InventHelp’s Invention Girl has a steady residence these days, but during my freer college years I’d move to a new neighborhood as nonchalantly as some folks change passwords. Navigating furniture around any odd angle is my specialty, but my least favorite part of moving is lifting boxes of heavy books.

In my collections are some of my favorite paperbacks, old classics that I inherited from my grandmother, and some terribly bulky college textbooks. After moving my books more times than I can count, I decided to donate most of them to charity and join the library.

Luckily for college students and nomads today, there’s Amazon.com’s Kindle Electronic Reader. Released last year amidst much fanfare, the Kindle was invented to make reading more convenient and eco-friendly. Just one compact, handheld Kindle can hold up to 200 books!

More than a quarter million units have been sold to date. Its texts account for a shocking 10 percent of Amazon.com’s book sales, suggesting that people are becoming more and more accustomed to the idea of reading text on a screen thanks to inventions like the Blackberry and iPhone.

Although InventHelp’s Invention Girl loves the clutter-killing idea of the Kindle, I think I’ll keep my account at the library for now. The Kindle retails for about $360, while my library membership is free. Plus, call me a traditionalist, but I like the feeling of accomplishment that I get when I finally reach the back cover of a long, heavy novel!

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3. Book Worms Enjoy Tech Geek Benefits
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5. Electronic Paper Invention Debuts in Tokyo