I was brought a kindle a few years ago and I love it as you can store so many books on there, which is fantastic if you have run out of book space at home,
However I also still read actual books. Sometimes I like going into a bookshop and browsing through and finding something that way.
The kindle is brilliant for travelling. Load it up with as many books as you want and no worries about luggage weight.
Also my mum always said that the kindle didn't appeal to her and she preferred the feel of reading an actual book. Then she saw my cousins kindle fire and loved it. Dad brought her one for Christmas last year and she now reads everything on there... She loves that she can read in bed if my dad's asleep and she doesn't have to worry about having the light on.
For me, it's the best I have ever bought. I have problems with my wrists and fingers. So holding heavy - I mainly read fantasy novels - was getting painful and hard. The Kindle has transformed it for me. No more painful wrists.
Plus to be able to take it everywhere I go by slipping it in a pocket or bag. Fantastic. Wouldn't be without now.
Never used a kindle and still read normal books. Maybe I will give it a go one day, but I can't see anyone buying me one any time soon so it looks like it's the old fashioned way for me for now.
I am a terrible abuser of them, and mine are dog eared, have broken spines, loose pages and dont close because I have go them damp.
But they have a sort of emotional attachment, I re-read books something awful, which bemuses the OH, but I will be tiding up and find some book under the bed, dusty and in a bit of a sad way and I will pick it up and remember first reading it and I will read it again.
Obviously a kindle will hold all the 'stories' but, I don't know, there is just something about a paper book which makes me engage more.
For me, it's the best I have ever bought. I have problems with my wrists and fingers. So holding heavy - I mainly read fantasy novels - was getting painful and hard. The Kindle has transformed it for me. No more painful wrists.
Plus to be able to take it everywhere I go by slipping it in a pocket or bag. Fantastic. Wouldn't be without now.
This is why I swapped from Paper Books to a kindle. I was finding it incredibly painful to read and faced having to stop, which would have been heart breaking. I have since a teenager and before always had a book to read. My friend gave me her mother's old one and it revolutionized reading for me, by giving me a new way to read. I can't imagine not having a book to read and the kindle made it possible for me to continue.
I've been reading ebooks exclusively since 2010 and I wouldn't go back now. Ebooks are more convenient for me and importantly don't take up any space in my small flat. The best purchase I've ever made was my first ereader in 2010. I haven't looked back since.
OP a kindle of any other eink reader is not the same as other screens like computers, tablets or mobile phones. It doesn't cause eye strain or fatigue.
Technically it's better to read on a Kindle, but emotionally it's better to stick with a Paperback/Hardback copy.
You can't beat the touch of the pages and flicking back at the front cover. (especially on newly published versions of well established classic novels)
Don't get a Kindle for travelling, they break too easily and you don't want to be lugging around hunk of useless until you get back home.
Out of the four Kindles we've had, three of them are broken, all after taking them on planes. I now have 2 Nooks, they're cheaper than Kindles and they seem tougher built.
I've done that too, but was a bit embarrassed to say.
I've got the Paperwhite and love it. I held off on getting a Kindle for ages, because I didn't think I could justify it, but when the Paperwhite came out I felt it was time to take the plunge and I haven't looked back.
I'm not sure how it worked in the older versions, but there is the "go to" feature, which lets you go forwards or back to a particular page, chapter, bookmark or note. There is also the "page flip" function, which I think is new. It lets you skim forwards or backwards. I don't use it much, but seems to be designed to be the equivalent of flicking back.
Another feature that you only get with certain books is X-Ray, which if enabled (it has to be with the book), you can highlight a person/character name to get their biography, and where else they are mentioned in a book. It works for place names etc. It's handy if you are trying to remember if this person is new, or you just forgot everything about them from the first mention.
Then there's the dictionary and Wiki look-up functions, which I find particularly handy when reading non-fiction, especially biographies of people who might be a bit before my time. They have a habit of mentioning other people or famous events that I'm unfamiliar with.
Thanks for all these tips - I've only just read them (in answer to my question!). Looks like a Paperwhite will be my next present then!
I always said I would never get a kindle because I love books too much, then I had a bit of a change of heart and my son got me a kindle fire for my 70th birthday, I love it. I have read books on it, and I play words with friends with him and another of his friends, and also candy crush, I can also watch 'live' tv on it, among many other things.
But, ! and it's a big but, any form of electronic device, in my view, will never, ever replace books. Because there is nothing like the pleasure of opening a brand new book, holding it in your hand, turning the pages and the smell of them, you just can't beat it.
I love my kindle. I always swore I would never get one because I was a proper book girl but I started to find myself reading less and less as it's not always practical to lug a book with me to work and on holidays your limited by baggage allowances etc. Then my mum bought me one and I've never looked back. Like everyone else has said it's much easier on the commute, it's lighter, you can read in the dark without worrying about lights and you basically have a mini library with you at all times. And I have one of those little waterproof bag thingys which means no sand on it on holiday and I can read in the bath/edge of the pool without worrying about dropping it in.
