user-friendly. As my reading habit continued, I started exploring some bulky books (like Dune). Holding them and reading became a bit inconvenient and tedious; especially when I was trying to have a cup of coffee along with it.
Confidence:
I was pretty confident that I will continue my reading habit for years to come. So I knew that my new reading device would not just be lying around, but would actually be very useful.
All these reasons pushed me to explore the possibility of owning a Kindle. However, a major doubt still remained. Was the cost of a kindle worth it and if yes, which model should I go for?
To solve this problem I used a simple trick, and even if you are not in a dilemma about going for a Kindle, I hope this trick will help you decide whether a kindle is worth it.
Is a Kindle worth it?
1. Firstly, I calculated the average number of books I read in a week/month. Analyzing my past experience, I realized that on average I completed 1.5 books per month. So even if I kept reading at the current speed, I would complete around 18 books in a year [1.5 * 12 = 18].
2. Next, I compared the average cost difference between a physical copy of a book and an e-book. Here’s how I did that (I would stick with ‘INR’ currency):
- The average price of a physical copy of a book (especially a bestseller) is around Rs. 300.
- For many popular titles, the cost of an e-book is almost 3/5th or lesser than the price of a physical copy. Hence, the average cost of a best-seller e-book is around Rs. 180 [ (300*3)/5 ]
- If we subscribe to ‘Kindle Unlimited’, we get access to a ton of best-selling titles and series including ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘Harry Potter’ for Rs 169/month or Rs 149/month for 3 months.
- As calculated before, I would be reading around 18 books in a year. Now, considering that I read half of the books (9 books) from the ‘Kindle Unlimited’ subscription and I purchase the other half (9 books), I would spend the following:
Note: There are many legal sites from which you can download e-books for free. In the above calculations, I have not considered any free books! In reality, I would be spending lesser than the projected amount (considering I download free books from the legal resources). Moreover, I have also not considered the usage of Kindle in terms of academic purposes (like for reading notes or assignments). All the above calculations are ‘worst-case’.
As calculated in the above table, I would be saving around Rs 2886 on books per year if I purchased a Kindle. However, the next step was to consider the initial purchase price of a Kindle in the calculations and to decide which Kindle to buy.
3. To do so, I analyzed how long I was going to use the new Kindle. A typical e-reader has a life span of more than 5 years. Moreover, I tend to use my devices pretty carefully. So I was confident in using my new device for at least 3 to 4 years. Taking a look at the current kindle models in the market, here’s what I found:
The payback on Kindle (10th Gen) turned out to be 2.77 years which was fitting my criteria (3–4 years) and hence was a very good investment even for a beginner like me!
I would recommend each one of you to follow the steps mentioned above and calculate your payback time. If your payback duration is less than 5 years, going for a Kindle would be a great investment for you!
My Experience with Kindle
It’s been a month since I bought a Kindle and I’ve had an amazing experience till now. It not only fulfills my reasons to buy a Kindle, but it also does so much more!
To begin with, it has influenced my reading habit by reducing the number of missed days. Due to its convenience, I can now read during my commute time or even when I am on my vacation, away from home. As it is super handy and extremely light, I can carry it around wherever I go.
It has a long-lasting battery and considering my reading speed, I need to charge it only once in three weeks. This is a very important factor as kindle is a replacement for physical books which do not need any kind of electrical charging for usage. So the fewer times a kindle needs battery supply, the better!
To conclude, even for a beginner reader like me, a Kindle has been a great investment. Try to find whether a Kindle is worth it for you by following the steps that I did!
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Happy Reading :)
