Review of my CoverUp Kindle cover

I wanted a leather (not PU) cover for my Kindle so that I could feel less stressed about taking it out and about. After a couple of false starts, I bought the Cover-Up Amazon Kindle 4 Leather Cover Case (Book Style) – Red

[Yes, there will be THE most hideous colour clash in my handbag if I move back to the pink baroque filofax, but let’s not go there… I’m using a black Cavendish filofax at the moment and my retina is surviving so far.]

CoverUp Kindle cover

So far I am happy with it. The Kindle slides in to the RHS (rather than being held in elastic straps at the corners) and there is also a small flap that tucks in at the top to hold the Kindle even more securely (although it’s quite a tight fit and I would be amazed if the Kindle could ever fall out without the flap). There are spaces around all the buttons and ports to allow easy access and the closure strap is on the LHS and so doesn’t interfere with the forward/reverse buttons on the RHS of the Kindle – something I hadn’t thought about until I read a few reviews.

The exterior is red leather and quite solid. The interior is lined with a self-striped fabric on the left and black leather on the right-hand side. The cover closes with a strap which has a magnetised press-stud and on the front there is the brand name embossed quite subtly in the leather. All the stitching is in a contrast cream colour (which is okay but not my preference – I would have preferred that it matched) and the whole cover seems very well made.

Strap closure on LHS so doesn't interfere with the buttons

And how am I getting on with the Kindle? I’ve already posted about it and haven’t much to add except that I am really enjoying being able to download free samples of books, allowing me to read a reasonable amount before choosing to buy (or not) and I am also loving downloading small things – like an introduction to a topic. These are usually free or just pence and I would never have bought them as small pamphlets and carried them around on the off-chance that I would have 5-10 minutes to look at them, but of course, that’s easy-peasy to do with the Kindle.

Being able to set the font size, style and spacing is also proving a delight as I have found a setting which is easy on the eye. In some of the (real) books I have, the font is quite small or the line-spacing quite tight and it has not been a pleasure to read these books. Weighty classics are often the worst offenders so it has been a boon to be able to get most of them for free/pence and be sure that I will be comfortable reading them.

All in all:

I’m glad I bought both this Kindle cover and the Kindle itself. I won’t be abandoning real books, but I am loving being able to read both weighty classics at a decent font size and little ‘quick and snappy’ things that I wouldn’t otherwise have ever read.

Traitorous thoughts

I am passionate about books, paper, stationery… I am the kind of woman who whilst looking through a glossy magazine will get utterly distracted by the notebook on the desk in the photographs and wonder where it’s from, missing the point that the article is about a fabulous loft-conversion.

I have a drawer full of notebooks. I love to write by hand, using fountain pens and high quality paper. I adore books – I own far too many and relish the sight of their serried rows in a room I (genuinely!) call The Library.

So why am I thinking about getting a Kindle? Those who know me have heard me say that I didn’t think I would ever go for an eBook in comparison with holding The Real Thing in my hand. But, for the last few days, not only have I been reading about the relative virtues of the different eReaders, but I have been cruising the Kindle store, noting down books I could get, deciding which cover I might buy and looking forward to ordering it all (just waiting, in the slim hope they will be reduced in the January sales).

I am a traitor.

Well, I might be a traitor but I am also a reader who already has arthritis in her thumbs, a point which has been driven home to me this week as I have been reading a paperback that weighs 500g! Which has led me towards wondering whether when it comes to some of the mightier tomes, an eReader would be more manageable. Also, when I am travelling, it would be lighter to take with me than the several books I would normally pack.

Buying an eReader wouldn’t make me replace the books I have, nor prevent me from buying more, but then, who said it had to be either/or? After all, possessing a laptop has not stopped me in any way from handwriting anything.

Comments? Advice?