What you knew: You can read for about two days on a single charge (which takes two hours).

What you didn't know: If you turn off the wireless feature, you can read every day for more than a week on a charge.

What you knew: The Kindle is sold out already.

What you didn't know: You can order now, and they'll ship it to you after Nov. 29.

What you knew: You have to pay for books and magazines downloaded from the Kindle Store.

What you didn't know: You can try before you buy. Magazines and newspapers come with a 14-day free trial and can also be purchased one magazine at a time without a subscription. You can read the first chapters of books free.

What you knew: Amazon charges US$2 per month to subscribe to each RSS feed.

What you didn't know: You can read any RSS feed, including those they charge for, free of charge via the Kindle's Web browser by going directly to the sites.

What you knew: Amazon does not support PDF files for conversion.

What you didn't know: Free PDF-to-Word converters exist, and Amazon will convert those to its Kindle format, so PDF files on the Kindle are merely inconvenient, not impossible.

What you knew: You can "dog ear" pages to bookmark them, save "clippings" (copies of entire pages) and notes on Kindle, all of which are backed up as part of your books.

What you didn't know: You can also "highlight" text -- like using a highlighter pen, but without the bright color. Highlights are also backed up.

What you knew: The Kindle Store is functionally similar to the Amazon bookstore.

What you didn't know: You can use Kindle's keyboard and wireless connection to write book reviews on the Kindle Store.

The Amazon Kindle isn't perfect. It's ugly as sin and needs a light for reading in the dark, and the Kindle Store could use a far greater selection of newspapers and magazines.

But, broadly speaking, the Kindle is a game-changing revolution in buying, reading, managing and using electronic books and other content. It's also the hottest holiday gift you can buy this year for anyone who loves to read.

I've always been skeptical about e-books, but Amazon has made a believer -- and a customer -- out of me.