Amazon Kindle review: I wish I'd bought one years ago

An e-reader post in 2025? It feels like most readers who would be interested in devices like the Amazon Kindle were sold on the idea a long time ago. But some - like myself - held on to physical books, preferring the printed word and taking a defiant stand against the digitisation of just about everything.

But then I surprised myself. This article is the story of how I begrudgingly bought an e-reader for practical reasons, settling on the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition 2024, and… found myself loving it. Even as a techie, this was a confusing purchase. There was a lot of conflicting information online, so I’ve tried to confirm as many of these small details as possible.

Turning to the dark side

I love physical books. Call me old fashioned, but I think there’s something romantic in travelling with an increasingly battered paperback, folding over corners to mark my place, and assembling a painstakingly curated and organised bookshelf to display my favourites. But I noticed that traditional books were increasingly bumping up against barriers in my everyday life:

• More of my reading time is now on public transport, where I have no privacy and it’s inconvenient to carry hardbacks and larger titles

• I like to take notes when I read non-fiction, but when I’m away from my desk it’s usually impossible to hold a book and a notebook at the same time - let alone a pen to write with

• I often intend to read on long-distance flights, but abandon my plans when the lights go out and my only option would be to turn on the overhead light and disturb my neighbours

You might notice that all of these problems could be solved by a lightweight ebook reader with a backlight - and I thought the same. I previously bounced off an e-reader (a Kobo) almost 15 years ago, but I read more frequently now than I did then. It felt like time to give digital books another chance, and some basic research suggested Amazon’s Kindle was the best place to start.

Choose your fighter

It’s not often that the buying process warrants much discussion in a review, but choosing a Kindle was complicated. Given that the audience for e-readers is broad and non-technical, I wouldn’t be surprised if Amazon is dropping sales because of just how difficult it is to compare the different models.

The base model is the Kindle (16GB). Then there’s the Kindle Paperwhite (16GB), which adds a bigger screen, a longer-lasting battery, and a warm light setting. At the premium end there’s the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (32GB), which has all that, along with wireless charging and auto brightness. I won’t complicate things with the Colorsoft or Scribe.

Most confusingly, some of these devices show adverts on their lock screens and some don’t - but while these are clearly labelled on Amazon (and can be removed post-purchase for a fee), third-party retailers’ descriptions are inconsistent. For example, both Argos and Currys note that their Paperwhite Signature Editions display ads, despite this being the top-end model.

In the end, the exact model I decided to buy was the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition 2024, purchased direct from Amazon to avoid the ad ambiguity. It cost £190, which felt a little steep, but I could stomach the investment for the extra features if I ended up using it daily.

Unboxing and setup

I know that ultimately it doesn’t matter, but don’t expect an Apple-style unboxing experience with the Kindle. The Paperwhite Signature Edition came in a tiny cardboard box, barely bigger than the device itself. It looked more like something you’d see hanging on a rack behind the counter than a premium electronics product that cost a couple of hundred pounds.

Inside was the device and a USB cable, and that was about it. My first impressions were that even the larger 7-inch model felt very small - much thinner and lighter than a book. All that stood between the initial power-on and usability was an Amazon login and a short setup progress bar.

I’d given Amazon permission to link the Kindle to my account on purchase, but it’s not exactly clear how that helped. For security reasons, they can’t send out devices pre-logged in to people’s accounts, so I still needed to sign in with my email, password, and multi-factor token. Perhaps I skipped some additional steps that would be required to register the device? I’m not sure.

Finding something to read

Before you can start reading, you need something to read. Amazon had automatically synced my two pre-existing Kindle purchases to the on-device library during setup, but I didn’t want to read either of those again, so I decided to go shopping for new digital titles to add to my collection.

The store interface was fairly swift to load, and I would say it has a slightly clearer layout than Amazon’s desktop site, but it suffers from the same main issue: it’s awful to peruse and discover new books. Recommendations are way out, and it’s too difficult to get a simple list of products within a category - even more so if you’re trying to filter for those on Kindle Unlimited.

It's hard to find a book you want to read on Amazon unless you heard about it elsewhere

You might be wondering what became of that free trial, and whether I’ll be paying for Kindle Unlimited once it ends. The answer is… probably not. The service allows you to read a subset of Amazon’s library, but aforementioned lack of discoverability means it’s hard to find a title you want to read unless you luck out and a book you heard about elsewhere happens to be included.

But that’s how I tend to find new books: via recommendations, other books, and podcasts. If you prefer to browse a bookshop until something catches your eye then you might be put out, but since I know what I’m looking for, the Kindle Store does a serviceable job. Just be warned - there are no baskets here. That “Buy for £x.xx” button will immediately charge your card.

Turning the page

The main reading UI is what you’d expect. The default font is much larger than a normal book, but after adjusting styles and sizes I reached something equivalent to a regular paperback. The display is as clear as reading on paper, and does a good job of adapting its brightness to its surroundings, even if I sometimes need to tilt it to avoid glare from the semi-glossy coating.

Navigation involves tapping the screen - the left side to go back, right to go forward, and the top to open the menu. Pages load near-instantly, with a negative-style effect to indicate the change. You can also double-tap the back of the device to turn the page, but I found this more of an annoyance than anything when adjusting my grip or reading on public transport.

A key feature for me is the ability to mark passages by tapping and dragging. This solved my notepad conundrum, enabling me to read non-fiction away from my desk while keeping notes. A nice touch is that your “clippings” are automatically stored as a separate document in your library for easy review.

That said, more customisation would be nice - for example, being able to rename the resulting document, or create a file per book. I also dislike Amazon’s decision to add a social element to highlights, where popular passages are underlined to draw your attention. Reading is a personal activity, and I’m wary of outside opinions influencing my view of a book.

Battery and connectivity

The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition’s battery seems more than capable. I charged it to 100 percent on receipt, and it decreased by about 5 percent in around 90 minutes of reading on my daily commutes. Extrapolating from there, I’d estimate it could last approximately 30 hours in total.

It might also be useful for readers to know that the Kindle never turns off. It is either active, locked (showing either book-themed images, covers, or ads, depending on your edition and settings), or asleep. It takes a few seconds to wake from the latter mode, but not so long that I’d consider it inconvenient.

Before buying, I also read that newer Kindles were less friendly when it comes to backing up your books and adding custom documents. I can only assume those reviewers were using MacOS, because when I connected the Kindle to my Windows system via USB it mounted instantly. Files are visible through the OS, but management is even easier with a tool like Calibre.

Lastly, I’ll note that the Kindle does have limited functionality beyond reading books, including a simple web browser. Don’t get your hopes up too high, however - given the nature of the device and screen, it’s only capable of handling basic, text-focused sites like this blog. Still, it might be an option for distraction-free article reading if you can tolerate a little lag.

A catalyst for reading

Parts of this review felt more negative than I anticipated, but on reflection I think that’s because the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is such a focused device. To be a worthwhile purchase, all it needs to do is display ebooks clearly, and it does that perfectly well and with an ample battery life.

But is it worth you buying a Kindle? That will depend on how much you read, and how much you would read if you had one. If your problems mirror mine then it will open up lots more reading time, but if you’ve always struggled to pick up a book full stop, I doubt it will be enough to change your habits.

Personally speaking, buying a Kindle has removed so many obstructions to my reading that I feel like I was missing out all the time I didn’t have one. Kindles and other e-readers have been on the edge of my awareness for years, but I enjoyed physical books too much to give in to the digital future. But now I’m holding one in my hands, I wish I’d bought it a long time ago.