Kindle/Nooks Vs Traditional books

[redirish28]

Poll question: Kindle/Nooks Vs Traditional books

Okay my wife and I are traditionalist we love the smell feel and touch of books when we read. We like the fact we have them and don't have to worry about losing them too electronic outage or virus or what not.


We can see how people like these items to save trees. Less space to take up.



Which do you prefer?

[abelenkpe]

1. Love art books

and history books. I have gobs of books and continue to buy the real thing. However, I also have a kindle and iPad with many books on both.

It doesn't have to be an either/or thing does it?

[Skittles]

2. I'll take a page-turner book ANY DAY over electronic devices

I monitor 42 mainframe images 12 hours a night - on my leisure time I wan a TRADITIONAL BOOK

[onehandle]

3. iPads are overtaking the Kindle/Nooks.

Well, everything is overtaking the Nook and Borders is trying to buy Barnes and Noble.

My wife loves her Kindle. I'm more about audio books. I love my Audible app on my iPhone.

[eablair3]

30. Which audible app are you referring to?

Nt

[dmallind]

41. Yeah - that is accurate..... well maybe in some universe

Meanwhile with about 2.5 m units sold Nook has about 35% of the e-reader market and Borders could be bought for the price of a remaindered paperback - if you take their debt.

[astonamous]

4. Love books and buy them used.

If I need something portable, I download audio book to BBerry and listen. My husband keeps wanting to buy me an IPad, but I just don't see the point...yet.

[Arctic Dave]

5. Traditional. I can read my book from take off to touch down without having to power down.

[Confusious]

6. I'm a computer geek

Take my iPad. Some of those computer books on your chest make it hard to breathe.

Even regular books are pretty cool on it.

And I save trees too!

[spin]

7. Kindle rocks ...

I have about 60 books on my Kindle. I have started to run out of space for books in my house, so the Kindle solve the problem.



Things I like about the Kindle:

1) Easy to find the definition of any word or even quickly go on line to research a subject.

2) Light weight.

3) LONG battery life.

4) Easy on the eyes.

5) Works outside in sunshine.

6) Most books are inexpensive, many older books are free.

7) Easy to organize books by category.

8) If you are reading a novel and you have a character that you have forgotten or are not sure what he did, you can do a search and find every time the character was mentioned.

9) Books download lightning fast.

10) If you don't like a book you download, you can contact Amazon in a reasonable period of time and they will refund your money and pull the book of your Kindle.

11) You can archive books and download them again in the future if you want.

12) You can reload your library without charge if you have problems with your Kindle or get a new one.

[RamboLiberal]

31. +1 Same great features makes me love my Nook

Also like that B&N has Nook Free Friday - have gotten several decent ebooks that way.

Only time I buy a paper book now is if they don't put it on Nook or I need the illustrations/photos.

Only downside I find is I can't resell the ebooks.

I wish J.K. Rowling would allow the Harry Potter books to go ebook. I'm not buying till she does. I did listen to the whole series on audio in past but would love to read.

[OutNow]

8. Kindle - for Font Size

I have impaired vision, little sight in one eye and other problems with the "good" eye. Kindle let's me increase the font size so I can read any book I can download. I read Large Print books for several years, but they are expensive and the choice is quite limited.

Of course my fort is large on the computer too, but the Kindle is not backlit and is portable.

[fadedrose]

18. After cataract surgery,

my eye doctor told me to get $1.00 glasses from a dollar store to help me see near things clearer. I have several strengths and they work well with any size print book. I see distances very well.....

[SheilaT]

9. What a relief that all the responders

read!

For those who complain about running out of space for books (I have that problem also) or the cost (ditto), there's an amazing secret I recently discovered: libraries.

To those with vision issues I offer my sincere sympathy. Okay, so it wouldn't be so terrible to need larger print(either large-type books or some electronic means), but if I ever lost vision to the point where I could no longer read (or crochet or embroider, I must add), I'd start considering an early exit.

Oh, and back to the reason I prefer the real thing: I often get books with pictures of some kind, either drawings and diagrams or photos, and I doubt they'd show up as well on the small screen. As it is, the difference between what the photos etc look like in the paperback version of a book compared to the ones in the full-sized hardback, can be significant.

