I'm still not convinced and won't be getting one. I love books too, but I tend to find myself building up a little stockpile of books to read, and I'm constantly working my way through it. If I fancy getting a book I'll get it from Waterstones the next time I'm in, or order it from Amazon - I've never had an instance where I've been sitting in a hotel or on a train where I've suddenly felt I must have a particular book, and when I'm working away from home (which is often) I make sure I've got plenty to read before I go.

As for keeping books there are some authors whose books I collect, so as soon as I've read them I put them on my shelves and there they remain until I read them again. If I read a book and really enjoy it I'll also keep it. Others get passed on to friends or family, or given to charity - something you can't easily do with a PDF. Every so often, when my shelves are getting a bit full, I'll have a cull and some other books may end up going to charity or to friends.

I like the look and the feel of a book, and I even like hardbacks - something I know many people hate. If somebody made an ebook reader for under £100 with a screen which is exactly like paper, so is white rather than grey and somehow has the same texture, ideally even the smell, of paper, and if I could buy ebook versions of the titles I wanted to read for, say, £1 (why so low? An electronic copy doesn't need binding, or paper, and doesn't need physical storage or distribution, so why shouldn't an electronic copy cost next to nothing? And to those who scoff, I've had books published myself and my publisher charges just short of £10 for a paperback or - guess what - £1 for an ebook, so it can be done,) then maybe - maybe - I might be persuaded. Until then, and probably after then too, I'll stick with books, as for me there's nothing wrong with them as a media.

'cough' Trees 'cough'

Three things:
1. I keep my books, and the ones I decide to get rid of get passed on to friends or charities. I'm not throwing them away.

2. From the inside cover of the book I'm currently reading: "Mixed sources. Product group from well-managed forests and other controlled sources. www.fsc.org" You'll find this (or similar) inside most books these days, meaning they're produced from sustainable forests, plus lots of publishers also used recycled paper and board as a matter of course.

3. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't ebook readers made largely of plastics and contain microchips which are full of all kinds of nasty stuff, and which, if disposed, wouldn't biodegrade unlike a book? That's why almost all electronic devices these days feature a little symbol of a wheeliebin on the back, a X through it, indicating that you can't just throw them away and instead need to take them to specialist places for disposal due to the presence within of such delightful substances as cadmium. Yum. A book, on the other hand, if thrown away could be pulped, recycled, and turned into more books, or used as landfill (as with the pulped Mills & Boon books beneath the M6 Toll Road - a weird fact for you there).

For those who have a kindle, can I ask a practical question....
Does it keep track of which book you're in the middle of to allow rapid access to exactly the place you were up to? Also, if it does, can it keep track of more than one book at the time?

yes and yes

it automatically opens where you left off. I am in the middle of about 6 books at the moment and it remembers all of them.

You can also add your own bookmarks/notes too if you like.

I'm slowly coming around to the idea of an e-reader. Maybe I'll treat myself to one in the summer if I do well in my course at college.

Thank you.....I'm definitely tempted.

I have both a paperback and an electronic version of a certain book. I started to read the paperback version this week as I had bought it a while ago, but, as it was quite a large thick volume it wasn't the easiest to handle, and I soon moved over to the ebook version.

Can't see myself buying many more paperbacks, I love my ebook reader

I had this experience myself recently. I wanted to reread one of my books which I haven't got in e book format.

I really struggled with it after using the Kindle for a month. I am now used to only needing one hand but with the paper book I needed 2 to hold it open and turn pages. I couldn't hold my cuppa at the same time.

Also - when eating, the book kept flipping shut.

It is amazing how these small things are fine when there is no alternative but now they seem like a big deal!

I'd be very happy to buy an eReader that was able to read any format.

But the prices should be down in the £20 - not the £200 mark before I'll consider it.

Until then, I can visit the library and get what I want for nothing, and return it later, so reading takes up very little room.

Does anyone know of an open source or free to use eReader (apart from Adobe) that can be installed on a computer?

There's no need to ever throw a book away. There's a very good second hand market. Simply go down to your local city centre market.

Try Caliber. It is a library and can convert some eBook formats as well as enable you to read DRM free books.


Not likely in the near future.

I like to use mine in the gym. Sounds daft but I hate exercising, but need to keep fit. I find I can take my mind of the 'pain' while reading. Oddly I still work out well when using the cross trainer or cycle. Still sweat and burn around 600 cals an hour!
Can't do that with a book as the pages keep flipping over!

Since I have had my eReaders (had a 505 before I broke it) I have read more in the last year than I had in the previous 10!!

Kindle for PC is free to download from Amazon. Also Calibre is a free programme which allows you to convert books to different formats if you need to. these 2 should keep you going for a while.

I noticed on the Kindle forums that Libraries in the US allow you to borrow e-books. I asked my local council about it (Leeds) and they are going to be delivering it but couldn't give me a date.

