The Kindle

[ohheckyeah]

Does anyone here use a kindle and do you really like it? I have books stacked all over the place and am thinking about buying a kindle.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear ohheckyeah...

I've never used one, so I won't be helpful here, not that way anyway.

But it seems there are two camps: you either love it, or you don't.

I like the heft, the feel, and the smell of books, but that's just me.

Hope you get some answers!

:hi:

[ohheckyeah]

6. That's the problem...

I love books. I'm being over run by books. :-)

[Lex]

23. You are still allowed to read book if you have a Kindle.

I know I buy some things for my Kindle and I still check out books from the library, buy some real books.

[RSillsbee]

29. I like the heft, the feel, and the smell of books, but that's just me.

No, it's not just you

No kindle for me

[Lex]

33. You know you can still do that

and I know I still check out books from the library and buy them occasionally too, but some things I put on my kindle.

You don't have to sign an oath never to touch a regular book.

[Rochester]

2. not me, I am old-fashioned and prefer a real book.

[gkhouston]

34. That's what I thought, until my sister gave my daughter a Kindle a while back.

I've borrowed her Kindle a few times and actually find it easy to read and use, so much so that my husband and I are planning on getting a second one.

[Petrushka]

3. My daughter recently purchased a Nook instead of the Kindle . . . says the Nook has more features.

But, don't ask me what those features are because I'm not interested in Kindles and Nooks. I mean: I like my books printed on paper and have never felt the need to carry my entire library with me when I leave the house.

[Lucinda]

4. I would love one!

And I like regular books too.

There are a LOT of free books and magazines that you can download. Mostly classic books I think. I like the portability aspect...And I would love having my library in something that I could carry around with me. :)

[ohheckyeah]

7. I'm wondering if it wouldn't

be cheaper for me in the long run. I spend too much money on books.

[RSillsbee]

30. One thing I like about Colorado Springs

We have used book stores all over town

[Archae]

5. I have the Sony one.

I like it a lot.

And you can load it up with books for free, too.

"Project Gutenberg."

[ohheckyeah]

8. What's the difference with the Sony

and the Kindle?

[Archae]

32. Not sure.

I've never actually handled a Kindle.

I guess the only thing I can say for certain is my Sony one cost less. ($100)

[WolverineDG]

36. With the Sony & the Nook, you can download free books

from sites like project gutenburg. It's my understanding that you can't do that with a Kindle (I don't own a Kindle so maybe that info is available on the Amazon site?)

dg

[jonnyblitz]

21. that's the one I have, I got it for christmas 2009. I like it because

I can store large PDF files on it rather than waste all that ink and papter printing them up. I keep POF versions of the manuals for all my electronics on it!

[seabeyond]

9. i didnt want one. i am obsessive reader. i kept saying no. hubby bought me one for christmas.

let me tell you....

i LOVE it. lol. i knew i would. i knew it wouldnt be pretty. and sure enough.... lol, but he bought it so he must not have an issue with ALL my reading

FREE books. lots and lots of free books. so many books. lots of books, lol..... LOVE it.

and

it is easy to read. i have to pick up kids a lot. so i sit and wait in the car. the kindle screen is easy to read outside. the others are inside reading. the reading is really smooth. i figured would be like a computer screen and bother the eyes. it is like a page in the book. it is light to hold and good hand positions. laying in bed reading at night, dont have to turn pages, waking hubby, or bring hand from under cover, one hand does it, lol....

it is a good choice

i wanted nook with barnes and noble, but i hear cant read outside and barnes and noble dont give the free books like amazon.

kindle was a good choice.

[seaglass]

11. neither of those are true about the Nook - it is e-ink same as Kindle

and they have all the free classics, free Friday books and more.

You may be thinking of the NookColor which is not e-ink but LCD and would be more like reading on a computer screen.

[seabeyond]

14. thank you for correcting me. i was talking to a kid that owns a nook

i wanted nook because it is barnes and noble. i prefer bn to amazon. but i was talking to the kid and that is what he told me, and hubby told me about the outdoor screen.

[seaglass]

19. I do the majority of my reading outside because I smoke on my porch

so being able to read in broad daylight was a definite selling feature of the Nook (and why an iPad or NookColor would be useless to me). Of course others prefer a backlit screen so they can read at night without a light on.

Whoever the kid was must have a NookColor or misunderstood the question.

