Getting a Kindle this week

[Octoberbride03]

I have been wanting 1 of these for ages and last night DH suggested we treat ourselves with some of our tax refund money We NEVER do this. Its goes straight to bills every year and that's that.

We're waiting until it gets deposited into our acct. but sometime this week we should be able to go get them. picking them up at Target because I work there and will get a discount + use the debit card=bigger discount. So I'm thrilled.

So now i need an education on all the free book stuff and covers we should get etc. We both read a lot so this is most definitely a good buy for us. And we'll take em our Magic cruise in Oct. Oh heaven, since we're driving down to the port.

So please tell about your kindles and must see websites for free books and stuff. We're going with the very basic wi-fi model and we'll be happy duckies in a pond

 

[Mouseteacher]

I love my Kindle! I got it for Christmas from DH and DS. they gave me the black cover (like a book) with a light attached in the upper right hand corner. You pull it out to extend the light. They got both the Kindle and the cover at Staples.

 

[Christine]

My mom bought me one for my birthday and I'm just now getting into it.

If you sign up at www.ereaderiq.com, you can have the free book titles e-mailed to you every day. You can also sign up to have books that you want scanned for price drops.

I also go on the www.amazon.com, go to the Kindle Store, click on "Discussions" and scan for the post that lists the free book for that day. I've come across several free books that have been very good. Of course, there's tons more that I would never even read, but at least once a week, it seems like a real "gem" comes through.

I have a basic brown leather-ish cover that my mom got for me. Nothing big. I don't use a light with it, I just read like a would a normal book next too a reading lamp.

 

[Agri]

Free books are available directly from amazon.com, sometimes it takes a bit to find them. If you shop directly from your Kindle, after selecting Kindle top 100 (or something like that) you can switch to the top free Kindle books, too. Its a category change at the top of the viewscreen.

I've also gotten a ton of free books from here: http://www.gutenberg.org

The catch with free books is that to make the most of them, you really need to not limit yourself by genre. If you only read one type of book, naturally it will be difficult to find a lot of free books in just one category.

Also, you can download any of a number of free converter programs that will convert non-mobi (amazon's format) files into .mobi so you can read them on your Kindle even if you don't buy them from amazon or download them for free in the amazon format.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

My family has thought on and off about it, but decided against it. I think what annoys me the most is how the market has not seemed to have come up with a standard format for ebooks. I mean, you have to chose a Kindle or a Nook, and they buy books for that format. How very early 90's.

Although we just found out that our new phones we get on Monday can read Kindle books, so we don't need to bother with the hardware.

 

[woodkins]

Just wanted to add in that if you have a smartphone, ipod touch etc you can download the kindle app & use that as your kindle. I have the HTC Evo & use my phone as a kindle every day...best part...totally free & I don't have to carry another gadget.

 

[MrsPete]

You're going to love it -- I've had my Kindle for three years now, and I love-love-love it.

Keep an eye out on Amazon.com for free books. They tend to come and go; that is, you'll find nothing you want today, but next month you'll get 25 free books that you'll enjoy. Always grab free books that interest you when you see them; things don't always STAY free.

 

[tvguy]

I got my wife one for Christmas. She loved it for the first 2 months, but pretty much has burned through all the free books she is interested.
The down side she has found is that the cost of e-books on Amazon is often higher than buying a brand new paperback at the bookstore.
Another issue is, there are no page numbers on books on the Kindle. My wife was excited when she saw she could download a software update that would generate the page numbers. She downloaded it and then discovered in the fine print that page numbers are only available "on select books". She hasn't found a book yet in that category.

 

[golfgal]

My family has thought on and off about it, but decided against it. I think what annoys me the most is how the market has not seemed to have come up with a standard format for ebooks. I mean, you have to chose a Kindle or a Nook, and they buy books for that format. How very early 90's.

Although we just found out that our new phones we get on Monday can read Kindle books, so we don't need to bother with the hardware.

I have been reading both Nook and Kindle on my phone for months. I have 90 books, bought 2 of them the rest free, in my Nook library and about 40 in my Kindle library. The BIG drawaback to reading them on your phone is you only get to see 4-6 lines of text at a time so you are CONSTANTLY turning pages. With an e-reader you have a full page from a book displayed at a time.

If you search 0.00 Kindle Books on Amazon and 0.00 on Barnes and Nobel you will bring up all the free books. Amazon doesn't sort them as "neatly" as BN but you can still page through the 1.8 MILLION free books on each site. On BN I sort by either "release date" or "top selling" to find books.

Sign up for Free Friday's on Facebook from Barnes and Noble. You will get an alert each Friday for what is free and they are almost always free on both Nook and Kindle. http://blog.booksontheknob.org/p/kindle-free-reads-list.html is a good blog to follow for free Kindle books, and again, they are almost always free on both.

I download pretty much every free book that MIGHT interest me-or someone that lives here. I don't download some of the financial planning in 3 easy step type books but most novels I have. I figure if I start to read them and don't like them, who cares, just delete from my reader.

Nook has page numbers-Kindle has % finished. Nook you tap the upper right corner to bookmark, Kindle you have to select the "options" button and click on "bookmark". Those are the two "big" differences between the two that I have found.

