Did you know that Kindle is free?  Okay, well maybe not the fancy actual Kindle.  But just because you don't have one of the Kindle devices doesn't mean you can't take advantage of the Kindle service.  Kindle has apps for PC's, smartphones, mac, iPads, tablets, android and more!  You can read Kindle books and other materials using your phone or computer.  This is what I do--I have Kindle installed on my iPhone and on my computer.   What exactly is Kindle?  Why would the average person be interested in Kindle instead of the old-fashioned paperback book?  Well, being a person who loves books myself, it was hard for me to wrap my mind around this concept as well.  I never thought I'd prefer a digital book to a paperback.  But it is quickly growing on me!  First, I can have multiple books on my Kindle app at any given time.  Fiction, how-to, biography, children's books, self-help books...they all reside on my Kindle app.  If I find myself sitting somewhere with ten minutes to spare, I can open up my Kindle app and start reading--and I have a healthy selection to meet whatever mood I'm in!  Even more, when I hear of a great book I'd like to read, I don't have to wait until I can get to a bookstore to find it--by which time I've usually forgotten exactly what the title or author was.  Instead I simply open the Kindle app, navigate to the store, touch a few buttons and the voila! The book is on my phone!  Even more, I've often found the Kindle version to be cheaper than the paperback.  I've also heard people mention how much better for the environment Kindle and ebooks in general are.  When you can hold 30 books in a small device instead of all the paper and processing normally required--think of what that means for the environment.  Not to mention the extra room in your bookshelves. Kindle is a lot more than books.  There are magazines, blogs, newspapers and more.  Time magazine, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the LA Times and many others are available on Kindle.  Like reading foreign newspapers but hate the price of the special order subscription?  My husband reads the London Times on his Kindle app for only $10 a month.  Got a college student?  They can even download textbooks onto their Kindle app!  They don't need to carry around huge stacks of textbooks--it is available on Kindle.  You can even highlight text and write notes in the Kindle app! The Kindle software and apps are free to download--as are many books! Get started by downloading the right software or app for your device, then try one of these free books.  

• 101 Things You Didn't Know About Irish History
• Circle of Friends Cookbook 25 Slow Cooker Recipes: Exclusive online cookbook
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
• Pride and Prejudice
• John Wooden's Winning Ways (Insights From Great Business Minds)

  Kindle is also the perfect place for self-publishing.  Many new and small authors self-publish their books using Kindle.  I do--it is the first place my savings guide sold.  It is a great way to allow independent authors to publish their works without needing to go through the lengthy process of finding an agent or a publisher.   I am by no means throwing out all my books.  There's something to be said for the feeling of holding a book in your hands, the smell of the paper and having that collection of books in your home.  But for the casual book--the one you'll read once and then throw out--the Kindle is a great solution.  One of my favorite ways to use it is to store the how-to or help manuals on it, then open them right to the section I need when I'm in the middle of trying to do something.  I've also found it to be a great resource for entertaining the kiddos at the drop of a hat.