Glad you are loving your Kindle, I would have been happy with either one. :-)

[WolverineDG]

20. I've gotten several free books for my Nook at B&N

They even have a "Free Fridays" promotion, AND a "Free Books" on the Nookbooks drop down menu (all you gotta do is click).

Oh yeah, & I can read mine outside, too.

Don't know anything about the Kindle, seems it's a matter of personal choice whether you get that or a Nook or NookColor or whatever.

dg

[seabeyond]

22. nook people, thank you for correction. i tended to nook myself. i love kindle. glad both are great

i had heard that about the nook, glad i am wrong, because would have been less enjoyment.

so yea to be corrected about nook. wont make that mistake again.

[WolverineDG]

26. either one would have been good for me

I wasn't expecting to get one for Christmas, but *SURPRISE*. However, now that I see you can't read the NookColor outside & that it's more like a computer screen, I'm very happy I got the standard B&W Nook (well except for the bottom screen where you make your selections). :)

dg

[seabeyond]

27. it is so bad. (the library misses me, lol.) i was laying in bed late at night ordering books

lots and lots, (ok, 8) telling myself to stop, but they were free, or .89.

i told hubby a number of times dont buy me one. and he did anyway

so sweet.

glad you are enjoying your gift too. now i want to see what books you get i dont get. that is why i initially asked when i found out i got free books.

[WolverineDG]

35. I know!

I just couldn't pass up the complete Mark Twain at $1.99 (all those books for $2? are you kidding me????) & B&N's collection of 50 Classic Novels for a buck more. I haven't scored boat loads of books like that for $5 since I hit paydirt at a Goodwill several years ago.

dg

[seaglass]

10. I don't have a Kindle but have a Nook and love it. Have had it for almost a year.

I am a book lover as are many people who own e-readers. However I care about the words that are in the book more than I do the physical book. That being said even though my house is over loaded with books there are certain books - non-fiction or an with pics, drawings etc. that I would buy in the dead tree version rather than on my Nook.

Each device has its own strengths and weaknesses. I would suggest doing some research to determine which are the most important features to you. As far as opinions, I would take into account only the info from those who actually own the device they are discussing as Kindle V Nook has gotten almost as bad as Mac v PC. :-)

The reasons for my choice of the Nook (and at the time the only other that I compared to was the Kindle):

I like the look of the Nook - the touch pad rather than the Kindle keypad.
I was concerned about limiting myself to the Kindle proprietary format (azw, mobi) vs the Nook standard epub. There are more places on the web to get books for the Nook than the Kindle, however as you are surely aware Amazon has a huge selection of books so this may not be limiting.

With the Nook you can borrow from the library, not so for the Kindle. Not sure about other e-reader devices.

I do not know about synchronizing books across devices - if this is something you are interested in doing (for ex reading on your e-reader and picking the book up on the same page on your iphone) you should probably do some research. I think Kindle is better at this but I am not sure.

If you do look at the Nook be aware that there is a big difference between the Nook and the NookColor. The Nook, like the Kindle uses e-ink which looks just like a page of a book - it is not back lit. The NookColor (and iPad) is LCD/back lit. This means that you can read a Kindle or Nook in bright sunlight just like you would read a DTB but if you want to read in the dark you need a light source. On the other hand NookColor and any other e-reader with LCD is similar to reading on a PC with the glare in sunlight and no light needed for reading in the dark.

I have the 3G/WiFi version of Nook. So not only can I have my entire electronic library with me wherever I go, if I feel the need to buy a book while I'm at the beach, I can. This is a great convenience but of course makes it easier to impulse buy.

In addition to free classics Nook offers Free Fridays each Friday - a new free book for a limited time only. If you use Twitter you can follow Inkmesh to alert you to free book offers on Sony/Kindle/Nook or you can just go to Inkmesh.com and check. A lot of time the e-reader discussion boards will note which books are free. Also books are discounted for a limited time - I just got a GRR Martin, Stieg Larson and Grisham for $5 each last week.

Be aware, as of last April - 5 of the major publishers decided that they would not allow booksellers to discount their ebooks so for many books the prices are set no matter where you buy them. Ebooks are not necessarily cheaper than paperback books. I personally will not spend more than $10 on an ebook but have found many, many books for way less than that.

