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Kindle, etc.

Does anyone have one of these? Are they worth while? Are they easy to use, and easy to read from? Is there a large selection of reading material available? Can you load e-books on to it or buy them especially from Amazon or whoever?

I read constantly, and it seems to me this would be a good solution for traveling. And it might also give me quicker and cheaper access to english-language reading material.

Thanks.

Susan
 
Jul 7, 2009
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Susan Westemeyer said:
Does anyone have one of these? Are they worth while? Are they easy to use, and easy to read from? Is there a large selection of reading material available? Can you load e-books on to it or buy them especially from Amazon or whoever?

I read constantly, and it seems to me this would be a good solution for traveling. And it might also give me quicker and cheaper access to english-language reading material.

Thanks.

Susan

I understand they can be problematic for different people. Some say it is a strain on their eyes. Others say the page transition is awkward. Maybe they just need getting accustomed to.
 
Jul 23, 2009
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Susan Westemeyer said:
Does anyone have one of these? Are they worth while? Are they easy to use, and easy to read from? Is there a large selection of reading material available? Can you load e-books on to it or buy them especially from Amazon or whoever?

I read constantly, and it seems to me this would be a good solution for traveling. And it might also give me quicker and cheaper access to english-language reading material.

Thanks.

Susan

A coworker has one and seems to enjoy it - you can download ebooks from Amazon and the font size can be changed. Personally, I like the old Microsoft reader for the Pocket PCs - smaller hardware that could fit in my pocket. I still use it but am likely to be changing to an iPhone (or similar option) in a couple of months and plan to use that for my reader.
 
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Susan...I know a few folks who have these...they work fine I think...my only problem with them is access to different sorts of things...if you read totally mainstream and the most popular books you are just fine...if you have a different sorta taste, forget it...a german writer I like is peter handke...you can buy his books here in translation easily...you could never buy it on download...I am just giving an example...so for me, via my tastes I would never pick one of these up...what I am saying is anything out of the ordinary is difficult and they only aim for thkets it seems...but here in america if you want that new dan brown book they are probably great...I do know none of my friends have any problem with reading them and love their portability and how they can just download stuff in a few seconds...
 
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Cash05458 said:
Susan...I know a few folks who have these...they work fine I think...my only problem with them is access to different sorts of things...if you read totally mainstream and the most popular books you are just fine...if you have a different sorta taste, forget it...a german writer I like is peter handke...you can buy his books here in translation easily...you could never buy it on download...I am just giving an example...so for me, via my tastes I would never pick one of these up...what I am saying is anything out of the ordinary is difficult and they only aim for thkets it seems...but here in america if you want that new dan brown book they are probably great...I do know none of my friends have any problem with reading them and love their portability and how they can just download stuff in a few seconds...

I know that you can get a variety of Newspapers (if that is something that interests you) downloaded to the reader daily. While I am sure the popular books are readily available I believe you can get most of the classics as well. I have not heard about the availability of the little known authors but I believe you could go online to Amazon.com and see if your favored authors are available (since I believe that Amazon does send selections to the Kindle).

http://www.amazon.com/Books-Kindle/b?ie=UTF8&node=154606011

Also, a quick look at the site indicates well over 350,000 books available at this time.
 
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my point is about "little know authors"...Handke, by the way, is quite a big author in europe...one of the biggest german writers since the 70's ...do you really need to correct every opinion and piece of advice anyone gives out here? you seem to be like the cockroach...rearing his *** everywhere...:D
 
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Cash05458 said:
my point is about "little know authors"...Handke, by the way, is quite a big author in europe...one of the biggest german writers since the 70's ...do you really need to correct every opinion and piece of advice anyone gives out here? you seem to be like the cockroach...rearing his *** everywhere...:D

I like to read electronic books - I have a friend who owns a Kindle - I thought someone was asking about the Kindle - there are a number of threads I have not posted on that are current, I have looked but have not found interest in making a comment. There are a number of posters with a lot more postings than mine. I take it they do not annoy you as much, but perhaps it is because you like preaching to the choir.

And, Kindle seems to have a book or two by your favored author > http://www.amazon.com/Sorrow-Beyond-Dreams-Review-Classics/dp/1590170199/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258855239&sr=8-3-catcorr
 
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i just think the whole thing is weird.. i never see a day where i will be curled up on the train, or a sofa reading from a lump of plastic..

a book is a book.. some things just shouldnt be messed with..
 
