Father’s Day is right on our doorstep and for many, that means a mad scramble to find gifts for Dad. Finding gifts for the old man can be difficult, because after a couple years, he’s probably got more neckties and grill covers than he’ll ever need in an entire lifetime. If your father happens to be a Kindle owner though, you might be in luck. We’ve taken a look at four accessories that could be game-changers for that erstwhile Kindle owner in your life.

M-Edge Guardian Case
Price: $79.99
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Pros:

• Takes your Kindle underwater
• Only case of its kind
• Heavy-duty construction

Cons

• On the expensive side
• Heavier than most cases
• No access to power button

The newest case from the folks at m-Edge does something that no other Kindle case on the market can boast – it both floats on water and keeps your Kindle bone dry even after being submerged completely in water. I know what you’re thinking: as cool as it would be to be able to bring your Kindle with you on that inflatable raft in the middle of your pool, is it really worth potentially sacrificing your $259 piece of consumer electronics just for the novelty?

That’s where I come in. I’ve spent about a week with the m-Edge Guardian, giving it the full run-around in my community pool. As nervous as I was about submerging the Kindle the first time, I’m not entirely sure how I ever lived without it just a week later. It sports heavy-duty construction that keeps out water up to a depth of a meter, and contains special air reservoirs that allow it to float. Reading in the pool is pretty much as relaxing as things get, and since the Kindle is basically the king of reading devices, it’s a match made in heaven for the aquatic-oriented Dad.

It might not look like it, but you can actually navigate using all the normal buttons. There is softer plastic over those parts of the case. The only button you can’t access is the power button, so you’ll have to make sure not to get too relaxed out by the pool and let the thing go idle, because you’ll have to crack it open to turn it on again. My only other real complaints with the case are that it’s heavy and on the expensive side. Realistically though, both of those sins are forgivable, since you need top-quality construction if you’re going to go submersing electronics in water. If you’ve got a father in your life who loves to read and loves to swim, this is the perfect novelty.

OCTOVO Solis Reading Light
Price: $29.99
Rating: 5/5 stars

Pros

• Compact size makes for easy traveling
• Effortless, button-less design
• Naturally tilted at an angle to reduce glare

Cons

• Doesn’t match the Kindle motif
• On the expensive side for a light

One of the necessary concessions that Amazon had to make in creating the Kindle’s e-Ink screen was in the area of backlighting. In order to give that full paper-like experience without having to worry about eye fatigue and battery life, the Kindle is often at the mercy of the ambient light you have around you. I’ve tried a number of Kindle book lights in my day, but the long-term problem I’ve had with many of them is that they add needlessly to the bulk when carrying around the Kindle.

Octovo has devised a rather brilliant solution to that with their Solis book light. Rather than attach the light to the case itself, the Solis clips on to the top of the Kindle (at an angle that prevents glare no less – they really though this through!), and you can turn it on simply by swinging the sleek aluminum arm out. The light is an LED, which means it’s fairly efficient in terms of battery life, gobbling up one AA battery in about 25 hours. It’s more expensive than most Kindle-centric reading lights, but it’s also probably the best I’ve tried so far.

OCTOVO Weave Leather Cover
Price: $74.99
Rating: 4/5 stars

Pros

• Features Amazon’s Kindle hinge system
• Really trendy-looking woven leather design
• Has that wonderful leather smell

Cons

• Way more expensive than comparable cases

When buying a third party Kindle cover, one of the unfortunate side effects is that most of them don’t make use of Amazon’s hinge mechanism. While all the covers I’ve trade to date have done a good job substituting for this with straps that hold the Kindle in by its corners, sometimes it feels like something’s missing with that hinge mechanism of the original case not being used.

The OCTOVO Weave Leather Cover is the first third-party case I’ve tried that actually utilizes Amazon’s hinge system. Like the official case from Amazon, it securely locks in your Kindle using the proprietary locking mechanism on the left side of your Kindle. It also appears to have the same microfiber interior that prevents scratching. Where it differs from the official cover is the outside. The woven leather exterior completely blows the official Kindle cover away in terms of a classy finish, as it well should for double the price of the official cover.

m-Edge Latitude Jacket
Price: $34.99
Rating: 4/5 stars

Pros

• Light-weight design
• Trendy camouflage pattern
• Zippers for full enclosure and protection

Cons

• Microfiber interior seems to attract dirt

The m-Edge latitude jacket is pretty straight forward as far as Kindle cases go. It is light-weight, sports a zipper for complete protection, comes in trendy camo colors, and even features an exterior zipper pocket so you can bring your charger cable along with you. While the Latitude is a solid case for your dollar, that’s not why I wanted to mention it.

The camo Latitude jacket is the flagship product to help promote the E-Books for Troops non-profit. This organization has undertaken the noble task of raising money to purchase eReaders for the servicemen and women risking their lives overseas. Whatever your feelings on the wars in which the military is engaged today, it’s hard to imagine a better way to contribute to their continued comfort and sanity than near-unlimited access to books, newspapers, and magazines via eReaders. Compared to hauling books around, a Kindle takes up almost no space.

M-Edge has promised to donate a Latitude Jacket and e-Luminator2 booklight for every Kindle purchased by E-Books for the Troops, but it’s up to us as eReader fanatics to donate the money that will put these eReaders in their hands. So maybe after purchasing dad’s Father’s Day gift, consider donating some money to E-Books for the Troops in his name. It’s a great cause.