Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (8 GB) – Now with a larger display, adjustable warm light, increased battery life, and faster page turns – Black

I bought this Kindle and it was one of my best decisions. The screen is super clear, easy on the eyes, and I can even read in direct sunlight without glare. It’s lightweight, easy to carry anywhere, and the battery lasts a long time — I can go days without charging it. I love how practical it is: switching books, adjusting the font, highlighting, looking up words… everything is fast and simple. And having hundreds of books in one place is amazing. Definitely the perfect device for anyone who loves to read. Highly recommended!

So I came into possession of this little guy due to a late night Amazon impulse buy a few days before leaving for vacation. I was going on a weeklong trip with my family and didn't want to have to bring my ipad (what I usually use to read) or any actual books with me on the plane. Let me preface this by saying I am an avid reader, spending the majority of my free time reading...and have been for most of my life. My siblings lament to anyone listening about the horror of summer road trips, riding in the back of our family sedan, fighting for leg room because I always had at least 5-6 books at my feet to read during our travels. You should hear the way my sister grumbles at even the mere mention of a car ride with me (She horribly dramatic) but I digress. I also used to have a nook e-reader, an original model Kindle from way back in the day that no longer works, and have the kindle app on my ipad which I use to read most days. So I am familiar with e-reading. This kindle is quite possibly the best purchase I've ever made. It's basically pocket sized so it was extremely portable. I brought it with me everywhere; On the plane, in the car, in my bag to restaurants...I even managed to fit it in a particularly spacious pocket of an oversized jean jacket I wore on cooler nights. It's amazing. It was comfortable enough to hold in one hand, or two, depending on what I preferred at the time. The various light options on the kindle, including the warm light feature makes it easy to read regardless of where I was and what kind of lighting is available, without eye strain. I shared a room with family for a couple of nights and the dark mode feature barely emits light past my immediate person, so I was able to read into the wee hours of the morning if I wanted to without disturbing my family sleeping in the same room, or sacrificing my precious reading time. ( I get particularly sassy if I'm interrupted in the middle of a discovering a plot twist in a juicy novel, i'm just saying). You are able to customize lots of the settings, such as the fonts, size, spacing and layout, so that the books look however you want them to while reading. (I definitely used that feature to make the font smaller and more compact while I read an embarrassingly cringleworthy, but suprisingly emotional and fantastic, harlequin romance novel while on the plane. It's nobody's business why I was practically sobbing into my complimentary pretzels after the protagonists romantic interest declared his love to her for the first time, thank you very much) I also may, or may not have had a TINY accident in which I spilled my entire 32oz water bottle full of water all over my pants and my kindle. After squealing in alarm at how cold the water was, I was able to get my bearings, wiped the water off the kindle, changed my pants and continued reading. I have noted no damage whatsoever to my kindle and that was at the beginning of my trip well over a week ago now. After reading every day for at least 4-6 hours per day/night for 7 days straight I had 57% battery left over. I think the battery is supposed to last for 2 weeks maybe? IDK. Basically it lasted a long time, long enough for me to be impressed. Also, I downloaded at least 15 new books on there, not to mention the impressive collection of books I already owned and was able to sync to the device, and I still have over 4GB of space available to use. I have since named the kindle Kurt, as I feel emotionally connected to the device after our adventures together these past weeks. If you are a super bookworm like me, or are just trying to finish a whole book for the first time, I highly recommend this device for purchase. I think it was worth the money a thousand times over. And if after reading this you do decide to purchase it, I hope you love it just as much as I do.