Don't get a Kindle for travelling, they break too easily and you don't want to be lugging around hunk of useless until you get back home.
Out of the four Kindles we've had, three of them are broken, all after taking them on planes. I now have 2 Nooks, they're cheaper than Kindles and they seem tougher built.
I don't know what you're doing with yours but I've had mine just over a year and it's been travelling to and from work with me daily, on various train journeys and on four trips abroad and it's just as good as the day I bought it.
It is actually sad to see so many individuals who are gleefully supporting the product of a truly unethical company (see http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showpost.php?p=73023722&postcount=3) when there are other devices out there that do the same job such as the Kobo (just as many if not more titles) and the Nook but without the same hideous unethical record.
It is actually sad to see so many individuals who are gleefully supporting the product of a truly unethical company (see http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showpost.php?p=73023722&postcount=3) when there are other devices out there that do the same job such as the Kobo (just as many if not more titles) and the Nook but without the same hideous unethical record.
Yawn.
How about you do what you want to do and allow others to do what they want to do?
Anyway, to the OP, I don't have a Kindle as I chose a Kobo instead because it supports .epub format, unlike the Kindle. I love it. I am reading far more than I did a few years ago and I have access to books that I would not have access to without it. It was a great purchase.
How about you do what you want to do and allow others to do what they want to do?
Anyway, to the OP, I don't have a Kindle as I chose a Kobo instead because it supports .epub format, unlike the Kindle. I love it. I am reading far more than I did a few years ago and I have access to books that I would not have access to without it. It was a great purchase.
How about you start thinking of the moral and practical consequences of purchasing decisions? If you want to unconditionally support and defend a company that treats its workers poorly then go ahead but all it does is reflect badly on your own ethical judgements.
It's the same type of unfortunate denial that is seen in convinced Apple devotees who just don't want to know about or accept the Foxconn high suicide rate factories in China that produce Apple consumer products.
How about you start thinking of the moral and practical consequences of purchasing decisions? If you want to unconditionally support and defend a company that treats its workers poorly then go ahead but all it does is reflect badly on your own ethical judgements.
It's the same type of unfortunate denial that is seen in convinced Apple devotees who just don't want to know about or accept the Foxconn high suicide rate factories in China that produce Apple consumer products.
People have the right to choose. You choose not to use these products but it has bugger all to do with you what other people choose to use.
I would stake my pension that at least one of the companies whose products you do use has equally oppressive regimes and treat workers just as poorly. You just don't know about it.
Reading from a phone screen is only a practical proposition if you read v__e__r__y____s__l__o__w__l__y. Otherwise, you will get thoroughly fed up with flicking the screen down every seven or eight seconds.
Small details are important.
On day 1 owning my Kindle the act of holding a plastic tablet did not feel great. So I ordered the official leather cover. Expensive but worth it.
So now I am holding a leather bound "book" which is hinged in the middle.
It is actually sad to see so many individuals who are gleefully supporting the product of a truly unethical company (see http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showpost.php?p=73023722&postcount=3) when there are other devices out there that do the same job such as the Kobo (just as many if not more titles) and the Nook but without the same hideous unethical record.
I make no apologies for buying a Kindle. I think Amazon have excellent customer service and I do surveys which get me Amazon vouchers and it;s the only way I can afford so many e-books.
Why do I keep resisting kindle it makes perfect sense to get one especially as I am going to be doing lots of traveling but I cant get over the fact I would be staring at another screen. I want time away from the darn screen.
I need someone to hit my head with a kindle and tell me why I need to get one right now!:)
You save paper that goes on paperbacks and nobody knows what you are reading
I've had a Kindle Keyboard for about 3 years now and much prefer it to paperbacks for reading fiction. I've just bought a Kobo Mini specifically for library books. It's very compact but I prefer the buttons on my Kindle to the Mini' s touchscreen. Borrowing books from the library is slightly more complicated than buying from Kindle or using the Kindle Lending Library.
Out of interest I compared the prices on my Kindle wishlist to the Kobo store. All the books were cheaper on Kindle.
I have no particular liking for the feel or smell of new books but hate dirty, smelly second-hand books / library books.
I was very anti-e readers. I thought it would be the death of bookshops. However I saw a Kobo for sale at £30 when I was going on holiday and I bought it specifically for that. My OH, a gadget freak, was always on at me to get one, but I have been resisting until recently. I now use for travel and commuting and think it is genius. I will upgrade to Kindle in about a year.
I still love books and bookshops. I am reading an autobiography on Kobo and a fat novel at home. I am actually reading more than before. I was not dragging books around in my already too heavy bag when commuting for work, instead I played games on mobile. That has now changed. Its portability is the main thing for me.
I absolutely love mine. I actually broke my original one (I think I dropped something on it and cracked the screen) but Amazon were brilliant and offered me various ones at discounted prices so I upgraded to a Paperwhite.
I still read normal books which I get from the library but the Kindle is so handy for quiet periods in work.
