I bought a Kindle for my non-tech mom for Christmas.
First hurdle was passed when she didn't balk at the concept. She immediately opened the box and had me sit with her to get started.
Things stalled a bit when the first book I picked for her (Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society) wasn't something she could get in to.
She was more familiar with Sue Grafton, so we downloaded "T is for Trespass" which she proceeded to read and then asked to select another book.
So looking through my purchases on Content Manager, we selected "Three Cups of Tea". She was still reading it when I left.
When I got home, I pushed more books to her Kindle and sent her an email to let her know...A week later, I look and she still hadn't downloaded them
Today, I asked why she hadn't turned the Kindle on and she said "I wanted something quick and easy to read, so I went to the bookstore and bought some books"
So we went through her purchases and found that all of them were cheaper on the Kindle
She named another book she wanted and was surprised that I bought it and sent it to her Kindle all while we were talking.
So, my guess is that she won't ever buy books herself from Amazon but as long as she can tell me what books she wants, I'll buy them and push for her.
Pros for Mom:
1) She loves that she can read without glasses for the first time in decades
2) She reads a lot of fluff novels but skips the long descriptive parts..she says its easier to skim on the Kindle
3) WHISPERNET (if she had to hook it up to the computer, she'd never use it)
4) We can share books easier than ever before
Things that would make it easier for her:
1) She wishes that the description found on the back of the book was there when she opens it up so she can see if its one she feels like reading at the moment
2) She still hasn't grasped the separate Content Manager and wishes she could remove books from her home page.
3) She still hasn't grasped sleep mode and often loses her place when putting it down. I think it would be simpler to just have the on/off button on the front for her (myself, I would prefer it over sleep mode because its a one handed operation and thus easier to use).
4) She finds all the keys and functions and the manual confused her more. Truthfully, she won't use most of the features. I may write her a Kindle Basics 101.
5) She is afraid of taking it with her outside of the home and losing it.
So while this isn't another "I love my Kindle" story yet, it still has the potential to be. I figured there was a 50/50 chance of it going back to Amazon when I bought it. (She is definitely not the type to use something if she's not interested.) She's intrigued enough that she hasn't suggested returning it and is still plugging along. Hopefully, with practice, using it will become second nature to her.