The first thing I thought of when I saw an e-reader was AWESOME! But that was before they introduced the paperwhite models. In essence, they were amazon branded android tablets. They were slow and clunky and incredibly cheap. I'm further embarrassed to admit my first e-reader was actually a Barnes & Noble Nook. Which - if anything - was worse than the original Kindle's. I also discovered that I just plain missed holding a book. I couldn't explain it but I know a lot of people understand what I'm talking about. There is just something about being able to physically hold that book in my hands that just felt "right" and the e-readers just did not provide that. Finally amazon introduced the paperwhite and that was an absolute game changer. The ability to read a Kindle in direct sunlight was just unheard of. The older color versions were essentially useless in direct sun, or even marginally cloudy days as well. I still preferred holding a book in my hands though. But that all changed one night when I couldn't sleep and I tried to read at 1am and couldn't get ANY light to work well enough while also trying to hold my hard back book and not wake up my wife. It became a challenge of monumental proportions (at least for me it was). Slowly, over the course of the next 6 months, I began to warm up to the idea of giving the Kindle another try. This is where I made a big mistake however. Instead of buying it new, I went with a reputable company that sold reconditioned electronics for a deep discount. My reasoning seemed solid (at the time), if I ended up not truly enjoying my Kindle, at least I hadn't wasted too much $$ on buying a new one. Unfortunately, the model I received was tied to the account of the former owner, and I wasn't able to correct that with a simple master reset. It took several days to work thru that problem, but once I did, I was off and running. I got a slightly smaller model (6" screen) and while it functioned, it stuttered so often I forgot just how smooth it really should've been. But still, even with the issues, the hiccups and stuttering, I grew to really enjoy using it and more importantly, I loved the battery life it offered. I decided it was time for an upgrade, and this time I was going all-in. I got the 6.8" screen, which isn't that much bigger, but it DOES make a difference. Since I ordered directly from amazon this time, imagine my absolute surprise when I turned it on I was worried that it was going to take forever to link up to my WiFi and have to add my amazon account information...but that did not happen. Not sure if amazon pre-programmed it, but as soon as I turned it on it said, "Welcome Jeff" and I was stunned. How did it know??? Well, no matter, the set-up was a friggin' breeze and I was thrilled how seamless it was. Operation was so much easier and while it still offers a little stuttering (which in all honesty is simply due to the black & white screen and how it operates) but it was decidedly better than the older model. Battery life is stellar, though not as good as amazon claims. I think what they say is almost absurdly optimistic. But, the truth is, a paperwhite will give you pretty great life on a full charge. It operates well, and I love how I can invert the screen so more of it is black. Not sure if that uses less battery like it does on an amoled phone screen, but I'm going to see and test it just in case. My old Kindle did not have this option. All in all, reading is fun again for me and I love how I don't need a special light to read in the middle of the night like I did with a hard back. Kudos to amazon, I love my Kindle.

I LOVE my Kindle! I am able to download books from the library, PDFs from the internet and with Unlimited. I have access to so much reading material for practically no cost to me. The battery lasts forever which adds to functionality since I hardly ever have to worry about charging! The simple backlighting enables me to read in full sunlight with no glare or at night with almost no lighting. The size is perfect as it is about the same size and weight as a paperback book, or even lighter. This is a perfect gift for avid readers. It is a gift that keeps on giving.

The Kindle Paperwhite in Denim is fantastic. The larger display and adjustable warm light make reading anytime comfortable, whether it’s day or night. Page turns are noticeably faster, and the battery life is impressive—it lasts for weeks! The 16 GB storage gives plenty of space for books, and the design feels premium yet lightweight. Perfect for anyone who loves to read.

