Before I Fall
by Lauren Oliver
★★★★☆
Everyone has reviewed this book, so I’m going to skip the big review and talk more about the fact that this was my very first Kindle read. I got a Kindle for Christmas but have been resisting the whole e-book thing for so long that I couldn’t just switch over immediately. I’ve read e-books before, but it was on my iPhone or through e-mail using DailyLit.com. That’s different in my mind, because it’s a way to read when I have no other option. A Kindle is something I could read at home on the couch, and I would rather just pick up a “real” book.
I wanted to dive in though and to do that I needed to find the right gateway book. People kept telling me to pick a fast read for my first Kindle book. I also wanted a book that I didn’t think I would want to keep to re-read. After reading hundreds of reviews about various books, I finally chose Before I Fall and it was perfect. I started it and couldn’t put it down, which was exactly what I wanted. It made me think of it as picking up my book, not picking up my e-reader.
The book itself is great. It opens with Sam, a popular high school senior, dying in a car wreck. The rest of the book is Sam repeating that same day over and over. It really is Mean Girls meets Groundhog’s Day, as so many have described it. The characters are addictive and the plot never pauses. I was worried that the repetitive premise would get old fast, but it never did.
I would recommend both the book and finding a fast read if you’re struggling to pick up your e-reader. I think a good mystery would work well too. I’m never going to stop reading regular books, but not I’m more comfortable picking up my Kindle.
**SIDENOTE: I am struggling with the price of e-books. Unless it’s a book I know I’ll love or a special edition (hello Penguin hardcovers), I almost never spend $10 to $15 on a single book. I read way too much to be able to afford that. I use PaperBackSwap, used bookstores and library book sales and average about $2 per book.
I’ve checked out eBookFling, but so far I’m not impressed. It seems like the vast majority of books I want to read either aren’t available for lending at all or there just aren’t any available at the moment. Until library books become available on Kindles (which I hear will happen by the end of the year), I won’t be reading too many books on my e-reader.
Do you guys have any Kindle tips?