That will be brilliant. I could just about afford the e-reader but not many books so I have been devouring all the free ones (there are plenty - I have about 400). Hopefully the library service will be up and running before I have finished them!

A Kindle would be nice. However, I don't read enough as it is to justify spending this much on a device that JUST reads books.

Personally I can't wait for the iPad. I could see myself buying an iPad because it can be an e-reader but it can also do a whole load of other things like movies and browse the internet. The iPad is also better at skimming books than the Kindle as well. The Kindle is fine for reading cover to cover, but if you are working on something you want a reference device as well.

E-Ink vs LED backlit screen? I have not played with either yet so I can not comment. E-ink is probably better if you are a big reader, although for someone like me, I don't read that much and I am used to staring at a computer monitor for hours a day so I can't see an LED screen being a big issue for me. According to reviewers, the iPad has a very clear LED screen so it should be good enough for reading books.

One thing that has annoyed me is commercially on sale ebooks that are absolutely riddled with proofing mistakes (Malazan Book of the Fallen Collection 1 I'm looking at you!)that are not present in the print equivalent. You'd think that the ebook version would be sourced from the same proofed documents as the print copy, but that is obviously not the case, or, if it is, some part of the process of producing the ebook is introducing the errors.

Hiya
Sorry if this has been answered previously. I live in the UK and am thinking of buying a Kindle2 from the america Amazon, with this how does the internet work on the kindle, can you gain free access? If so to which sites is it just to the amazon site to buy books?
Also how much do the books cost is it the normal price stated in dollars on the site or do they charge an extra $1.99 because we are in the UK?

Sorry for all the questions just been thinking about getting one for ages but was not sure how it works as its an America one, but doesn't look like it will ever come out over here! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi AI28. I have a Kindle2 and works without any problems here in the UK. The wireless connection to Amazon's book store is free. Yes the prices are in $ but just convert to £ to get the price you pay. The stated prices also include VAT. Amazon don't charge anything extra because we are in the UK.

Well despite my earlier reservations I've decided to buy an e-reader. I've gone for the Sony PRS-300 and it's going to be delivered to me on wednesday. I don't mind reading on my iphone but I think it is a bit lacking as a long term device for reading e-books. The screen size is ok and I can read comfortably on it but I would like something a tad bigger. But one of the major drawbacks is the battery life. It just doesnt last long enough for me to use it as a dedicated book reader, it barely lasts me through the day. Plus Most of the books I want to buy on the dedicated book store are region restricted and I think it only supports PDF and text files, so buying from other places is very limited for me. I could probablybuy them and convert them but I dont see why I should go through all that hassle when there are better more dedicated devices on the market at a reasonable price and with come with no hassle.

Went for the Sony PRS-300, primairly because of the size as I dont want to be lugging around something like the kindle or even the PRS-600. Plus the price is very reasonable. I also read a lot of scientific journals for work so it is perfect for that. As long as the device is easy to use I don't see myself having any problems as I have been reading books in a digital format for some time now.

I felt the same as you, totally, or even more so! But once I tried it I couldn't hold back.

Firstly don't think it's an either/or situation. You can have both and use them for different things... books as you would and certainly when travelling, an ebook reader is splendid.

Passing old books to friends/charity is a non-issue for me as I buy books for myself and really, if we just give them away then it's as good as throwing them away because we only do it (charity shop especially) to feel less guilty. Charity shops throw them away eventually anyway to make room for new stock if they don't sell.

About the 'white' paper? I don't get that point. Not all paper types are white, and older books are light brown, orange, you name it. Therefore, you only like pure white (?) or colour doesn't matter. You certainly can't change the size of a font on a book.

I certainly recommend one with 'e-ink' rather than an iPad, battery life alone. But my eyes are much happier after an hour with e-ink rather than a backlit screen (I have the Sony 505) no matter what others say about 'scientific evidence'. My eyes are my evidence and that's all I need.

I think the real issue is that we are witnessing new technologies and everything we have ever known is set in what we're used to. Calculators were becoming popular when I was at school and my old maths teachers hated them! 'Nobody really needs one, waste of money and just a gimmick'. But for those born since, it's normal. Maybe ebook readers won't replace paper, but I think they have their place and as I said, youdon't have to switch.

If you ever do consider one (and for anyone else), the Sony 600 readers are touch screen and in introducing that, they have lost A LOT of actual quality compared to the 505 and 300.

Whatever you do, enjoy reading!

is there anywhere online you can find all the books that are listed on kindles?

i downloaded a kindle app on ipod touch but not sure how to use it

Just go to the Amazon store Kindle section, purchase a book (or select a free one), and it'll pop up automatically in the iPod app.
If it doesn't pop up automatically you just select it from the archive section in the app.

I bought the Sony PRS300 from CEX for £50 quid. If you're not bothered about brand new, you can easily pick something up for around the £50 quid or (slightly) under mark.