Reading My First E-Book: MAX ON LIFE

When a friend mentioned that she received free books from BookSneeze® - on condition she review them on her blog, I was intrigued. So I checked out the website and signed up. At the time, the only book that interested me was available only in e-book format... (What to do? Electronic readers hold no interest for me. I love paper books too much!)

But then, remembering that my computer has a program called Kindle for PC, I decided to download the book and try reading it on my computer... (After all, it was free!) Which is how I happened to read Max Lucado's Max on Life as an e-book, on my computer.

My Book Review:

Max on Life is a collection of questions on spiritual matters. ("Dear Max" rather than "Dear Abby.") The questions are grouped (Lucado-style) in topics starting with H: Hope, Hurt, Help, Him/Her, Home, Haves/Have-Nots, Hereafter. (Max Lucado loves alliteration!)

After spending several hours manoevering myself around this e-book, I was disappointed both with the format and the contents of Max on Life.

Unlike a novel, this book is more of a reference tool - answers to questions one might ask. So a more detailed table of contents, with a list of all the questions under each "H" topic would have been helpful. And a hyperlink between the question (in the table of contents) and the page that addresses the question would make the e-book more user-friendly.

A good book builds up a kind of tension that makes us want to read more. But there was very little connection between the questions, so I never found myself asking: I wonder what comes next? In addition, each question is summarized in a single sentence, so, unlike in "Dear Abby," the personality of the questioner does not come through.

The uninspiring font and format of each page made me feel that I was reading a rough draft, rather than a finished copy. The teacher/editor in me kept wanting to make suggestions!

The most interesting part of the book, for me, was the Addendum on writing, entitled "The Write Stuff" which answered the question: "Should I try to be a Christian WRITER?" by reminding would-be writers that books travel farther (in time and space) than people. And that it is more important to BE A CHRISTIAN who writes.

How did I like the Kindle for PC format? It took me some time to adjust - I intuitively wanted to touch the screen to turn the page (as I would on an electronic reader) rather than reach for my mouse. When I tried to use the mouse-pad on the keyboard, nothing went right. For some reason, the Kindle for PC only worked properly when I attached an external mouse.

Will I read another book in Kindle for PC format? Not unless I really want to read it - and it's available only as an e-book.