Not to mention, as someone else has already pointed out, art books. I buy a lot of books on embroidery or crochet. I expect many of the patterns, especially the really fussy, fine patterns, would be less than easy to read or follow on a kindle.

But in praise of technology, I recently replace a printer that was at least five years old with a new printer/scanner/photocopier and I could not be more thrilled. Those crochet patterns? I photocopy whatever I'm currently working on so I don't have to drag around a huge book. Technology is wonderful.

[MaineDem]

10. I had to vote OTHER; I listen to audiobooks

While I knit, while I drive, while I sit and ignore the tv.

[housewolf]

11. I love my Kindle but there are some things I want in hard-copy

Cookbooks, for example, or other books that I want for reference.

I love the convenience of my Kindle - the low weight of it, the immediacy of being able to get a book witin seconds. I'm sure that as time goes by, better and better e-readers will evolve.

[Lex]

25. People react to Kindle like one has to give up hard-copy books . . .

when in fact it's just an alternative. I also buy certain books, like you said, cookbooks, that I want in hard copy.

[Demstud]

12. I prefer paper for novels, but...

I would love to have Kindle or something like it for technical manuals, math/physics books, etc.

[SheilaT]

59. Is the screen really large enough for the charts, the graphs,

all the other materials like that? Will they spill over to a second screen, making it a bit tricky to get the entire picture?

I'm inclined to think that technical manuals, math and physics books are the absolutely worst ones for the kindle format. Novels, fine. The others, not so good.

[LWolf]

13. Other: I don't know because I've never read with one.

They are pricey. Plus, the cost of downloading a book, considering that there is no paper, ink, binding, or shipping around to pay for, seems too high, as well. Also, I don't really like the idea of a reader attached to a particular book vendor. Finally, I'd need to be able to save my books and back up that file so that technological or human error didn't delete my library. While I don't know all the specifics, I did read recently that this is a problem.

All of that said, I expect that someday I will keep much of my vast library in digital form; it takes up a lot less space. It IS my library, to store where I please and loan or give when I want to. The technology needs to be available at a price I can afford, which means the current economic depression has to be over, the pay cuts I've taken have to be reversed, and my budget needs to be eased. The technology also has to be on my terms: a generic reader that can purchase and download books from any vendor at a reasonable cost, as well as from free sites and the library system, can be stored and backed up to prevent loss, and can be shared and given just like the rest of my books.

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

14. traditional books - the library

It's an interesting argument people put forward that they "need" a kindle or else their "bookshelves would be out of control".

I have a very small collection of authors that I own the books of, my favorites, the people I know I'll read again and again - it comes down to Kafka, Kerouac, Dostoevsky, a Hebrew Bible, and a Christian Bible. It takes up one shelf on my bookshelf.

And my wife and I have a stack of 6 books we recently got from the library, sitting on a different shelf. We're going to read them, we're going to bring them back. If we want to read them again, we'll get them again. But we probably wouldn't do that - there are so many books out there who can really waste their time reading the same thing over and over unless it's something really special? Expand your mind, read everything.

The idea that you have to own something in order to use it...I don't get so much. Then again, I have always tried to own a little as possible.

[truevote]

62. New fiction

Unfortunately most libraries don't have the obscure literature I tend to read. Finding new fiction is also an issue.

[getting old in mke]

15. I read'em all

I marked nook/Kindle, but it's hardly an either/or thing. I read about 135 books a year between traditional, electronic, and audio books. Each has its place. My nook is way easier/cleaner to read when in a restaurant (and as a consultant, there are lots of those...) and really convenient for hauling a library when traveling. Traditional books give that nice feel and better random access to look back when you think "Did the butler REALLY serve them arsenic laced tea 50 pages ago?" I'd recommend neither while driving :)

The nook also is a much more convenient way to read electronic materials (from Fictionwise, Smashwords, Project Gutenberg, Google books for example, and the rather extensive eBook offerings by library systems) than a computer screen. Traditional books, nook and Kindle all share the non-backlit goodness countering the problem that makes reading on computers, smartphones & their ilk so hard: eyestrain. Add the adjustable font-size and you can make it easier yet on the eyes. I also like that page turning on the nook can be a finger swipe instead of a button push. Mimics a physical page turn and reduces the wear and tear on the components.