The one thing to keep in mind that really pisses people off is that ebooks are not really owned by you. So for instance both Nook and Kindle have a Lend Me feature, the publisher decides which books are lend-able and have decided ebooks can only be lent once, for 2 weeks. If the publisher decides they don't want a book to be lend-able anymore than they just take away that ability. Clearly if you had a DTB then you could lend to whoever you want, whenever you want. I know that there was a big to-do a couple years ago about Amazon taking away 1984 - I think because of a rights issue - but I do not believe any book has been taken back since then by any ebookseller so I do not think this is a huge concern.

Hope this helps to some degree. I love my Nook and have been happy that B&N continues to work on improving features, I believe there have been 4 or 5 software updates since the original release. I know many are also happy with their Kindles, Sonys, etc. lucky for you there are now so many choices and price points. :-) Good Luck!

[Rabrrrrrr]

12. I have a Kindle - fucking love it! it's wonderful.

[Crystal Clarity]

13. Never tried the Kindle or Nook, but have a Sony Ereader.

Got it for Christmas. Meh, it's ok I guess but I wish it was backlit... I like to read in bed but the light disturbs my SO. That's my major beef w/it. Being able to adjust the fonts helps w/that, since I can use minimal light w/larger fonts. I assume you can do that w/the Kindle or Nook too though.

One good thing I'll say about it is being able to get library books. There are very few books I'd want to re-read, and for that rare few, I'd actually prefer a hard copy. Not something stored on the EReader. I think you can get library books w/a Nook too though.

Still overall, I'm liking it. Not sure how well it stacks up against the other 2 bigger names, but it's a pretty nice little gadget.

On edit: just realized by reading the other posts that 'Knook' is spelt 'Nook'

[Betty88]

15. I love my nook and know people who love their kindle

You can use a nook to get books from public libraries I don't think Kindle will let you do that. I have a friend with a Sony she loves it so its all a matter of looking at the features of each device and finding the one that suits you best. And it is wonderful to be able to read a book and not have to worry about where you are going to start the next stack, ran out of shelves ages ago.

[nolabear]

16. LOVE my Kindle, and I'm a book lover.

But these days I only buy books in paper that are meaningful for me to have, to see on the shelf. For a whole lot of just "I want a good read" reading I love having the option of carrying something light and easy to shove in my purse and that has numerous books in it at once (I'm like that). The Kindle's easy to read, the battery lasts forever (turn off the wireless when you're not using it) and nobody can tell what you're reading. I don't know why I like this, but I do.

[LuckyTheDog]

17. I have the Nook

The Nook is a bit more flexible in that it supports the EPub format.

I recommend it.

[realisticphish]

18. I love my Nook

I chose it because from what I had read at the time, it was more supportive of pdf ebooks being transfered onto it, which I have a rather large collection of. I don't know if that's still the case or not.

Also, Amazon has done some semi-shady things in terms of messing with their users content. But I haven't heard of any major incidents since the big kerfluffle last year

[Lex]

24. Ok, here's the deal---you can STILL read real books!

I have a Kindle. I love it.

I still check out certain books from the library, and I still buy books occasionally.

Not sure why people seem to think that if one has a Kindle, you lose your right to also read or own real books. :shrug:

[Phentex]

28. Excellent point!

People are so defensive about these things. :)

[mentalsolstice]

25. I'm a nook person!

I love it. The fact that it supports the ePub format means you can buy books from multiple vendors and not just from B&N.

[TreasonousBastard]

31. I have a Nook, and wonder how I managed to live so long without such a thing...

I still have books and magazines all over the place, but the Nook is just so damn convenient for most reading that I use it all the time.

An iPad or color Nook, or something else far in the future, would be better for some cookbooks and other books and magazines big on color pictures, but I'm perfectly happy to be reading text outdoors with e-ink.

[dropkickpa]

37. I have a NookColor

And I can read it outdoors in bright sunlight, I just turn up the brightness on it. The entire screen is touchscreen. It is extremely flexible, almost an Android tablet pc. I surf the internet, read books and newspapers, and do my book shopping from it. If I wanted to void my warranty, I would have already rooted mine and made it able to do run all apps in the Android marketplace. B&N is opening up an app market for it this month. I'll wait and see how B&N's marketplace shapes up, and, if it's crap after 6 months, I'm rooting mine and making it an Android tablet.

