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I still refuse to use kindle
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!:)
I need someone to hit my head with a kindle and tell me why I need to get one right now!:)
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Why don't you download a free kindle app if you have a smart phone, and try it out?
For me, it hasn't replaced books, it's just a different way of reading books.
...plus I'd add audiobooks too to that list. As for Kindle/Amazon, I refuse to have anything to do with them because of their irresponsible and unethical tax avoidance policies. There are plenty of other ebook reader apps out there for the Android and iOS platforms.
It also elimates the trauma of being near the end of a book and having to take a second one out with you in case you're left book.-less!
I am also slightly obsessive about wanting to know how far I am through a book and instead of having to work it out for myself it tells me what % I am up to and how much time is left in a chapter or the whole book.
I go camping too, and it's much easier to read in a tent on a phone than to faff around with a torch and a book.
Some Kindles have text to speech so they can read to you if you don't want to stare at a screen.
It's finding a reason not to get a Kindle that's tricky; the reasons in favour are too many to list here.
I'd like to think that there is room for both book and Kindle, and it is great that there is a choice.
The one question I have is this, what if I lose my kindle? Can I get copies of books i downloaded?
Another thing is having a book is a social thing - friends can see you books and you can swap books. Seems like everything nowadays is geared towards not having much physical interaction between friends
You can't swap Kindle books which I agree is a downside. You can still talk to your friends about books you've read, though.
It is possible to share books by setting up an account with a gift card and registering that address to a phone app or Kindle. It all depends on how much a person is trusted.
Amazon Prime do a book lending service.
Basically I can't afford an e-reader and don't mind a bit. Boot sales and the library are my friends.
You don't need to get one, although they are handy, especially if you do a lot of travelling and read a lot.
Addressing your concern about staring at another screen, Kindle and other dedicated e-reader screens aren't anything like computer screens, unlike reading e-books on tablets or phones.
Personally, I find reading from a Kindle very easy on the eye. I've got one with the built in light, so that's an immediate advantage over paper books in a dimly lit environment. The other great thing is that you can change the font style and size, and line-spacing, so you can pick the one that is easiest to read.
I'm in a library book group, so get our books for free, so get a physical copy for free, but often the font is small and that's when I realise how much easier it is to read the electronic version.
Clearly, some people will prefer a physical book, for all manner of reasons, but IMO, if you read a lot, and you are on the move a lot, and assuming you can afford it, it's worth considering. They aren't just for fashion victims.
I spend another time looking at screens, doesn't appeal to me at all and I am from the generation that has grown up with technology.
For some reason e-readers have never appealed to me, only thing about them that appeals to me is less clutter.
I tried it once and it's been back in its box ever since. Just not my thing at all.
However, for real pleasure, give me proper books anytime. I love the fact that you can rifle through the pages to remind yourself of some facts, or look up a map, or check on photographs etc. The Kindle is a pain in the butt for all these.
Besides, I actually like turning pages!
It was getting to the stage where we were going to have to move house due to the sheer number of books (mainly mine), cluttering up our shelves.
I still read 'real' books - but the kindle is fantastic for reading in bed or on the move and frees up so much space.;
I've never understood the animosity towards either the Kindle or people who use them, to be honest.
I've had a Kindle for a few years now and I love my Kindle! These days you have to pay a small fortune to take a bag on a plane and my wife & I take one bag between us. We could easily read 20 - 25 books between us on a two week holiday and that would be a significant proportion of a 20 kg weight limit, paperbacks aren't exactly light when there's 20 of them!
With a Kindle each we can have an almost limitless supply, well 3500 books each, which will comfortably last the longest holiday!!
They aren't for everyone but I read far more now than I ever did before.
I almost stopped reading before the kindle, I couldn't afford too many physical books, couldn't get to the library often so had slipped into not reading much at all. Now I read a lot, and free books are often quite good. Also I can read one handed with it, so when I sit outside with dogs on a lead in one hand can still manage to read a book with the other. Also great if you fall asleep reading as it turns off and I don't lose what page I am on !
That's me.:)
It's weird. I understand that some people will always prefer a paper version of a book, but a few act as if we're all conning ourselves when we claim we enjoy using e-readers.
I realise that in the early days, the people with Kindles were mainly a bunch of posers, and often people with loads of money who didn't all care for reading. Now it's totally different, and most of the serious readers that I know who demolish books that own an e-reader and wouldn't be without it. It's more likely to be the occasional, posy, readers, who talk about wanting to sniff real books. I couldn't care less about sniffing them. I want to read them.
I'm in a library reading book too and find it a real pain having to read the small print in a "real" book, and knowing I can't read it in the bath because my reading glasses will steam up! I love being able to change the font size and line spacing of my kindle. In fact, I have been known to download the library copy if it's cheap enough!
I do miss not being able to flick back to check facts though as you can with a real book.
Which version of kindle have you got? I'd love one with a built-in back light.
I must say, I read much much more since being given a kindle as gift: before then, I could only mange trashy mags!
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.
In the same vein it also allows you the pleasure of having a few on the go without having to cart them around.
I wouldn't recommend a Kindle though as Amazon are a revolting company - Kobo Glo is good there are plenty of other e-readers as well.