Since I know a lot of people have received Kindles as presents recently or bought them with Christmas cash or gift certificates, I thought I’d take a brief moment to welcome you to the wonderful world of e-books and Kindling. While I know you want to jump in and start reading the latest release from your favorite author or a free classic you’ve found on the web, I have a few suggestions for other things to read and do, with the possible side effect of helping you avoid any frustrations.

Firstly, read the User’s Guide that you should have found already loaded onto your Kindle. You don’t have to read the whole thing for now, but at least browse the table of contents and jump to the sections that sound interesting to you or which appear to discuss features you did not even know existed. (It may also help you avoid “RTFM!” responses on any less than friendly web forums.)

Secondly, please rest assured that Amazon’s Kindle customer support has a well established history of customer satisfaction. Do not be reticent about contacting them if you think you have any sort of defect in your unit. If, after troubleshooting your issues over the phone they cannot come up with a solution, they will almost always send you a replacement right away without waiting for you to return the original; and at least within the US you normally receive it within two days, and sometimes overnight. The best way to contact them seems to be via the link in the right-hand column of the Manage Your Kindle web page.

Lastly, if you have questions or concerns about something Kindle or e-book related, I highly recommend the KindleBoards.com forums. It is my favorite place both for seeking help and trying to help other Kindlers when I can. The “Tips, Tricks and Troublshooting” sub-forum there has a wealth of information to browse/search through, and if you post a question there it will likely be answered in minutes (or a few hours perhaps during the slower times of late night in the US) by one of the many helpful members. The moderators are active at keeping it a family-friendly place with no spam, and they and the active members have made it a fun place to socialize, too.

So happy holidays, merry Christmas, solstice salutations, and so forth; and enjoy your Kindle!