OK, I fouled up with my Kindle Paperwhite 11th edition purchase. It was Prime Day and the Kindle was marked WAY DOWN, and I opted for the bundle: Kindle + Charger + fabric cover. Now don't get me wrong, the Charger is nice and the fabric cover is very nice, but for a device Amazon says you only need to charge 5 times a year, getting a premium charger doesn't really make much sense. I already have plenty of chargers, and the Kindle will charge overnight whether I use their super-fast premium charger or something else. And while the case is undeniably nice, you can get one for less than half the money from other sellers on Amazon. I did not make the mistake of getting the ad-free version. The ad appears on the lock screen and as soon as you swipe the screen, it goes away and stays away for your entire reading session. It's 100% unobtrusive. Other people have given the Kindle one star because they bought the ad-free version, and were angry there are still "suggestions" on the Home screen that they consider ads. All I can say is that you get that no matter what, and the solution is to switch to the Library screen rather than the Home screen; that's very easy on the latest software version. The other huge mistake I made over 4 years ago was subscribing to Kindle Unlimited and somehow not knowing that it was automatically renewing silently every month (for $9.99). I paid enough to buy several Kindles. I guess I thought it was part of Amazon Prime or just something that comes with a Kindle. You can bundle Kindle Unlimited "Free" for 3 months with your Kindle purchase, but just watch out when that 3 months are over. I have generally found Kindle Unlimited books second rate (with a few exceptions). I bought one of the original Kindle Fire versions and the first Kindle Fire HD. They were cool, but I didn't end up using them much. They didn't have good battery life, they were hard to read outdoors, and Kindle software on other portable devices was fine. I think the first one eventually failed, and I gave the HD away to someone who needed to do something that required a Kindle. I have a nice Windows tablet. But I have always wanted a Paperwhite because of its long battery life and superb readability outdoors. Plus it was heavily discounted on Prime Day and I bought one. So how did it live up to expectations? Pretty well. The "10 weeks" battery life claim seems exaggerated, but still if you pick it up to go somewhere, it will probably be charged and last another day. Outdoor readability is simply amazing. After receiving the device, the software updated. I think it updated twice. My "Experimental Web Browser" turned into the "Web Browser" and the navigation improved markedly (addressing issues I read in other 1-star reviews). The web browser is still very limited and doesn't display some web pages correctly (like the Internet Archive), and error messages still mention the "Experimental" browser. You can't access YouTube, for example, Twitter doesn't seem to work at all, and the New York Times is not readable. On books, three-level table of contents don't work on the Kindle, although they work on Kindle for PC. I had a very good experience emailing a PDF document downloaded from our local Planning Commission to the Kindle. Things you send to the Kindle arrive very fast. Amazon did, however, require me to verify myself as a sender before it would deliver email attachments to the Kindle, even though my email address is on the approved senders list at Amazon. Also plugging the Kindle to a PC lets you drag and drop supported document types (notably MOBI and PDF) to the Kindle where the immediately appear in your Library. The Send to Kindle for PC app is currently broken as reported by me and others on Amazon forums. The device is somewhat sluggish in general with a 1-second delay for most things: swipes, scrolls and navigation. That's certainly not something that would interfere with reading a book. There are so many different ways to navigate, that it can appear jumbled and confusing, plus the software updates I got changed everything, making me re-learn the UI. I think in the end that I will be accustomed to it and it will appear more natural. One severe limitation is that you cannot play audio files in general. While it supports Bluetooth headphones for books from Audible, it cannot play music or audio books in general. (I hope this is enhanced in a future software update.) So should you buy one of these? If you want to sit outdoors under a tree or at the beach for hours on end reading a book, a Kindle Paperwhite makes a lot of sense. The reading experience is good, it's visually sharp and the charge lasts a long time. If you want to listen to music, or do much of anything else you can do on a phone or a tablet computer, you're out of luck.

I bought this kindle back in 2023 and I still love using it! It's held up really well with consistent use, and has been so gentle and easy on the eyes. I love the ability to change the warmth and brightness. It doesn't quite feel like "paper" when the brightness is turned all the way up, but I don't mind it. It's thin, compact, and easy to bring around. Easy to set up, and overall a joy to use!

