Kindle? Why not a good old fashioned book?

[Nicoal13]

I have the Sony Reader Touch edition and am addicted to it. We have a small house and now I don't have to waste space for the books I bought. I am also a frequent library visitor and with my Sony Reader, I can log into the library from home and download books from the library. I love it for traveling, I can take so many books with me and don't have to lug around a heavy bag. Plus the Sony has 2 memory slots, one for an SD card and one for a Sony Memorystick. I can share books with my friends using the memory cards as well. Plus, I'm saving trees by not buying actual books.

 

[freecia]

My flavors are DTB, Library, Used Bookstore, and eBooks in various formats with my kindle and other gadgets! In short, reading a lot. Paper is great for keepers and reselling. Also fantastic for author autographs!

 

[FergieTCat]

I prefer books, although a Kindle is tempting.

Pro:

Library books are free.

Cons:

I commute on the subway and sometimes have to stand. Hardcover books can be a pain to hold with one hand, while hanging on to a pole with the other hand.

My library does not yet have current bestsellers in ereader form.

 

[smkiya]

My DTBs were taking up too much space. The Kindle versions of books are cheaper usually. Easier to travel with the Kindle. They have been finding bedbugs in library and used books- no bedbugs in the Kindle.

I embrace new technology though. I understand some people have a fear of it.

 

[C.Ann]

The kindle is great for some. Feeling superior for not having one is pretty stupid. What works for others might not work for me. That doesn't make me any better, lol.

Did I miss a post where someone said they felt superior for not having a kindle? With a question like this, I often just read the original question and post my response without reading all the others..

That would be like someone feeling "superior" because they prefer collecting fancy shoes - as opposed to expensive purses.. LOL..

There's nothing to feel "superior" about.. It's simple different people having different preferences..

 

[luvthemouse71]

Did I miss a post where someone said they felt superior for not having a kindle? With a question like this, I often just read the original question and post my response without reading all the others..

That would be like someone feeling "superior" because they prefer collecting fancy shoes - as opposed to expensive purses.. LOL..

There's nothing to feel "superior" about.. It's simple different people having different preferences..

I think sometimes people brag about how much they hate technology or how inept they are regarding computers. Or they imply that those who like technology are gadget freaks who just want to have the latest thing.I know I work with some nurses like that. There were a couple of posts like that on the thread..maybe that's what they meant.

 

[C.Ann]

I think sometimes people brag about how much they hate technology or how inept they are regarding computers. Or they imply that those who like technology are gadget freaks who just want to have the latest thing.I know I work with some nurses like that. There were a couple of posts like that on the thread..maybe that's what they meant.

Well I guess that's what I get for "jumping ahead" - without reading all the responses.. LOL.. It was such a simple question - never occurred to me that someone would imply they were "superior" because they chose books over a kindle..

Oh - but wait! This is the DIS!! Yes - I should have realized that.. LOL..

 

[Sarah_Rose]

I LOVE my Kindle! I have an 8 week old baby and just getting a shower some days is difficult, let alone getting to a book store or library and keeping DS "scream-free" long enough to browse and pick out books. With my Kindle, someone on the Community Board can recommend the book "The Happiest Baby on the Block" as a resource for actually getting 15 minutes to shower in the morning, I can download it on my Kindle, and be reading it in seconds.

Just as an example...

 

[Dotsie]

I just got my Kindle 3 last week - I love it. I have subscribed to a few news papers that I like to read. It's so convenient to have them downloaded to my ereader. I leave for work really early in the am so I could never have them delivered to my house in time for me to read them through the day.
My subscriptions are substantially cheaper than my buying them every day. I don't care who judges me for having an ereader. I bought it to please myself and no one else.

 

[musclemouse]

I've been tempted to buy the Sony reader that was on sale at Target for $75. But I passed. I'm not a huge reader, but lately health and fitness books are crowding up the house. I don't like clutter and the less there is the better. Besides holding a book for long periods of time is painful on my hands. However, because I do not have a big ereader I have been buying books on my Droid and Ipod touch. Works for me.

 

[duffy]

I am never without my Bible or my copy of The Lord of the Rings or The Silmarillion, because I have them as e-books on my Treo. So if I'm bored, I always have something to read.

