Yay! (You will love it.) Not to mention the clutter-control is beyond great! ;) You know, I always take a lot of books too, and even had one to take with me this time while we're on the road. I decided to read it while I was still at home, and only take my Kindle. (I need those audio books however!) It's hard to downsize sometimes, but I'm down to a briefcase size rollerbag and a tote bag for three weeks. (I keep trying to pare things down, but you need a certain amount.) The Kindle should help things immensely! After you get some reading in, let us know how you like the page, visually. Initially, I wasn't sure I'd really like it myself, but find it's fine. I thought having the page backlit might help, but not having that as a feature really saves on the battery. Remember to turn your Wireless OFF when you're not using it. It saves tremendously on the battery and you'll be able to read for a very long time!

Jannie, are you close enough to another county to check that library system? That might be the way to go. As someone who tends to be a critical reader, I find it useful to check the negative reviews on Amazon. If they say the book is badly in need of an editor (or assorted other complaints), I know I won't enjoy it. The positive reviews could be sincere, or they could be written by friends of the author. That sort of thing is done all the time.

socks, you can keep a library (Overdrive) sourced Kindle book and keep reading it on a Kindle reader for months and months IF (and only if) you turn off your data signal (whether Wifi or through a cell carrier). It's through that sign on that the Amazon site is contacted and the deadlines for library downloads are enforced and overdue ones get deleted. How you make that work is by downloading several books at a time, read them all with the data signal off, then connect and download several more. Repeat as desired. chisue, while there are Overdrive apps for different tablets and PCs, you can only check out library books from libraries where you have an account. But different libraries have different/nonidentical Overdrive subscriptions so you're likely to find books on the Hawaii Library Overdrive site that may not be available from your home library and vice versa. You can download Overdrive material from anywhere. Several of my kids have spent time living abroad and they were able to continue to download Overdrive-sourced Kindle and audio books using their US library accounts.

Olychick - I loved that book too. It's extraordinary how the writer was able to achieve the education that she did considering her background. And Rhizo and Socks - I really enjoyed those books as well. After I finished Defending Jacob, I was really tempted to re-read the book so I could experience it as an entirely different story after having read the conclusion. Right now I'm reading Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon that is set in Northern Scotland in the early 1900's. The book is a bit challenging to read with its many Scottish words, but this is not detracting from its appeal. Waiting in the wings is Disoriental by Negar Djavadi, a book translated from the French. Other books I read - A Strangeness in My Mind by Orhan Pamuk, translated from the Turkish. Because of almost full face covering worn by women and the strict separation between the sexes, a young man unknowingly marries the older sister of the young woman he expects to marry. It also describes the complexity of life in Turkey in the late 1900's. Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran. A well-to-do Indian-American couple are unable to have a child and are given the young son of a detained Mexican immigrant to care for. The book compellingly shows the struggles of both foster parents and mother.