Is it just me? That’s the question I’ve asked myself a lot recently. And it’s about my Kindle.

I got my first Kindle eight or nine years ago. I got it reluctantly, determined not to like it because I liked books. You know, the proper things: made of paper, with pages you could touch and covered in ink. And yet, in spite of my best intentions, I soon became a convert.

The obvious benefit was not cluttering my house up with even more books. I know some people get a kick out of having their walls lined with books, but I don’t. Then there was the convenience of having a selection of books available when I was travelling without worrying about baggage allowances or hefting excessively full bags. And let’s not forget bedtime reading…

It can be fatal, can’t it? With the right (or should that be wrong) book. You know, the one that you just can’t put down, even though midnight’s a distant memory and you’ve got to get up early in the morning. With a paperback, I’ve often woken up to find the light on and my book caught up somewhere between the covers and the pillow. With Kindle it’s different. With my first one, I bought a cover that had a built in light, and if I fell asleep reading it switched itself off after a while. And that’s also less disruptive to anyone sleeping with me – not that there’s a long list of those…

Of course, it’s not all perfect. If you lie on your back when you’re reading, the chances are you hold the book up in front of you. Which is fine until you nod off and your grip slackens. My old Kindle was slightly heavier than most paperbacks and the edges are sharper, so any impact was fairly painful. To be fair, I tend to lie on my side and read. Snuggled up under the covers, the big advantage with my old Kindle was turning the page just by using my thumb to click the buttons on the edge of it. And it didn’t matter which side I was lying on, because there were buttons performing the same function on both right and left of the Kindle. Much easier than having to lift an arm out from under the covers and flip a page over.

But that was my old Kindle. A few months ago, it just seemed to freeze up and, no matter what I did with it, nothing shifted again. Which was fine. It’d served me well, and it didn’t owe me anything. I took the opportunity to catch up on some paperbacks I’d acquired, before getting one for Christmas.

Much lighter, easier to set up and backlit so I didn’t need a cover with a light, I was impressed. Except for one thing. No buttons at the sides. I understand you can still get models with the buttons, but the price differential is significant – certainly too much to consider getting just for that one added extra. To turn the page now, I have to either tap or swipe the screen. The thing is, it doesn’t always turn the page forwards. What appears to be the same tap/swipe can turn the page back. Or I can go on two or more pages. Presumably, this is down to the sensitivity of the screen and my particularly clumsy fingers.

I’m hoping it’s just a teething problem, because my enthusiasm for the Kindle has waned in the last few weeks. My hope is that I’ll get used to it, and learn to caress instead of prod (it’s been a recurring complaint over the years…).  Still, it does feel like there’s a flaw in this model.

Or maybe it is just me…

Anyone else had the same problem?