.: Kindle, an Essential Tool

 

Yes, the first review in this study of Leadership in Literature really is on Amazon’s Kindle. We don’t find this at all out of place. Kindle is an essential tool required to enable this study. It is so essential that, rather than read a book for this study that is not available on Kindle, we set it aside and wait for it to become available. There is something to be said for the feel of the hand turning a page and the smell of a good book in the olfactory; but, Kindle by far makes up for the loss of these sensory attractions of traditional reading with its features that effortlessly transform the reading experience into a learning experience.

Kindle’s built in New Oxford American Dictionary enables the reader to look up every unfamiliar word and expand vocabulary by simply maneuvering the curser in front of the word. Let’s face it. We could all do this with a traditional dictionary; but, how often do we actually take the time and make the effort? The frequent use of a traditional dictionary while reading is just too distracting when compared to the quick use of Kindle's built in dictionary.

Interactive reading, or reading with a pen for marking key passages and writing annotations, is one of the keys to learning from reading. John Adams’s annotations in a copy of Mary Wollstonecraft’s French Revolution totaled over 12,000 words. Kindle enhances the effectiveness of interactive reading by allowing the reader to make the same markings and annotations, available in a list that enables navigation of a book like a second table of contents created by the reader. This list is available for each book and in a consolidated list for all the books on the Kindle. This Kindle feature puts all the key content in all of the books read on Kindle, quickly available to the reader at any time using familiar links--created by the reader for the reader. Kindle also automatically marks passages in books that have been marked by multiple other readers. This feature helps the reader ensure that key contents of a book are never skimmed over. Add to this Kindle’s keyword search feature that allows searching a single book, all the books on the Kindle, online encyclopedias, and the web, and now we have a true interactive reading experience.

Finally, Kindle makes it possible for the reader to take every book read along for reference anytime, anywhere. All of these features combined make the Kindle an essential tool for Leadership in Literature.  Readers whose interest is expanding their minds by internalizing, and applying, the knowledge and wisdom in literature take note; Kindle is an essential tool.