 

[Michelle and crew]

I am never without my Bible or my copy of The Lord of the Rings or The Silmarillion, because I have them as e-books on my Treo. So if I'm bored, I always have something to read.

OT, my son just finished the The Rings books for the second time. He read them once at about 10, but this time at 13 he is in it for the details. I never read the silmarillion. Is it a story, or just information? KWIM? I'm thinking of picking it up for him. I know you are obviously biased, but would you suggest it for a kid at that stage?

I don't have a kindle but I use my dad's acct. and read on my phone. I love having a couple hundred books available at a click, and a bible when I forget mine!

 

[Wildflowerz]

I don't get it either. Sure, I would like to have one if I had lots of expendable money. But I like my library. I like having the books on the shelves. I like the feel of a real book. I like the cover art and author pictures. Even with all that, I might consider one if the books were any cheaper. But they aren't. I don't understand WHY they aren't either. Surely transferring a file is a whole lot cheaper than printing and shipping a book? So, for now, the only real benefit I see is that you can store a bunch of books on it at once and it takes up much less space and is less to carry. But when would I REALLY need that? Vacation's all I can think of. And really, I can pack a few books just fine.

So, for now, they aren't for me.

 

[MrsPete]

I am a librarian and I freely admit the Kindle/ereaders worry me. I am very worried that libraries really will now become obsolete and I will eventually be out of a job.

I don't think libraries will disappear any time soon -- and if they do, it'll be because of financial problems rather than e-readers.

At this point, people who read paper books still outnumber e-readers by a vast majority. People who are interested in e-readers are attracted to this thread title, but in my real life I know relatively few people who have Kindles (and I know literally no one who has a Nook). I do suspect this will change, as prices have come down significantly. Also, people who are interested in books aren't necessarily EXCLUSIVE e-readers. I absolutely adore my Kindle, yet I was at the library yesterday.

Even if e-readers did become as popular as ipods, people still wouldn't give them to their children. They're too fragile an item to give to youngsters who aren't going to care for them. I'd bet people would buy them for children around middle school -- about the same age kids start to be trusted with cell phones. So parents'd still use libraries for their children's books.

And reference. E-readers aren't going to replace reference books.

I could see libraries' fiction collections diminishing -- but not in the near future.

My dad is a doctor who travels a lot. He listens to them in the car, and while waiting for folks, he can just pull it out and start where the audio left off.

This is one Kindle feature I don't like. I don't like to be read to -- I'm not an auditory person at all. But that's personal preference.

Also fantastic for author autographs!

Again, not something I'd care about -- not a hoot. I really have figured out that I love reading, not collecting books.

Did I miss a post where someone said they felt superior for not having a kindle? With a question like this, I often just read the original question and post my response without reading all the others..

No one used the word "superior", but there's definitely a "purist" vibe in some posts, an insinuation from some that they're not caught up in this electronic fad.

Also, I wonder if it harkens back to the days when a "good family" had a library. For example, I was born in the 60s, and back then door-to-door salespeople came around to homes with newborn babies pushing the idea of buying an encyclopedia set. The idea was that you'd get a couple volumes a year, and by the time your baby reached school age, he'd have the whole set. No one would've denied their child the benefit of having those books in the home! Today, who owns a set of encyclopedias? Not me. None of my friends. Yet our kids have access to much more reference material than we did as children.

I've been tempted to buy the Sony reader that was on sale at Target for $75.

I think the Kindle and the Nook are pretty much neck-and-neck in quality and features -- you can't go wrong with either one -- but my impression is that the Sony is definitely a second-class machine compared to "the big boys". The Kindle is selling for $140 these days, and since this is an investment that you'll use for years, I can't see not going for the better option.

But I like my library. I like having the books on the shelves. I like the feel of a real book. I like the cover art and author pictures.