Jul 23, 2009
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dimspace said:
i just think the whole thing is weird.. i never see a day where i will be curled up on the train, or a sofa reading from a lump of plastic..

a book is a book.. some things just shouldnt be messed with..

It does take getting used to but I have a couple of hundred books with me wherever I carry my PDA - as mentioned earlier I do not like the size of the Kindle. In fact, I doubt I personally would move to the Kindle because the primary reason I enjoy electronic books is the small size and portability they provide (it is great to have something I can read while waiting for a case to be called instead of sitting impatiently).
 
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CentralCaliBike said:
I like to read electronic books - I have a friend who owns a Kindle - I thought someone was asking about the Kindle - there are a number of threads I have not posted on that are current, I have looked but have not found interest in making a comment. There are a number of posters with a lot more postings than mine. I take it they do not annoy you as much, but perhaps it is because you like preaching to the choir.

And, Kindle seems to have a book or two by your favored author > http://www.amazon.com/Sorrow-Beyond-Dreams-Review-Classics/dp/1590170199/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258855239&sr=8-3-catcorr

my god...you just can't help looking crap up...to somehow prove your point on every point...I have no idea which choir you are talking about...the kindle snob crowd I suppose...you just can't help yourself can you? it's like a disease...jesus christ...
 
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Cash05458 said:
my god...you just can't help looking crap up...to somehow prove your point on every point...I have no idea which choir you are talking about...the kindle snob crowd I suppose...you just can't help yourself can you? it's like a disease...jesus christ...

And you cannot seem to help yourself in attempting to insult someone who disagrees and points out why - I suppose it would be better if I disagreed without any references so you could say I do not know what I am talking about in the first place.

"Preaching to the choir" is a phrase used for someone who only likes to communicate with those who agree with their personal point of view.
 
dimspace said:
i just think the whole thing is weird.. i never see a day where i will be curled up on the train, or a sofa reading from a lump of plastic..

a book is a book.. some things just shouldnt be messed with..

This is another of my major concerns. I don't just love reading, I love books.

However, for travel, it makes a lot of sense, but on the other hand, all that money just for something to use on vacation?

Coincidentally the German magazine CT has a cover article on the subject this week, so I will read what they have to say.

Cash and CentralCali, please stop it. Stick to the discussion and cool it with the personal comments.

Thanks all.

Susan
 
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Susan Westemeyer said:
Cash and CentralCali, please stop it. Stick to the discussion and cool it with the personal comments.

Thanks all.

Susan

Sheesh, I was just gonna say, daggone, folks arguing of a Kindle???
For a moment I thought Susan put this in here just for a go at trolling!
 
We are back in the US at the moment, and seriously considering a Nook from Barnes and Noble. Anyone have any thoughts or comments on the product?

Edited to add that one drawback is that it is not possible to buy Nook books outside of the US. How about Kindle books, anyone know?

I also gather that I can download the free B&N e-books to any computer.......

Susan
 
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Susan Westemeyer said:
We are back in the US at the moment, and seriously considering a Nook from Barnes and Noble. Anyone have any thoughts or comments on the product?

Edited to add that one drawback is that it is not possible to buy Nook books outside of the US. How about Kindle books, anyone know?

I also gather that I can download the free B&N e-books to any computer.......

Susan

Clearance Sale: Barnes & Noble Didn't Evolve Enough

The giant bookstore chain, whose superstores once struck fear into the hearts of independent booksellers everywhere, put itself up for sale this month, rendering it the corporate equivalent of the remaindered books it sells at a discount.
 
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for us in the US the thing is useless. Small,good battery life,no power, less than no flexibility you can't loan a book to a friend after spending 7-14 dollars for the title. I broke my ipad after 5 and half weeks. that is a record for any Apple product I have owned. The Nano and Shuffle are ideal for riding. the shuffle a bit more so. Works great doesn't break..good batt life. The kindle was good until I realized that it was a very hard to keep book..don't toss your backpack no rides when the weather might turn..lots of free titles that I would not have read otherwise. Now that B&N are for sale I think these things will be used as door stops within a couple of months after the sale.
 
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Susan Westemeyer said:
We are back in the US at the moment, and seriously considering a Nook from Barnes and Noble. Anyone have any thoughts or comments on the product?

Edited to add that one drawback is that it is not possible to buy Nook books outside of the US. How about Kindle books, anyone know?

I also gather that I can download the free B&N e-books to any computer.......

Susan

11-12 days late but maybe you are still stateside...