I turned down the opportunity to get a Kindle a couple of years ago because I thought that I was a serious traditionalist when it came to books. Fifteen months later, it took me all of about 10 minutes to make the adjustment and become hooked.

Still, I came home from Bouchercon with a few dozen new mysteries.

[mvccd1000]

16. Not sure...

I like the feel of a real paperback in my hands, but I got a Kindle for an early Christmas present this year. Not only did it take up a lot less space in my luggage than the 5-8 books I usually pack, I was able to continue reading it during an unlighted part of my trip. I think I finished the book faster on the Kindle than I usually do in hard copy, and I found the media was as "transparent" to me as a book has become. (I didn't notice that I was reading on an electronic device instead of paper... I'd stop to look and notice that several hundred paragraphs had gone by since I last looked up from the story, just as I do with a book.)

I'll continue to patronize used book stores and libraries, or buy used books for a penny on Amazon, but for travel and convenience I sure like the Kindle.

Good point about leaving the trees standing, too.

[Curmudgeoness]

17. Traditional books. I love the touch, turning pages,

and I use a computer too much already. It is wonderful to get away from it.

[WolverineDG]

19. I got a Nook for Christmas

I wasn't even expecting it! I hadn't even thought of getting one because I, too, like holding a book in my hands & seeing them on the shelves. I also love to spend time in the library perusing the shelves. :)

That being said, now that I have a Nook, I really like it. I like the fact that I can get some classic books for free & classic novel collections for pennies. I'm not sure I'd want to spend $ on getting current novels that I can get from the library, though.

I like the Nook because it's lightweight (compared to the book I hauled to Seattle for Christmas), & can store many books so I'm not locked in to just reading the 1 or 2 I dragged along with me when I travel. My Nook does have wi-fi capabilities but it can't connect to the wi-fi I have at home (boo-hiss--I'm not the only one, based on the google searches I've done), so I have to park next to McDonald's to get updates. ;)

Now I can save my $ and shelf space for books I really like. :)

dg

[Mudoria]

20. Bought a Kindle over a year ago and I'll never go back paper again.

I love the lightweight, how easy it is on the eyes to read, the fact that I have over 150 books on it (and not 150 paper books overflowing on my bookshelves), how fast it is to download new books, etc etc. I loved it so much I just bought a Wi-Fi Kindle 3 which is even more handy than the previous one. At this point the only way I'll buy another paper book is if it will complete a collection I have or it's never going to be available for the Kindle.

[RamboLiberal]

32. Same here - except I have a Nook

It keeps me reading many different books. Love how it keeps place for me.

[JitterbugPerfume]

21. I love the feel and smell of real books

but i am seriously considering buying a Kindle. My small living space has been taken over with bookcases in every room.

[Poiuyt]

22. I like being surrounded by books

I feel like I gain by osmosis when I sit in my library. My favorite place.

I do, however, have a Kindle app on my iPod. I like to have a book that I can read between my students and this is always with me.

[KusaVariola]

23. Durability

I want something you can throw at someone without being out a couple hundred dollars.

[Lex]

24. I love both. The thing about the Kindle is that you don't have to give up real books.

You have an alternative with the Kindle, that's all.

[Lost-in-FL]

26. Both

Read mostly on my iPad but keep my favorite reads in hardcopy.

[cdsilv]

27. Nook - hackable android......

....already 'auto-nooted' mine to get market etc... gotta have angry birds! Also, supports EPUB, PDF and .doc files, many of which are free, non-DRM'd.

