Carol,

Like you I'm an avid reader, at pool, beach and balcony, and I generally plow through five or six books over a two week island stay.

I used to load my carry-on with four or five good sized books every trip, until the time DH went to place the carry-on in the overhead bin on the plane for me. He complained about the weight of the bag and suggested I might be importing bricks in it and asked, "Why?" <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" /> As I was unpacking I put all five books in a pile and lifted them myself and I couldn't believe the extra weight of the books . Since them I'm sold on my kindle, mine being one of the original earliest versions. I appreciate how handy it is, particularly for traveling. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />