iPad and Kindle: The demise of the Book

[stella2]

Dannielle, thanks so much for the tip for that product. I was really missing reading in the bath and in the pool on holiday. Now problem solved.

[mudmucker]

I am not averse to either.

I love the book experience for it's obvious soulful and tactile experience. I love my kindle too. In my 20's though, I helped a friend move around 80 boxes of books and it wasn't fun. I vowed from then on to not obtain a collection like that. I became a library fan. Anywhere I moved, I got library cards to at least 5-6 surrounding towns. I love the library experience, to go in and lose yourself among the myriad of aisles and quiet. On a rainy day I've emerged from the library hours later, quite transformed and refreshed. I love the library experience so much I attempt to make the experience as organic as possible - I make a point to ride my bike to the library with my panniers and depending on where I've lived, has been many miles. Currently, riding to the nearest library is a 34 mile round-trip so it becomes a special destination experience for me.

I also love used bookstores. B&N and all that is fun and I often visit, but it is comparatively glitzy and commercial...new books are even superflous in a way although it must start new at some point. Like libraries, going to a used bookstore to me is green and utilitarian. I take comfort in used books. My favorite used bookstore is Troubador Books, a treasure of a place within driving distance to me.

I don't have a lot of room, nor do I like the accumulation of piles of newspapers, magazines, etc. I will still buy a book now and then, used or new but it has to be something like a reference or something not amenable to electronic form.

I love my Kindle too for obvious reasons stated previously. I bought one this winter as a present to myself before a long recovering from surgery. I couldn't drive for 6 weeks and it was stormy enough to keep friends from visiting often. I could get most anything I wanted immediately and at any hour. I can pile hundreds of books in one device and carry it where ever I want. I can read comfortably in bed without having to hold a heavy book. Saves a lot of space in my house that's for sure.

I don't think books will vanish anytime too soon. Books are too much of an ethereal human experience to be lost forever.

[withm]

What's inside your Kindle????

http://www.eevblog.com/2010/09/03/ee...fi-6-teardown/

Scroll down for a video highlighting the insides.

[GLC1968]

I have given in and asked for a Kindle for Christmas. While I'm a HUGE fan of actual paper books, I am now seeing enough of a draw to consider e-books.

1) I want to be able to enlarge the text so that I can read while on the treadmill or trainer.

2) I want the option to enlarge the text for when I don't have my reading glasses handy (aging sucks!).

3) I read fast. For novels, this is wasteful as many of the books I read I have no interest in keeping. I donate them, but still...what a waste of paper and resources for 8 -10 hours of entertainment! I will continue to buy books that I want to keep as a resource, but for novels...ebooks just seem smarter.

4) I hate the waste of magazines. We are down to only two subscriptions - both of which are magazines that we save after we have read them (again, as resources). One is National Geographic and one is Mother Earth News. The rest? I'd be happy to read online/electronically.

5) Because I read fast, traveling is a pain. I cannot carry all the books I'll go through on a long flight and I hate buying new ones when I've still got unread books on my nightstand. With a Kindle (or other such device), I can carry way more books than I'll ever read in a single trip.

I do think there will always be room for real paper books on my shelves though. That will never change.

[emily_in_nc]

I do not have an e-reader and am not attracted to them, but I can see that I may be needing one in the future.

We recently downsized from a 4BR house to a 1BR apartment. During the pre-move downsizing, we sold, donated, or swapped hundreds of books. I especially enjoy bookmooch.com and swaptree.com (now swap.com - they merged) for swapping a book I'm through with for something I'd like to read at very low cost. We're now down to a couple of shelves of books, and that is plenty. Except for books that are special and that we'll always keep, we use the library or swap.com so we don't acquire more books that take up valuable space.

If I lived in a place where books were hard to find (no good library, bookstores, etc), I would definitely invest in a Kindle so I could continue reading. I may do that soon as we are building a condo in Belize. When we move down full-time, books will be hard to come by and expensive to ship in, so I can see a Kindle filling a real need, not just a want. Until then, I'll stick with real books. Like so many have stated so eloquently, there's just something about the feel, the smell, the satisfaction of a real book in one's hands over an electronic device.