I am someone who believes that there is something profound and special about a physical book. My favorite part about a book is its smell. It's not wrong to describe the smell of walking into a Barnes & Noble as pure euphoria. New books smell like potential, beginnings, and the possibility of something grand. Old books smell like legends, ancient wisdom, or forgotten secrets. Books have a weight to them as well. It's reassuring to know that this book you're holding is real — it takes up physical space in the world and this makes it undeniable. It's as if the power of the stories and ideas within are so strong that they have materialized into matter out of the aether. It's hard for me to hold, say, a Bible without a sense of reverence and awe. Even today when I walk into a large library I can't help but feel like I have walked into a holy place — a place of worship. Being surrounded by books has the same effect on me that a Xanex has on others. Books have an impact on me. I love them. This is why, when I started reading on a Kindle over a year ago, it felt like I was committing adultery. This nasty little plastic screen inspired none of the feelings that books gave me. It took the magic of books and sacrificed it on the altar of consumer electronics. Despite these feelings, I continued to use it. Now I have read a little over fifty books using my Kindle. I still believe that the Kindle kills the magic that physical books have, and it does. But for the first time in a year, I decided to pick up a book in paperback and read it. This experience of going back to real books has made me realize a few things about the Kindle and myself. First off, I realized with horror that I am addicted to my Kindle and its features. The people who designed the Kindle did so with intent. The Kindle's sole purpose is to read books — there are no other apps on it, there are no intrusive ads, and there is nothing to distract you from reading. Honestly, the device is relatively primitive compared to other consumer electronics, but that is a design choice and not a flaw. I would argue it is even easier to get lost in a book using the Kindle than it is with a physical book. And then there are the features — the glorious features. My favorite feature by far is the built-in dictionary. When reading a physical book and coming across a word I didn't know the meaning of, assuming I couldn't intuit the meaning from context, I would have to mark my place in the book, put it to the side, pull out my phone, and Google the word. This is tedious. It also breaks my train of thought and forces me to use my dreadful phone with all of its notifications and apps and stuff that sends me into a panic and introduces into my reading time the potential to sidetrack myself. I hate that. With my Kindle, all I have to do is touch the word and a popup with the definition appears and is dismissed just as easily, and then I'm off reading again — an interruption that is barely even noticed and my attention remains intact. Even better is the fact that my Kindle keeps a list of all these words that I've looked up over time, and I can review them anytime. I look at it occasionally and quiz myself — this is my idea of 'fun'. Now I'm a big fan of writing in my books — I underline, highlight, and write in the margins constantly. If I ever need inspiration or if I'm trying to remember something I've read, I will thumb through the book I found it in until I eventually find it. Sometimes when I get bored I will sit in front of my bookshelf and go through the books I've read looking at all the passages I highlighted to refresh my memory on all those inspiring things that I read in years past. It's a little tedious but not too bad. This habit of highlighting is not lost to me while reading on my Kindle. You simply press and drag your finger across the passage which will highlight it. But that's not the best part: Kindle will keep up with everything I have highlighted and organize it all for me by the book it was found in. So at any given time, I can see all of my highlights in any of the books I have read, and I can even share them to my Goodreads profile! This gets me visibly excited. The last feature I want to talk about is the backlit screen. If you do any of your reading in bed then you probably have a bedside lamp or a flashlight or some other novel light source designed for books. Maybe it's just me but I find it difficult to get comfortable in bed and read a paperback at the same time. Either my spouse is annoyed by the light while she is trying to sleep or I can't find the perfect position that makes it both comfortable and easy to read. The Kindle has a backlit screen with adjustable lighting and a "warm" light setting. This means all other light sources in the room can be extinguished and I can still get my reading done. No book-light required. The Kindle is so lightweight that I can lay or recline in any position comfortably. No more fighting with those books whose binding is stiff and unyielding. So now we come to the point of this post. A confession. It's a confession to myself and the world. As much as this pains me to say: The Kindle offers a far superior reading experience over books. I said it. I don't like it any more than you do, but it is simply true. The onboard dictionary, the highlights, the backlit screen, the insane battery life (I charge this thing once a month), all of it together creates the most consuming and productive reading experience available. I still feel subtle pangs of guilt when I look at my bookshelf. I don't think that will ever go away for anyone who truly loves books. But now my bookshelf has become a kind of "greatest hits" display. I still buy all the best books I read, and I now consider my bookshelf as a place of honor for all the greatest books. But I think of my Kindle as another appendage on my body — I never go anywhere without it. I love books. I love my Kindle. To my fellow book lovers out there who are still opposed to the idea of a Kindle, I say that you can love both. It will be okay. The Kindle isn't evil after all.