I really like to read. Ever since I was little I would read pretty much anything around me. As a kid I would use up most of the hot water in the shower because I would read about the fantastic things the shampoo would do to my hair. The back of cereal boxes weren’t safe, either. Now that I think about it, I ate a lot of soggy cereal as a kid.

Of course, I began to read other things as I got older: comic books, fiction novels, magazines. I even learned to read music, which played a huge part in my life. I’m still friends with many of the people I met in the high school band. I even managed to marry the cute red-head who played clarinet. I like to read!

I still read as much as possible, but I don’t read as much as I’d like to. Life’s become pretty busy with the full time job, a minimum hour commute, blogs to update, and most importantly my new baby girl. But, I usually get to sneak in at least a good hour before bed. It’s an hour that easily turns into three and at least two “snoozes” on the alarm clock the next morning.

If you’ve read this site much, you’ve learned that I’m no stranger to technology either. I like gadgets and buttons and anything that adds a neat techno twist to my life. I rock the dual monitors at work, check my blackberry constantly, run a couple of web sites, and never get tired of reading about the next big thing. Maybe now you can see why I was so excited about to read about the Kindle and, more recently, the Kindle 2.

I wish I could say that I jumped on the Kindle train at the first “all aboard!” Unfortunately, I just couldn’t afford the extra expense… and that was before I had my first child! So I’ve been reading my paperbacks and forgetting about Amazon’s technical wonder. I’m pretty content with reading books “the old fashioned way,” but I feel that if I had a Kindle, I could read so much more!

I don’t know if many of you have ever held a book and read with one hand while snuggling a sleeping baby with the other. It’s not easy. A friend of mine pointed out how much easier that would be with a Kindle. I have to agree. Not to mention that the latest Kindle 2 will read to you. So when baby girl gets fussy, I can just turn on the “read to me” feature while I find the nearest pacifier. Another really cool thing is that I can use the Kindle to read bedtime stories. And when little Hannah is old enough to say, “read another!” I can just pull up the next story and read until she’s asleep. When she gets even older, she could probably use the “read to me” feature to practice reading. Of course, I’ll want my wife and I to help with reading as much as possible. But, I can see a familiar sort of independence developing and nothing but doing it herself will be satisfactory. :)

With all this considered, you can understand why I’m entering Julie Stratford’s Kindle 2 Giveaway. If I’m fortunate enough to win, I’m confident my reading schedule will never be the same!