[Philippine expat]

28. I'm a fairly non tech type of guy

traditional books only

[WaitingforKarlRove]

29. Author and bookstore manager

I'm an author and also manage a bookstore. I truly love everything about books. My sister is a keynote speaker who travels and loves her Kindle. I think I'll continue holding books in my hands, even though I could barely lift the hardcover of Stephen King's Under the Dome. Times are really changing though because the Kindle version of Waiting for Karl Rove is outselling the paperback by 10:1. I can't decide if it's the economy, or avid readers are beginning to prefer them. I'm old school and will stick with my 50-year love affair with print.

http://closetspacemusings.blogspot.com/

[pitohui]

33. books because i can't afford the kindle/nook

i simply read too fast to be able to afford the electronic option, if books become all electronic and unavailable in paper, i guess i will have to give up on reading books, after decades of reading a book almost every day

the crap about all the supposed free content is just that, crap, i read those 100 free books when i was a kid, and so did every other serious reader

the cost of ebooks is just not something a regular reader can pay if they're not well-to-do

with traditional books, when i have no money, i can still get books, through my library, through swapping, through the quarter bin
at places around my town

the ebook means an end to reading full length books for people of limited means

i have had two people offer to buy me a kindle for free, offers i had to refuse once i looked into the costs of content

i simply can't take on another expense

it is starting to worry me that these things seem to be taking over, is even the simple pleasure of a new book to be something only for the well-to-do?

[dmallind]

38. utter tosh.

There are hundreds of thousands of free books, and as many others nearly free on e-books. Complete Dickens? Twain? Maugham? Trollope? Wodehouse? Austen? Hardy? Tolstoy? Get them all for 0.99-2.99 apiece in digitized rather than OCR garbled formats - cheaper by far thsn any paper version; or download for free and deal with the odd "typo". Same for all the classics, hundreds of anthologies and essentially prety much everything out of copyright. If you are fixated on the latest bestsellers only - most of them trashy crap - then stick to libraries (many of which incidentally also lend ebooks) because paper copies cost more, not less, than e-books.

[fadedrose]

39. My library is looking into..

using EBooks and has a survey going about how many people have Kindle, do they want EBooks from the library, and what are they willing to pay, if anything, for Ebooks. Not interested myself, I like books...

They're still working on a feasible plan. Hope they get it. Makes the library greater than it is now. We have so many services - computer searches, requests, and notification as to when the books are ready to pick up. Calls are welcome, no matter how stupid the question. ;)

[SheilaT]

42. But getting those books from the public

library is free. Free. As in other than the gas in your car to go to the library -- or maybe you can walk or take the public bus -- you don't shell out any other money for those books.

And the e-reader itself is a long way from free.

I do see the "it takes up a lot less space" argument, especially when travelling. I've been known to pack an excess of books when I go somewhere, which is much more of a problem when flying than when driving. If commercial space travel ever comes about in my lifetime, then I'd get an e-reader, because space and weight would be at a huge premium.

Interestingly enough, Robert Heinlein, in his book "Farmer in the Sky" mentions that problem, and I believe he has his characters converting their books to something like microfilm before they leave earth to colonize one of the moons of Jupiter.

[dmallind]

43. And many public libraries offer ebooks too.

The post I was replying to complained about the price of ebooks, not the one tine e-reader. Ebooks are much much cheaper than buying books.

case in point - I searched the bargain nook books section of bn.com ONLY for "complete works" and found 2900+ choices under 2.99. Do that on paper.

[SheilaT]

44. Do the libraries also lend the e-readers?

Since you can check out thousands upon thousands of books for free from the library, and since e-readers set you back a hundred dollars or more, checking books out of the library is still the cheapest possible alternative. And with the widest possible selection.

I can often get books from Amazon for $.01 plus shipping.

Plus, what I really like about real books is that I can pass them on to someone else when I'm done. I'm under the impression that's not as readily possible with the electronic versions.

Even though I understand the appeal of the e-readers to many people, I don't find them to be an obvious advantage over the real thing in most cases.

[fadedrose]

45. You forgot to mention....

It's so easy to hug a book you loved . . .

I've done that many times.

[dmallind]

47. Was not the point - shifting goalposts, but still easily answered.

I responded to a post specifically clsiming paper BOOKS are cheaper and that there were only 100 free e-books. Both were bullshit and still are regardless of what you want to discuss now.

