Rave reviews and complaints galore abound all over the blogosphere about Amazon’s Kindle, the new portable book reader, which only weights 10.3 ounces - far less than the weight of the three or four books I typically carry on vacations or even short trips across the state.

The Kindle’s price tag at $399 may seem steep for some - but once you consider that the price of Kindle’s book offerings average 50-65% off print prices, you’ll be able to purchase more books for the same price that you would have spent on “real” books! Additionally, there’s no cost for the wireless access!

Unlike reading books on your Palm Pilot or Smartphone, you just use the wireless connection built-in to Kindle and the QWERTY keyboard to shop for books at the Kindle Store - and within a minute, you will have it delivered to your Kindle!

Not sure if you want a book that you’ve heard about? Download and read the first chapters of books for free before you buy.

Books not your thing? The Kindle also has many popular newspapers, such as the The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post and top magazines including TIME, Atlantic Monthly, and Forbes—all auto-delivered wirelessly; plus Top international newspapers from France, Germany, and Ireland; Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine, and The Irish Times—all auto-delivered wirelessly.

Blogs on Kindle: More than 250 top blogs from the worlds of business, technology, sports, entertainment, and politics, including BoingBoing, Slashdot, TechCrunch, ESPN’s Bill Simmons, The Onion, Michelle Malkin, and The Huffington Post—all updated wirelessly throughout the day.

Pros of Kindle:

• Lightweight access to books - no more lugging heavy books through airports!
• Free wireless access to Kindle Store and Wikipedia.
• “Realistic” reading experience thanks to “electronic paper” technology.
• Long battery life - estimated to last up to one week with wireless off, and up to 48 hours with wireless on.
• Email files to yourself to read on your Kindle.

Cons of Kindle:

• Looks clunky and ugly - definitely needs a style upgrade!
• Pricetag - up-front costs may make it cost prohibitive for most shoppers.
• You can only use Kindle’s books on the device - no downloading from audible.com or your local library!
• No way to share Kindle books between Kindle devices.
• If you live in an area without Whispernet, you will be unable to use Kindle.

My brief look at the Kindle left me wanting something a bit less expensive and full-featured; but the early adopter in me is counting her pennies until she can get a Kindle for herself for Christmas!

Google Reader has just started offering “Top Recommendations” on its homepage. This section lists feeds that you might be interested in, but aren’t subscribed to yet.

After clicking “View all”, you can see the entire list that has been computer generated for you thanks to an algorithm that aggregates your Google Reader subscriptions, Google Search history and location.

Information included for each feed include the estimated number of subscribers and average number of posts per week.

To the right is a screenshot of the box that is now located on the Google Reader homepage in the upper right hand corner.

For more information, take a look at: How do feed recommendations work?

I forgot how fun it is to share your desktop screenshots with other people. It’s a great way to find out more about the personality behind the blog or emails. Currently, I’m using a desktop wallpaper from wallpaperstock.net - it’s called Christmas Tux.

I’m tagging:

• LinkyLove
• Gadget Girl Accessories
• Everybody Go To
• Munny4Hunny