Kindle Paperwhite (2021) Review
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Kindles and e-readers of all kinds have been on the market and popular for nearly 20 years now. I’m late to the party––I know! But there were a number of reasons why I initially didn’t want to make the switch from hardcopy to Kindle:
I love the feel of a hard copy.
I often write in my books.
I’m attached to the process of collecting books and building a library with each new read.
I said “what the hell" and I got one anyway. And let me tell you…never before has a device transformed my life like this Kindle did! And no––it’s not just the novelty of having a new thing. I’ve been using my 2021 Kindle Paperwhite for a month and a half and the magic is still there.
So, if you’ve been debating changing up your bulky and expensive habit of purchasing hardcovers, I’m here to share a couple reasons why you should consider going the Kindle route.
Big Takeaways:
Portability
Durability
Size & Weight
Screen
Battery
Affordability
Portability.
It’s easy to bring everywhere which makes it easy to read everywhere.
I’m a digital nomad, so it’s not exactly an option to be lugging around a big bag of books all the time.
Living out of a suitcase means I have to limit myself to carrying two or three books max, and then there’s the matter of leaving books behind when I want to swap out the old ones for a new read. With my Kindle, I can carry literally thousands of books with me at once.
I’m whipping it out at the doctor’s office, while I’m waiting for an oil change, and even while I’m waiting in a long line at Trader Joe’s. I always tried to carry a book on me for moments like these, but too many times I’d sit down in a waiting room and open my bag only to realize that I either:
a) brought the wrong book,
b) finished the book and had nothing else to read, or
c) just didn’t want to read the exact book that I had in my bag.
But that’s not a problem when you have all of your books in the same place! If I finish the book I’m reading or if I want to switch to a different read, I just tap tap tap and boom––problem solved.
2. Durability.
The 2021 Kindle Paperwhite is scratchproof, smashproof, and waterproof.
I don’t consider myself a clumsy person, but I’ve dropped this thing, sat on it, accidentally swung it against the wall in my bag, and spilled hot coffee all over it. Alright…maybe I’m just the teensiest bit clumsy. But low and behold…it has survived without any damage.
I am super impressed by how this thing is properly waterproof! They say that you can dunk it in freshwater for an hour before causing damage, which seems ridiculous. I’ve never casually forgotten mine in the bottom of the tub, but I can’t say it’s not a luxury to know I don’t need to worry about that! More realistically, I love that I can accidentally spill a drink on my Kindle or dip it in the pool without scrambling to search for a bag of rice.
I did purchase a super simple sleeve to keep it safer when it’s in my bag, but I don’t have a case on the actual device. If you want a super simple but cute (and inexpensive) sleeve, here’s the link to the one I bought on Amazon!
3. Size & Weight.
It’s small enough and light enough to hold comfortably for hours on end.
My first ebook experience was with my iPad years ago, and that failed for a few reasons, one of them being that holding a full size iPad in one hand for more than 10 minutes is just uncomfortable. The 2021 Kindle Paperwhite is barely heavier than my iPhone, and God knows I could scroll on that thing for days if I wanted to.
But the Kindle has replaced doom scrolling for me. Instead of liquifying my brain with an hour of Instagram Reels before I go to bed, now I pull out my Kindle and read a few chapters instead.
While it’s easy to hold in one hand and use my thumb to tap the page flip, I do have to use both hands if I want to access any of the top or left side commands (return to library, page back, adjust settings, etc.). The 2021 Paperwhite does not have page turn buttons on the right side like some other Kindle models, but this hasn’t been a real issue for me.
4. Screen
The 2021 Paperwhite has adjustable brightness and temperature settings.
This. Okay. This is a huge advantage for me. I was surprised to learn that not all Kindle models have adjustable brightness and temperature settings. The 2021 Paperwhite does not have automatic brightness mode, but it does have an automatic temperature setting (as well as manual temperature adjustment, of course). You can also invert black and white to manually activate dark mode, which I prefer as my default, and it doesn’t mess with the automatic temperature schedule.
Like I said, I love reading before bed, but I don’t love having a lamp on or having a bright LCD screen in my face right before I sleep. It’s true what the wellness girlies say about your eyes being exposed to too much light before bed. With my Kindle on minimal brightness and dark mode, I can read before bed without disrupting my sleep schedule.
5. Battery
The battery lasts so long that I forgot it had to be charged.
The first (and only) time that I completely ran out of charge on my Kindle, I thought it was broken. I just completely forgot that it isn’t a magical device that runs forever and ever on one charge.
The 2021 Paperwhite has about 35 hours of battery life, but it lasts longer if you use low brightness and/or dark mode. This means that you can read for half an hour per day for ten whole weeks before having to plug it in.
6. Affordability
At $139, the 2021 Kindle Paperwhite is the perfect mid-range option.
Kindles can range from $99-249 depending on features and year of release, so there are plenty of options, but the 2021 Paperwhite is the perfect pick for anyone looking for a newer model that won’t break the bank.
There are a couple add-ons that will change the price depending on your preferences, but at it’s most expensive, the 2021 Paperwhite will set you back $169.
I have the 16GB version, which costs just $10 more than the 8GB version. While I doubt I’ll ever fill up the first 8GB, it just makes sense to pay the extra ten bucks for double the storage. (16GB will fit around 10,000 books!)
With any Kindle purchase, you’ll also receive 3 months of free Kindle Unlimited––Amazon’s ebook subscription service.
On Kindle Unlimited…
I was excited for the bonus of 3 months free Kindle Unlimited, but when I went to search for titles to download, I was super underwhelmed at how many books on my TBR list weren’t in the Kindle Unlimited library.
There are tons of indie author & small press books available for download, so that was great! But as for critically-acclaimed and bestselling reads, the options on Kindle Unlimited are––pun intended––limited. That’s why I turned to Libby.
Also, can we talk about how lovely it is to have the “library experience” in 2024? I don’t know about you guys, but I missed the anticipation of having a book on hold and the excitement of having the library tell you, “It’s ready!”
The urgency of needing to finish my book in 14 days has incentivized me to read much more. I truly missed all of the aspects of going to the library except for the fact that I had to get up and drive to the library. So the Kindle + Libby combo is the perfect solution!
What I don’t like about the Kindle:
The touch responsiveness of Kindle screens does not compare to the responsiveness of an iPad or smartphone. It’s a little bit slow and tedious to type and scroll for titles on the Kindle itself. Fortunately, you can just use the Kindle or Amazon app on your phone in order to send downloaded books straight to your Kindle library.
I love annotating my books with a pen, and the Kindle annotation & highlighting features just aren’t the same. There is the option of the Kindle Scribe, which comes with a stylus and handwritten annotation features, but I’ve never liked the feel of writing with a stylus…so this is the one real downside of switching to Kindle for me.
You have to pay an extra $20 to remove adds from the lock screen! This is the case with all Kindles and it’s truly an infuriating feature. That being said, I suggest biting the bullet and just paying for the ad-free version so that you’re only infuriated about this during the initial purchase and not every single time you look at your lock screen.