Yes you pay for the e-reader. What you pay for is:

1) Need no more expensive heavy bookshelves. I have about 450 "real" books (since the point of a book is the words, why is an e-book not "real"? Unless we are talking original manuscripts, both are mechanical duplicates - why does the medium of a dead tree impart reality?). They are on two large and one medium bookshelves. I didn't buy hand-crafetd amboina wood beauties but HOM discounted jobs - still paid four times the price of a Nook for them (which will hold three+ times as many books in a 9oz package). Every time I move it takes hours to pack them, and effort to move and find space for the shelves. I've moved twice since I've had my Nook. If they had been the norm when I started buying books I would have saved many times its price and avoided hours of effort. I'd have a whole room in my house spare too. Not an obvious advantage?

2) Portability. If I feel like reading Dickens on the plane, Herodotus at the hotel and Wodehouse at the beach do I carry three heavy tomes or one slim device? What if I change my mind and feel like reading Verne on the plane, but I left that book at home to save space? 1500 books with you wherever you go in less weight and space than most single paperbacks is not an advantage to a reader? How so?

3) Replaceability. For one-time readers this may not be an issuee, but I read my favorites over and over again. My copy of Heller's God Knows literally fell apart this year. My Golden Bough is water damaged. Sure Nooks can get damaged too - but the books don't wear out no matter how often you read them, and a lost or damaged Nook can be replaced with all the books as good as new, just re-downloaded from your account. Oh and all but a few of my ebooks have a little "lend me" icon next to the titles.

4) Lightness and ease. For readers of small mass market novellas this is no big deal either, but 80% of my reading is Edwardian and earlier. Middlemarch in the bargain B/N hardback edition does not rest comfortably on your chest while reading in bed, trust me. Nor does its font size adjust to tired and, I guess I finally need to admit it, aging eyes. I am surprised that anyone over 40 at least doesn't find that one feature worth the price on its own. To fit Shakespeare into one volume as the discounters surely do (and tightwads like me surely thank them) they have to get down to tiny typefaces even with a huge 4lb clumsy book. I don't even THINK of reading my "real" Shakespeare now - I paid 0.99 more on top of my original IIRC $9.99 bargain to get them all in a slim light device that can expand that font AND switch over to something frothy and easy when my attention is wandering. Not an advantage?

How much is shipping on those $.01 books by the way, and can you get me the complete works of Twain for that next time you see it, no more than $2.98 for immediate delivery please, just to show that advantage "real" books have?

[SheilaT]

48. For me the up-front cost of

the e-reader is a huge stumbling block. I don't at present find it important to have instant access to thousands of books any time, anywhere. I understand why that might be important to you.

I'm also looking forward to the day they change technologies, and everyone now has to buy a new, more expensive e-reader, and no old books transfer to the new format. Think that won't happen? I have a bunch of files from earlier word-processing programs that I can no longer access. And my current PC runs Microsoft Windows XP from 2002, and I can no longer load new computer games on it. Sigh. I guess at my age I should just give up on computer games. I realize that others just happily upgrade as often as the new stuff comes out, and that you will cheerfully buy the new e-reader that will be required a few years down the road, and just re-purchase all of the thousands of books you want to have instant access to. That works for you. It doesn't for me.

[fadedrose]

40. I agree

I couldn't afford ebooks, no matter how cheap, because, like you, I read too much. And the way the libraries are set up today, you can get books from every library in your state plus out-of-state facilities.. Magazines, periodicals, etc., all can be gotten through your library - for nothing maybe ebooks soon too, but they probably won't be free).

I am so into serials that interlibrary loans have become a must. So many series have a couple of books missing at my own library. I just love that place, the people and the BOOKS, paper ones, that is.

[WeekendWarrior]

34. I Like Both

I, too, love the smell and feel of books, but I also love the Kindle, which, after use, is so close to reading a paperback book that I forget sometimes that I have an electronic device. The thing has a battery life of like a month, so I don't really worry about electronic outages. And viruses on an ereader? They don't exist yet.

So, for me, I like both. The convenience of a Kindle. The feel of a book.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

35. Both paper books and the Kindle and iBooks apps

I'm mostly a paper book type of person, but lately, I've discovered that putting the Kindle and iBook app on an iPad and/or iPhone means that you can carry reading material anywhere.

This frees up luggage space when you're traveling. In former times, I used to pack three or four books for a long trip, but on my last trip, I just packed an iPad loaded with books and TV shows, and there was my entertainment--and extra luggage space.

