Our new Unknown Reader shares her evaluation of her experience with her very first ereader. Curious about the features of the new Kindle Paperwhite? Keep reading.

Only six weeks after awaking my Kindle Paperwhite from its shipping siesta, I simply can’t see myself ever going back to only paper-paged books. My first ereader has transported me to the ethereal land of e-ink, where I read quickly, quietly, and comfortably.

This comes as a terrific surprise to me. I grew up loving the scent of new paper and ink. I recall sticking my face between the pages of a new book in the elementary school library, drawing in a huge sniffff, trading my book for my friend’s, then both repeating the process. As my school days progressed, I still loved books, but I grew to resent a Norton Anthology’s toll on my wrist, a stubborn shadow on a page, a long passage in size 8 font.

So now I have a Kindle Paperwhite. Have you considered getting one? Before you do, consider my experience thus far—the good, the bad, the Kindle.

+ The Pluses:

• Brightness anxiety, begone! With 25 possible brightness levels (0 to 24), your eyes can be comfortable in any setting. Especially as someone who keeps their laptop screens quite dark, I was nervous that the Kindle would be too bright—but it’s not. Glare is also minimal on the matte screen.

• Incredibly light and easy to handle, the Paperwhite is certainly no paperweight (though I’ve witnessed “Paperwhite” misheard as “paperweight”), which makes me more apt to tackle a heavy book (War and Peace is downloaded and intended to be read). (more…)