I haven’t been on-board with e-readers from the beginning. I’m a traditionalist in that right, and there’s nothing better than cracking the spine and sniffing the pages of a brand new book.

However, I was gifted a hand-me-down original Kindle for Christmas this year (previous owner is now the proud papa of an iPad), and nostalgia aside, I’m a little tempted by the convenience of it. Using the amazon.com site, it’s easy to pick books and automatically sync them with the Kindle. Like magic, when you turn on your e-reader, the latest book order is just there!

That said, I haven’t found some other features of the Kindle that easy to use so far–potentially issues that have been addressed with the new Kindle Fire upgrade.

For example, a lit agent recently offered me a comp book for review, but she’d only pass me the e-reader file. It was next to impossible for me to get the file to open on my Kindle without downloading new software on to my computer. To avoid computer memory bog-down, I tried to email the file to myself and open it on the Kindle. Logging into Gmail was extremely difficult as I had only cursor arrows and the menu button to navigate the web page.

Suggestions for a new e-reader? Or did any of you get an upgrade this year that you find easier to use?

Sarah Ann Noel is a freelance writer, blogger, and public relations professional. She blogs “Read Alert” every week and covers other Denver-related events and thoughts on writing and motherhood on her personal blog. Check back every week for reviews, literary events, and other bookish finds.