[DUgosh]

36. Love me some paperbacks

However, I have at least 25 audio books downloaded into my ipod. I use the overdrive software that the public library provides on it's website for transferring. I listen to books all the time and sometimes I read the paper just for the relaxation of reading. I just bought my kid a nook first edition. If she hates it I will end up with it. If not I will probably get one soon. The library has many e books available for check out that are not on audio yet it looks like something I could get into! I love technology!

[Matariki]

37. Computer job has been hurting my eyes and I've been reading less and less.

Didn't really correlate reading less with my eyesight, it just seemed vaguely less pleasant. I used to be an avid reader so I was perplexed why I found myself avoiding it.

Then I got a Kindle and yay! back to being an avid reader! I can set the font to a size that's comfortable.

[Qanisqineq]

46. I voted "other." I have the applications for PC

I recently bought an HP Slate and have downloaded the applications: Kindle for PC and Nook for PC. I don't know how much they differ on screen from the actual devices. Between the two applications, I like the Kindle better (easier to figure out, font size, the application itself just looks nicer). I don't like that the Kindle app justifies the margins so that one line might have only two words in it.

The Nook, on the other hand, seems better with some books (I've downloaded samples of the same book on each) -- the page decorations and small illustrations are there in the Nook book that aren't in the Kindle book. Makes me feel like I am reading the actual book. Plus, I haven't noticed the justifying margins bit so much.

On the other hand (if I had a third), I should have voted for the actual book choice because that is what I prefer. :)

[Sequoia]

49. E-books are to traditional books as blow-up dolls are to humans.

Or instant potatatoes are to real mashed potatoes. However, on a camping trip the instant might come in handy. I guess blow-up dolls are floatable on water. Seriously though, browsing thru books is so much better.

[Lex]

50. as typing on computers is to handwriting letters . . ?

[fadedrose]

51. Like you, I love browsing more than reading sometimes - -

especially after a disappointing read...Kindle can't make a lousy novel better, and you sure can't throw it. :evilfrown: But,if it's my very only book, I can toss it out or scribble a mustache on the author's picture. :evilgrin:


Love to look at books coming out which used to mean nothing to me until I had enough books under my belt to recognize many of the authors. :think:


Besides, there are a lot of humans whose company I would trade for a blown-up buddy every once in a while...:silly: (present company excepted, of course) O8)

[Name removed]

52. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[elfin]

53. I like both

Love my kindle, especially for the samples.

Then, if I want it or other books by that author, I check the library. Then I go to bookfinder.com and compare price to Amazon and kindle.

I use the kindle for books I want to read immediately, and that are ones I like as opposed to friends that may like it also.

Haven't used the loan kindle feature yet -- none of the books I pick have had that option yet.

Right now, my anglophile sister has my kindle for books in the Sansom Shardlake series, while I read other thrillers from the local library.

I may have trouble getting it back -- she loves it as well, for its features of vocab. definitions and for being light in weight and easier to use for arthritis condition.

I know she will get one as well and I hope more books will be "lendable" between us.

[Wolf Frankula]

57. Me Too.

I have downloaded, over the year, a great number of old books, some out of print for two hundred years, and available only in rare bookstores at enormous expense, or unavailable anywhere at any price. Most are in .txt form.

I love to read, but find sitting up and reading fatiguing for two reasons. 1: I work at a computer 8 hours a day, and reading at a computer is too much like work and 2: Like the late H.L. Mencken, I think it foolish to do anything standing up you can do sitting down, and to do anything sitting down you can do lying down.

I got a Kindle a few days ago, and am now reading Will Cuppy's How to become a Hermit, lying down, a beer at my elbow.

Wolf Frankula

[D-Fens]

54. Call me crazy...

I like the look and feel of ordinary books. Some books I like to put notes in the margins, and you can't do that with an ordinary book.

However, having a Kindle would be great for travelling

[Lex]

55. I have a Kindle and I still buy certain "traditional" books.

Kindle *is* convenient, easy to travel or commute with, and I have loads of books in my house so I really don't need to own any more books. I also visit the library regularly, but some books have a long wait list there if they are new books.

[whistler162]

56. I answered "If it isn't TV it isn't worth my time" why

because it is like asking which do you prefer ballpeen or claw hammers?