I have also downloaded about 40 books from Guetenberg.com (org?). With a smart phone it is SUPER easy if you download the barcode reader app (free). You open that app and point the phone at the 3d barcode thing on Guetenberg and it downloads it to your phone. You have to have the FBreader (or similar) app too.

I think E-books are the BEST invention of this decade

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

The first place you need to visit is kindleboards.com Lots of Kindle owners there to answer any questions or concerns.

I also visit http://blog.booksontheknob.org and dailycheapreads.com to see the free and cheap books.

 

[Octoberbride03]

Thanks everybody

Going through all the links and seeing what's out there. I am really excited about getting 1. I about jumped all over my Dh last night when he suggested it. We don't treat ourselves like this ever and I probably won't believe it until I actually have them in my hands. But it is just great knowing there is soo much out there available to us. We will spend some money on books, but I'm quite sure we will absolutely love picking up the free books as well.

 

[Chiasgirl]

I use this website http://ereadernewstoday.com/ for alerts for free and really reduced kindle books. I like them because they send you alerts on Amazon books as well as others such as Smashwords. If you use facebook become a fan on facebook and any free or reduced offers show up in your newsfeed. This is really good for me since I don't always remember to check other sources on a daily basis and sometimes the offers are over before I read about them.

 

[shirleyb]

It sounds like you are looking for free books as a big plus.

I'll admit I wanted a Kindle for ages, and DH bought me a Nook for Christmas instead. At first I was a little disappointed, but I've got to tell you, I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Nook. It has page numbers (didn't realize the kindle doesn't, not that that would be a biggie for me), but the biggest advantage to me is the ability to download library books for free. I just get online on my library's website and download books. I have yet to pay for a book.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

The kindle now has page numbers with the latest software update, not that I ever saw what the big deal was.

And as for library books now that publishing companies are going after library ebooks I don't see that being such a big perk for much longer.

http://librarianbyday.net/2011/02/2...rary-ebook-vendors-to-take-a-giant-step-back/

http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/889452-264/harpercollins_caps_loans_on_ebook.html.csp

 

[Octoberbride03]

It sounds like you are looking for free books as a big plus.

I'll admit I wanted a Kindle for ages, and DH bought me a Nook for Christmas instead. At first I was a little disappointed, but I've got to tell you, I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Nook. It has page numbers (didn't realize the kindle doesn't, not that that would be a biggie for me), but the biggest advantage to me is the ability to download library books for free. I just get online on my library's website and download books. I have yet to pay for a book.

It is a plus, but not the main thing for us. I love the free books feature mainly because it will free me to try books that I'm really not sure I'll be crazy about. Like a lot of older books. We're not really library people so getting ebooks from our library is not top of our list. When we go to book stores and the library(if we hit the library) we always find ourselves looking for the same authors and genres. So I think the free ebook sites will really free us that way. Its just fun to know there really is so much out there in the public domain though.

 

[Octoberbride03]

The kindle now has page numbers with the latest software update, not that I ever saw what the big deal was.

And as for library books now that publishing companies are going after library ebooks I don't see that being such a big perk for much longer.

http://librarianbyday.net/2011/02/2...rary-ebook-vendors-to-take-a-giant-step-back/

http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/889452-264/harpercollins_caps_loans_on_ebook.html.csp

Boy talk about LOW numbers for lending That is insane. And i guarantee the books I'd check out would 26 lendings way too quick. WOW

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

Boy talk about LOW numbers for lending That is insane. And i guarantee the books I'd check out would 26 lendings way too quick. WOW

Plus if they get their way, all the people who paid the $15 for the free Philadelphia library membership will no longer be able to check out their ebooks at all. If you don't live in the geographical area, no ebooks

 

[Octoberbride03]

Plus if they get their way, all the people who paid the $15 for the free Philadelphia library membership will no longer be able to check out their ebooks at all. If you don't live in the geographical area, no ebooks

Ooooh that's gonna get nasty.

 

[bicker]

The down side she has found is that the cost of e-books on Amazon is often higher than buying a brand new paperback at the bookstore.

I've found the opposite to be true, for the books novels I'm aiming to read.

Another issue is, there are no page numbers on books on the Kindle.

Page numbers is one of the new features in the upcoming update.

My wife was excited when she saw she could download a software update that would generate the page numbers. She downloaded it and then discovered in the fine print that page numbers are only available "on select books". She hasn't found a book yet in that category.

That's an issue with publishers. People need to complain to the publishers that aren't following the standard, or they'll never change. I suspect a lot of publishers are simply waiting for the feature to make it into the core Kindle software before they start worrying about it.

 

[bicker]

Ooooh that's gonna get nasty.

Perhaps, but I cannot believe that anyone actually has forgotten that publishers are in business to make profit. Using their offerings in a manner inconsistent with their business plan must evoke a comprehensive response. Since the value being derived is so much higher (due to this new value being derived from their offerings), one approach would simply to average that new, additional value into the price. Do people really want libraries paying so much more? Probably not, so another alternative is to place restriction on the use of the offering, so its value stays more in line with its current pricing.