I picked up the Nook while there about 2 weeks ago. Love it.

Had the same problem you are referring to but given you are American there is a way around it...that B&N actually helped me with. If you buy one and are interested, I'll gladly pass it along.
 
If you want to know what a kindle is like without buying one, just download a book to your computer. All you do is go to Amazon and download the whispersync software. Once you have that on your computer, you can download any kindle books.

I have bought several books and read them on my laptop. Though the kindle screen is more reader-friendly than that of a laptop (no glare, e.g.), I found the reading on a laptop quite satisfactory, and for that reason might not buy a kindle. I'm most interested in academic/science books, but based on my experience with these, I would have no problem reading fiction as well in this format.

I'm surprised to read so much reluctance on this thread. I will very safely predict that in a few years, almost all books will be available in kindle, and within a few years after that there will be very few people claiming that reading a physical book is a unique experience that a kindle can never replace. (Sounds very reminiscent of the early 1980s, when many people were saying computers were not for the masses, that most people had no use for them). Whatever attractive features a physical book has, they are locked in; the format can't be significantly changed. In contrast, there is almost limitless change possible in an electronic format, so just in the past few years we have seen major advances in readability, and there will be more.

Here are a few advantages of the kindle, beyond the obvious one of being able to store hundreds of books in a device smaller and lighter than most paperbacks:

1) Can locate and buy any kindle book in literally seconds.
2) Can easily hold it in one hand (not so with most current laptops, of course, but that will change)
3) Can turn pages with lightning speed
4) Can highlight passages without "destroying" the book, and find these passages quickly
5) Can make a virtually unlimited number of notes in the book, again without altering or marring the text.
6) Can easily bookmark and find any number of pages in the book
7) Can move quickly between two related sections of a book, e.g., between text and endnotes or references.


One of the biggest complaints I have heard, mentioned on this thread, is that you can't give or loan a book to someone when you have finished it. I'm sure that if that becomes a big enough sticking point for enough people, that will be addressed. But keep in mind that electronic books are much cheaper to produce than the paper kind, and usually sell for much less. Most kindle books sell for around $10. Also, you can usually read a portion of the book for free, to see if you're interested.
 
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Susan,

I have had a Kindle for almost a year now and really like it. Sorry, I'm coming late to the party but I haven't experienced any of the "problems" others have. If you find the type is too small, make it bigger, it's easy. Selection of books is fine, there have only been a couple older titles that I was not able to find.

If you can find books online in pdf format - say via torrents if that is your thing - you can up load them to your Kindle, there is a nominal fee to convert it but to me that's no issue. Most of the books sold via Amazon are about $10 US although some are more. If you enjoy older classics, many of those are now public domain and can be downloaded free from the Amazon site.

Since you read a lot, you're going to love the thing and if you're used to buying all your books, you'll save money and not have piles of books collecting dust in your home.
 
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i see no point in getting one the them. i can read books on my phone... if you really want something larger wait till there is a decent android tablet on the market. you get so much more functionality
 
I really only want the kindle for traveling. Can't do it on my phone as I am one of these old-fashioned (and cheap) people who uses my mobile phone for phoning and texting only.

We looked at an IPad, but it is awfully expensive, and I really don't see what advantage it offers me over my laptop. Plus you can't use it if you have fingernails.

Susan
 
Susan Westemeyer said:
I really only want the kindle for traveling. Can't do it on my phone as I am one of these old-fashioned (and cheap) people who uses my mobile phone for phoning and texting only.

We looked at an IPad, but it is awfully expensive, and I really don't see what advantage it offers me over my laptop. Plus you can't use it if you have fingernails.

Susan

I love my kindle, there is a huge inventory of books available and I have no problem reading the text. Its quite nice really, each book is the same size so it becomes very comfortable and you get used to reading holding the tablet. Some books are to thick, to big or to heavy and this works perfect. I just upgraded to the new model and the display is notably better. I paid 139 at Amazon.

I travel a lot so I bought an iPad because I like to watch a movie occasionally to pass the time. Its great for movies and surfing the web as most flights and trains have wifi but I am constantly disappointed when it comes to ibooks. The apple book store only has about 50% of the books I have wanted to read. Its a bit heavier but you get used to it pretty quickly, the display is very nice and it would be my preference if more books were available. I suspect the next iPad will be smaller and if thats the case combined with a better book store it will be my system of choice. but I suspect iBooks will take longer to catch up.
 

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