In the weeks leading up to Mother’s Day, my younger daughter could not keep herself from frequent gleeful exclaimations about how much I was going to love my gift. After she dropped a few innocuous hints, I warned her that she’d better quit, or I was going to figure out my surprise. And I have to admit that one of the possibilities I’d considered turned out to be what I received: an Amazon Kindle e-reader. That certainly didn’t diminish my pleasure at unwrapping this wonderful new toy, though! I’ve always been an avid reader, and I’ve observed the introduction and improvements of e-readers over the last few years with great interest. I recall that the Kindle was voted the Best Travel Gadget in Global Traveler‘s GT Tested Awards in 2009 (and was third in 2010). I’m not one to purchase myself new gadgets, though; all my most recent technological acquisitions, from cell phones to iPods, have been gifts. I am more than ready to embrace this one, though, you can be sure. My husband only somewhat jokingly refers to the stack of books in our bedroom as “Patty’s branch library.” I’m looking forward to shrinking that pile and loading up my Kindle with all sorts of goodies, including periodicals, newspapers and travel guides. I’m already anticipating the ease of taking several “books” with me on trips without the weight and bulk of the paper kind. I’ve only just begun reviewing the user’s guide and features of my reader. At more than 100 pages, I have a feeling I won’t get through the entire guide. Knowing how these things go, I’ll get comfortable with the basics and not move beyond downloading books and using the dictionary feature on occasion. I’m afraid I’ll be missing out on getting the most out of this handy device, though, so I’m asking for some tips and guidance from other readers out there. What features do you most use and enjoy with your e-reader? Have you found it a good way to access travel info on the go? And, of course, I’m always open to recommendations as to what to read; time to build up my new branch library! — Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor