SO I’VE HAD MY KINDLE 2 for about a month now, and I’ve read quite a few books, both fiction and nonfiction on it, as well as the Financial Times, which I subscribed to, and InstaPundit. What do I think?

Reading a book on the Kindle is every bit as engrossing as reading a book on paper. I’ve enjoyed the stuff I’ve read just as much, and it’s just as easy. In dim light it’s better — you can boost the text size to read in light that would be too dim for a small-print paperback. Reading the FT is fine. Reading InstaPundit . . . well, it’s okay. I don’t think the blog translates as well to the Kindle. You can follow links, but you often wind up on a website that doesn’t display very well on the Kindle.

Using it in public places — cafes, restaurants, even once at the car wash — I’ve been surprised that most of the people who approach me to ask about it are women. (I’ve noticed this with the little netbook computers, too.) Women aren’t generally that interested in gadgets, but the Kindle is one they like. “It fits in my purse,” is a common remark. It’s perhaps a coincidence, but every one of these women has had an iPhone already — was that some sort of “gateway gadget?” The Kindle 2 does seem sort of Apple-like in design.