It depends on what I want it for. To carry around I prefer a ebook reader to read at home a paper book.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

58. I've downloaded the whole Sherlock Holmes canon (all free) and am working

through it with the iBook app on my phone.

[justiceischeap]

60. iPhone/iPad for reading eBooks

I too love real books but they're a bitch to move and kill trees to boot. It's also much easier to carry my book in my pocket for my 2 hour daily commute than a proper book.

[truevote]

61. TEXT files

I own an expansive library of books but also enjoy the Kindle. Each have their benefits. With libraries like JSTOR or Project Gutenburg I'd rather have them on a kindle screen than on a monitor.

[MayHamm]

63. There really are a million free e-Books.

I suppose this discussion is old and out of date but I just got here so I'll comment anyway.

I don't think libraries will ever be history. They simply are way too useful. I go frequently for new novels and reference books that I can't (won't) afford. Still, when I was given a NookColor with more than 550 books loaded on it I was instantly a believer! Since then I have gotten over 200 additional books, mostly free, and nearly all the others under $5.

You mentioned 100 free ebooks. One of the eReaders offered 100 free eBooks, as a promotion but that isn't all the free ebooks they have. I don't know much about using a Kindle because I have a NookColor and Barnes and Noble offers almost 2,000,000 free eBooks. At first I didn't know how to find them so I went to their discussion forum and found out. Type in $0.00 and click search nookbooks and you get 1,834,846 hits.

New books, old books, classics, anything that is out of copyright plus anything new that new authors are trying to establish their reputation with. In addition there are many hundred "under $5.00" that are new and worth reading. I bought a collection of 500 classic science fiction short stories for $2.99 and have spent literally hours reading just them.

[SheilaT]

65. And this compares to how many

books at the library?

[MayHamm]

66. Why should it compare?

*What* compare for that matter? I don't really understand your reply.

[ForeverFlashy]

64. Traditional books

I love computers and gadgets, but I just can't entirely disregard traditional books. For one, they don't run out of batteries, so we don't really run the risk of not being able to read our books when there's an extended period of black outs. And yeah, I love the feel of the pages on my fingertips (and sometimes the taste, when I lick my fingers to better sift through pages. Hehe!)

[Lex]

67. I love my Kindle AND traditional books. You don't have to choose.

Some of one kind, some of the other.

[eablair3]

68. Update: Kindle Fire; New color Nook, etc ???s

This thread has some good older posts in it, but new versions of these e-readers have come out. (They appear to be much more than e-readers now.) Could anyone that knows give me an update, review or comparison of these devices?

I have an Ipad, and have been using it to read with iBooks. I've really enjoyed it. The features on it are awesome. The drawback to the Ipad is that one cannot really see it in the daylight, making it virtually unusable outside. However, inside or at night, it's awesome as it's baclklit with easily adjustable brightness on the fly, among many features in the reader that are adjustable.

But, it doesn't perform outside or in bright daylight, so I've been keeping an eye on Kindles and Nooks, as these b&w screens are easily readable outside. My question relates to the new Kindle Fire and the new color Nook. Can these be used outside in daylight easily? Or, do they have the same issues as the Ipad?

I've been thinking of picking up a basic Nook or Kindle to use on the more infrequent times when I want to read outside or in daylight. Nook uses the epub format which is the same that Ipad uses. Can I easily load my epub books onto a Nook?

Kindles use the .mobi format. Are these easily loaded onto a Kindle?

Any Kindle Fire and/or color Nook users here? How do you like those devices?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[MayHamm]

69. I have a NookColor. My niece is getting a KindleFire

The NookColor is a lot like the newest NookTablet because the NC is backlit and I can surf the web (but not very good.) The newest Nook is made the same but a lot better. So is the KindleFire which my niece will have and between the two I'd recommend the Fire because B&N's internal configuration keeps nearly all of the storage space reserved for stuff you buy at B&N only. Amazon doesn't do that with the Fire. Plus the Fire costs $50 less.

BUT, as to reading in daylight. I have no trouble at all. None. I read outside all the time on my backlit NookColor. However... at the B&N discussion board people do complain about it and those who have a problem never seem to be able to read in the sun. I don't know why.