Books, books, books, we all love books. You love books and you should know that I especially love books. Books are everywhere, or at least they should be. The thing about books, however, is the more that time passes, the more books I seem to have. Three out of four walls in my bedroom are lined with books. I'm not complaining, I want it that way. But there comes a time in every book lover's life where they must come to terms with their collection. When that happens, you start to think long and hard about each new addition that is made. "Do I really need this book?" you might ask yourself, trying to qualify its purchase. Thank goodness for the advent of the eReader, which has pushed and propagated book hoarding onto virtual realms.
I was an eBook hold out for awhile, prefering the heft of the printed page. But then I got a Nook last year and fell in love with it. I could buy and read books that I didn't nessasarily want on my shelf, I could carry 1,000 + page tomes around without throwing out my wrist everytime I wanted to read, but most importantly I could carry multiple books around with me at once. A book lover's dream.
Generally I have been showcasing physical books that I find in stores or otherwise that strike me as being interesting, but when I saw this new device, I knew I had to talk about it. The Kobo Mini is one of the newest in the line of Kobo eReaders. Sporting a 5 inch display, this is not only the smallest Kobo, it's also one of the smallest eReaders in the market. In the photo, you can see that I have held up a Moleskine notebook next to the Kobo Mini just so you can get an idea of how small this thing really is.
With a device this small, the desire to be a get-up-and-go reader is really strong. The thing could literally fit in any pocket I have, making excuses to not have a book on me null and void. There is nowhere that you can't go with this.
The ability to tailor the look of your Kobo makes having this a very personal experience as well. You can swap out the trademarked quilted back with 4 other color options. Kobo has also givin users the freedom to customize the typeface in unprecedented ways. Not only can users select the font and font size, but there is weight and sharpness settings letting you have full control over how you want your books to read.
Kobo is also content with letting users have control over where they buy their books. All of Kobo's eReaders are fully open, meaning you can purchase books from many different sellers while still being able to read them on your Kobo. With Kobo, local book sellers can now get into the eReader game. My local bookseller, Malaprops, told me that they are now set up to sell eBooks and the Kobo eReaders help consumers who want to support them as well as other local bookshops. It's this reason that I might switch to Team Kobo for my eReader of choice.
You have to look at this eReader in person to see how cool it is. The Kobo Mini would make an absolutly supurb gift this holiday season, and at only $79, it's a gift that won't break the bank. Whether it'll be someone's primary eReader or a trusty backup, this one will certianly get the job done. Get your's here, at your local bookseller or where ever Kobo's may be sold.
