Is Kindle a Frugal alternative?

My DH and I buy a lot of books.  By far he is the biggest purchaser of books in our family.  Some are used, some are new bought at a discount and on occasion we have paid full price for a new release.  Last year we bought another book shelf as our book shelves were getting quite full.  That same book shelf is now full and overflowing.

My DH enjoys reading.  After working at a high pressured job, he comes home at night and usually reads for an hour. If he has a day off from work, he spends a few hours reading.  He makes the time for this as it is very gratifying to him and his way to relax.

As soon as he is done reading a book, there are close to 6 to 8 books on his dresser to choose from for his next read.  I in turn tend to buy a few books and set them aside for vacation reading or I try to set aside an evening a week to read. 

In the last couple of weeks my DH has talked about the possibility of buying a Kindle from Amazon.  My thoughts turned to money.  It costs around $260, which is a lot of money to spend right now.  We replaced our washing machine two weeks ago and last week we had to call a plumber to fix a leak in our pipes in our downstairs bathroom.  Somehow $260 seemed like an extravagance, on the surface, until I started to think about it. 

Number One - we have too many books on our bookshelves right now and we have already donated many of our books. 

Number Two - he reads a lot of books in a year. 

Number Three - books downloaded on a Kindle are cheaper and don't take up space on a book shelf

After pondering this one I have come to the conclusion that a Kindle may be a more frugal alternative for him.  Not adding books to a bookshelf is a big plus to me.  Right now I am in a "get rid of stuff" kind of mood, so that is quite an advantage.  Also reading is very important to him, so it is not just a fleeting past time. He is a serious, advid reader. 

For someone that reads a lot of books, a Kindle could be a good investment. 

My DH's birthday is in April and I have managed to save an extra $40 this month from wise grocery shopping.  I know I should be able to save an additional $60 by the time his birthday rolls around.  So $100 will be a good start towards buying the Kindle. I'm certain he will receive some money for his birthday from other family members as well.

In years past I would have pulled out my credit card and ordered the Kindle and paid a small amount until it was paid off.  We don't operate that way anymore and it is a good feeling to save and wait. 

Lastly, if my DH wants to buy a Kindle, he can go ahead and buy it without my approval.  He does not have to ask me permission to spend money.  It is his decision, but since we are living on less we tend to run things by each other. 

I am getting a great deal of gratification of finding ways to cut back and save so that I can give him a gift of money for his birthday.  He will never be expecting this from me and I can hardly wait for him to open his birthday card and find $100 in it. 

In his situation, I do think that the Kindle would be a more frugal alternative.  Oh and BTW - he is on facebook and he twitters. He is so "with it."