You know, when I was younger I used to look through Southern Living and other such magazines, and I was very, very attracted to library rooms -- entire walls of white bookshelves filled to the brim with books. I especially liked dining room /libraries, and having such a place of my own was a life's goal. But my own shelves have never looked like those perfect examples. While their shelves were always neat and punctuated with tasteful photographs and other momentos, my own shelves -- even when neat -- are populated by a mixture of hardbacks and paperbacks, no color scheme whatsoever. Throw in a few notebooks, stacks of over-sized books lying on their sides, and paperbacks stacked double to make the most of space. My reality isn't so lovely as the photographs (but, then, I also don't keep a big glass bowl of lemons on my kitchen counter either -- everyone does that in magazines!), and it's just not something I really want any more.

But I DO want to be able to locate and read the book that's on my mind NOW.

 

[MamaJessie]

At this time in my life I prefer paper books (Honestly - dead tree books? .Who is being superior? ) At some point when my vision starts to deteriorate and more importantly, when I have no more toddlers around, I might think about it. At this point in my life it is not for me. Interesting thread though, didn't realize you could change font size and highlight.

As for the environmental pros and cons, it seems like even the experts are still out as to whether the e readers or paper books are better.

http://www.ecolibris.net/ebooks.asp

 

[Marionnette]

(Honestly - dead tree books? .Who is being superior? )

Its a commonly accepted term among ereader owners. Its used to distinguish between ebooks and those made of paper pages. I can see how it might be taken in a negative sense. I see it as no different from using the term "brick and mortar" to distinguish physical stores from online merchants.

 

[Mickey527]

My son just bought me an Amazon Kindle for HIS birthday. Yes, his. He always buys me flowers for his birthday but this year he said he thought I deserved more for all I do for him and since I am always holding a book he bought me this. I am still trying to figure it out, just about 1/2 way through the tutorial.
I know it will be great for traveling, I hate to bring library books with me when I travel just in case I forget them somewhere or they get ruined at the beach. I left a library book at my sister's house last summer and it took her forever to get it in the mail and I had to keep renewing it so I wouldn't have to pay the late fees. The kindle will be better for that reason.
I joined doubleday book club a few years ago, bought the 4 books then quit. They send me the catalogs every month and I go through and pick my reading from there and have gotten alot of good books from the library. I know I won't be paying for books though through kindle, I will only download the free stuff since I can always get them at the library if I want something new. That is the only downside to the kindle, I have no idea yet how much they charge for books but I am not in the position to be paying for books right now.

 

[nessz79]

I do not yet own a Kindle, but I know I will soon. The reason being is that the books are cheaper (sometimes free), the ecological savings, and I can have an entire library at my fingertips.

Don't get me wrong- I still love my paper books and I will never get rid of my favorites or my "old" books (I have a small collection of vintage/antique books). Pride and Prejudice will need to be read by paper for some time.

Currently, I have Kindle on my Mac and iTouch. I occasionally read books in this way. However, reading books on the computer is not always convenient. I can't really carry it wherever I want to. So that's why I will eventually buy and use a Kindle.

I'm an English teacher and I totally "get" the romanticism of "real" books. I do not think, though, that Kindles are robbing the soul of literature. There are some great Kindle book versions out there, almost as beautiful as a hard-bound, illustrated book.

 

[smkiya]

My son just bought me an Amazon Kindle for HIS birthday. Yes, his. He always buys me flowers for his birthday but this year he said he thought I deserved more for all I do for him and since I am always holding a book he bought me this. I am still trying to figure it out, just about 1/2 way through the tutorial.
I know it will be great for traveling, I hate to bring library books with me when I travel just in case I forget them somewhere or they get ruined at the beach. I left a library book at my sister's house last summer and it took her forever to get it in the mail and I had to keep renewing it so I wouldn't have to pay the late fees. The kindle will be better for that reason.
I joined doubleday book club a few years ago, bought the 4 books then quit. They send me the catalogs every month and I go through and pick my reading from there and have gotten alot of good books from the library. I know I won't be paying for books though through kindle, I will only download the free stuff since I can always get them at the library if I want something new. That is the only downside to the kindle, I have no idea yet how much they charge for books but I am not in the position to be paying for books right now.

Wow, what a sweet son. May I ask, how old is he?

 

[smkiya]

I've been reading through this thread and have found other similar threads on the DIS and it seems like there are many people interested in the ereaders. Even more interesting is that including myself, many have decided to add this to their Christmas list. Is this going to be this years HOT adult gift item?