[Arkansas Granny]

38. I have one and I really like it. It's easy to use and I can shop for a new book any time I want.

It's great for traveling or visiting because you can carry a whole library with you without any bulk. The screen is as easy to read as paper and ink and doesn't cause any eye strain. The ability to change the font size is nice, too. I also find the Kindle easier to hold while I'm reading since I don't have to hold a book open. Since I have arthritis in my hands, that's a real advantage. It also not as heavy as many hardcover books.

The biggest drawback I have found is that pictures are small and only in black & white. However, few of the books that I read are illustrated so it's not a big problem.

A couple of friends have seen mine and ordered their own and my son-in-law just salivates everytime he sees it.

[yawnmaster]

39. Have a kindle and really like it. I, too, love having books around me...

and I still buy some books that I want to keep as paper copies - books that I really love, technical books, etc..

But there are some that I read for escape or that I want to have easily handy, and these I have on the kindle.

[Sisaruus]

40. I'm trying

My family gave me a Kindle last year - probably because I'm out of control when it comes to acquiring books (see: www.librarything.com/profile/sisaruus to understand how much out-of-control). It's convenient for traveling; lots of classics available for free; and 24/7 access(!) for purchasing whims. But there's something about that hard copy that is irresistable.

[Riftaxe]

41. I went with the nook over the kindle

As another person inundated with real books, I was surprised at how much i am enjoying the eReader :)

After comparing the kindle and nook, it really came down to B&N's being less infected with DRM, and B&N never unilaterally pulling content.

I also have a Borders Kobo (which is trash at best).

[Sisaruus]

42. My sister has a Kindle; her husband has a Nook

I do get frustrated by the inability to share a good read from my Kindle. My brother-in-law says that the Nook allows him to share a book with another Nook owner for 2 weeks. That would be a good feature.

[seaglass]

43. Kindle now has the Lend Me feature so you can share with another Kindle owner.

I'm assuming it's available for all Kindle versions as long as the book is lend-able. There is info about this on the Amazon Kindle forums.

[WillParkinson]

44. ColorNook...

Love it.

[WinkyDink]

45. I have books stacked where angels fear to tread. NO KINDLE! I guess I just like looking at books!

[lazarus]

46. I played with a Nook, but chose the Kindle

a couple of reasons:

1. I preferred the navigation on the Kindle. I don't do well with touchscreens.
2. Battery life. The Kindle lasts a lot longer (in part, because it doesn't have to display that touchscreen), up to a month.
3. This one is really weird. When I held a Nook in the position I would hold it to read, my thumb rested naturally on the "back page" button, and I had to shift up to get to the "next page" button. On the Kindle, it's the other way around. This was really the critical point in my decision.

You can get thousands of free books on the Kindle. I currently have one from Google Books that I downloaded in pdf format and transferred over, even. You can also get lots of cheap collections. Complete Mark Twain, $1.99. Complete Shakespeare, I think was free or 2 dollars. Complete HP Lovecraft for under $5.

Some stuff you can't get. JK Rowling is being an idiot, and thinks that allowing the Harry Potter books will lead to privacy. It would take me 5 minutes to download all of them right now. I'd prefer to buy them in the appropriate format, but they're already being pirated. And books from 5-10 years ago are still being transferred over to Kindle format (and ePub).

Virtually any new book is available for all ebook readers.

You can now lend some books (those the publisher will allow) from one Kindle to the other.

The Kindle allows cross platform transferability to an extreme level. You can get Kindle apps for virtually any electronic device. Buy the book once, and read it on anything, from your Droid to your iPhone to your PC to your iPad.

One thing to consider is which Kindle to buy. They have a $139 and a $189. The cheaper one works with just wifi, the more expensive one also accesses the store through 3G. We're about to buy a third Kindle, for my wife, and we're getting the wifi because she just doesn't download stuff that much. I subscribe to 5 blogs and a magazine, and am constantly downloading these, so I needed the 3G. A nice case is only 39.

Finally, Amazon sells a 2 year extended warranty for 60 dollars that I highly recommend. The two features that make it worth it: if you need a repair that isn't covered by warranty, it's still free shipping, and, the big one, you get a one time no questions asked replacement. So if you drop it from your balcony and it shatters, it's replaced. If you leave it outside in the rain, it's replaced. No questions asked. (This was more valuable when the Kindle was over $200, I don't know that it's all that important now that it's down to $139.)