People have the right to choose. You choose not to use these products but it has bugger all to do with you what other people choose to use.
I would stake my pension that at least one of the companies whose products you do use has equally oppressive regimes and treat workers just as poorly. You just don't know about it.
However, it should be an informed consumer choice so that, for example, customers can make a conscious decision whether to buy cheap clothes in the full knowledge that they were made by child labourers in India. Similarly, those individuals who buy items from Amazon ought to know about how poorly they treat their workers and about their unethical tax avoidance policies which ultimately means fewer police officers, nurses or firefighters.
Just for the record, l do my background checks first so that l avoid dealing with any commercial operations that are truly unethical.
Comments
However I also still read actual books. Sometimes I like going into a bookshop and browsing through and finding something that way.
The kindle is brilliant for travelling. Load it up with as many books as you want and no worries about luggage weight.
Also my mum always said that the kindle didn't appeal to her and she preferred the feel of reading an actual book. Then she saw my cousins kindle fire and loved it. Dad brought her one for Christmas last year and she now reads everything on there... She loves that she can read in bed if my dad's asleep and she doesn't have to worry about having the light on.
Plus to be able to take it everywhere I go by slipping it in a pocket or bag. Fantastic. Wouldn't be without now.
I sort of have a connection to a paper book.
I am a terrible abuser of them, and mine are dog eared, have broken spines, loose pages and dont close because I have go them damp.
But they have a sort of emotional attachment, I re-read books something awful, which bemuses the OH, but I will be tiding up and find some book under the bed, dusty and in a bit of a sad way and I will pick it up and remember first reading it and I will read it again.
Obviously a kindle will hold all the 'stories' but, I don't know, there is just something about a paper book which makes me engage more.
This is why I swapped from Paper Books to a kindle. I was finding it incredibly painful to read and faced having to stop, which would have been heart breaking. I have since a teenager and before always had a book to read. My friend gave me her mother's old one and it revolutionized reading for me, by giving me a new way to read. I can't imagine not having a book to read and the kindle made it possible for me to continue.
OP a kindle of any other eink reader is not the same as other screens like computers, tablets or mobile phones. It doesn't cause eye strain or fatigue.
You can't beat the touch of the pages and flicking back at the front cover. (especially on newly published versions of well established classic novels)
Out of the four Kindles we've had, three of them are broken, all after taking them on planes. I now have 2 Nooks, they're cheaper than Kindles and they seem tougher built.
Thanks for all these tips - I've only just read them (in answer to my question!). Looks like a Paperwhite will be my next present then!
But, ! and it's a big but, any form of electronic device, in my view, will never, ever replace books. Because there is nothing like the pleasure of opening a brand new book, holding it in your hand, turning the pages and the smell of them, you just can't beat it.
Yawn.
How about you do what you want to do and allow others to do what they want to do?
Anyway, to the OP, I don't have a Kindle as I chose a Kobo instead because it supports .epub format, unlike the Kindle. I love it. I am reading far more than I did a few years ago and I have access to books that I would not have access to without it. It was a great purchase.
How about you start thinking of the moral and practical consequences of purchasing decisions? If you want to unconditionally support and defend a company that treats its workers poorly then go ahead but all it does is reflect badly on your own ethical judgements.
It's the same type of unfortunate denial that is seen in convinced Apple devotees who just don't want to know about or accept the Foxconn high suicide rate factories in China that produce Apple consumer products.
People have the right to choose. You choose not to use these products but it has bugger all to do with you what other people choose to use.
I would stake my pension that at least one of the companies whose products you do use has equally oppressive regimes and treat workers just as poorly. You just don't know about it.
On day 1 owning my Kindle the act of holding a plastic tablet did not feel great. So I ordered the official leather cover. Expensive but worth it.
So now I am holding a leather bound "book" which is hinged in the middle.
I make no apologies for buying a Kindle. I think Amazon have excellent customer service and I do surveys which get me Amazon vouchers and it;s the only way I can afford so many e-books.
You save paper that goes on paperbacks and nobody knows what you are reading
Out of interest I compared the prices on my Kindle wishlist to the Kobo store. All the books were cheaper on Kindle.
I have no particular liking for the feel or smell of new books but hate dirty, smelly second-hand books / library books.
I still love books and bookshops. I am reading an autobiography on Kobo and a fat novel at home. I am actually reading more than before. I was not dragging books around in my already too heavy bag when commuting for work, instead I played games on mobile. That has now changed. Its portability is the main thing for me.
I still read normal books which I get from the library but the Kindle is so handy for quiet periods in work.
However, it should be an informed consumer choice so that, for example, customers can make a conscious decision whether to buy cheap clothes in the full knowledge that they were made by child labourers in India. Similarly, those individuals who buy items from Amazon ought to know about how poorly they treat their workers and about their unethical tax avoidance policies which ultimately means fewer police officers, nurses or firefighters.
Just for the record, l do my background checks first so that l avoid dealing with any commercial operations that are truly unethical.