[Roadtrip]

Here's an interesting link about the new Kindle 3 that's out now.

http://kevinrose.com/blogg/2010/8/27...y-love-it.html

Very, very cute little machine and down right cheap for the Wi-Fi version. I mostly do book shopping while near a WiFi spot so $139 with free shipping it's really quite reasonable. Now, the price of the books are still going to sting if you read loads and loads of books. Each popular title is about ten bucks, some cheaper, some more expensive. My local library has even joined a program that allows them to lend secure ePub versions of eBooks that are supported by some eReaders, so that is an option for me now, not sure how wide spread that program is or similar ones.

http://ohdbks.lib.overdrive.com/
(seems limited to State of Ohio Libraries)

I still love going to used book stores and libraries. There is simply something about a book that is somehow pacifying. Perhaps a connection to my youth and always having a book in my hand where I could escape to another land in-between the pages, if even for a moment.

[MomOnBike]

After having my Kindle for a week, I've discovered that Amazon always has a selection of free books for Kindle. Some are new, some old, some really really bad, and some just aren't worth remembering in any fashion. It is possible to find free ones to actually enjoy, though. My wallet appreciates that.

Project Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page has quite a few e-books, too. Again, most I don't want, but there are enough that I do . . .

[Catrin]

Sony has a pretty decent eReader - though I've sold the one I did have as I wasn't using it and wanted to fund some bike stuff I DO like books - better than the electronic version. I might replace this someday with the iPad - 'cuz I WANT one Bike stuff is more important though, so time will tell when I get around to purchasing one.

[LoriO]

I tend to be a fast reader so I love my library since I can get books for free there, especially the new releases. I don't have a lot of extra spending money to buy a lot of books. I recently added the Kindle app to my Droid phone and love it! While it will never fully replace books for me, it is a nice way to always have something handy to read when I am stuck somewhere or when travelling. I do love the backlit screen on the phone, like someone else said, it is nice to be able to sit in bed and read and not worry about falling asleep with the lights on.

[alexis_the_tiny]

I keep thinking, in our lifetimes will we see the end of books being printed at all?

Absolutely NOT! I have ebooks by the dozen on my computer and am eyeballing my first Kindle purchase. But that said, I have one entire floor to ceiling shelving unit filled with books. And I still buy books. Although they tend to be second hand because I think old books look (and smell) nicer and occasionally, you find a really awesome inscription on the inside. I live for finding gems like that.

[CycleTherapy]

FYI.... I just bought a Kindle recently. I was a dyed-in-the-wool, honest to goodness, give me the real deal book worm. But now that I have used it , I would not give it up.

My advice is to pay the extra $50 and purchase the $189 model with both wi-fi and 3G. For $50 you will have 3G for life. If say, you are traveling in a car, away from Wi-fi, not only can you purchase/download a book... but people, you can access the web, for free ! It's a full function web browser, (Google or Yahoo, you choose) you can pull up say, mapquest for directions while in the car,favorite blog sites even email... sure, it doesn't have a color screen but who cares ? To be able to add that functionality (3G, web browser etc) to something you are already purchasing, I say throw in the extra $50 and really have a full functioning device in your hands.

[ShubieGA]

My friends gave me a Kindle for b-day and Christmas (good friends! ). I love my Kindle for traveling, which my job requires. As I am a fast reader, I usually drag a couple books along. But at home I still like to hold a real book. The hard part is when I find a good e-book, it's tough to share with friends!

[CycleTherapy]

Shubie, I don't know if you are a dog lover, but I just finished a novel (via Kindle).. "A Dog's Purpose" by W. Bruce Cameron. I absolutely loved it. I can't stop thinking about the story. Download a sample and see if it's something you would like.

Regards,

[emily_in_nc]

My advice is to pay the extra $50 and purchase the $189 model with both wi-fi and 3G. For $50 you will have 3G for life. If say, you are traveling in a car, away from Wi-fi, not only can you purchase/download a book... but people, you can access the web, for free ! It's a full function web browser, (Google or Yahoo, you choose) you can pull up say, mapquest for directions while in the car,favorite blog sites even email... sure, it doesn't have a color screen but who cares ? To be able to add that functionality (3G, web browser etc) to something you are already purchasing, I say throw in the extra $50 and really have a full functioning device in your hands.

Do you mean that for that $50 you get internet access without a monthly charge?? If so, that's going onto my Christmas list!

[BikeDutchess]

I'm not sure that's the case. It talks about web browsing, but then the terms and conditions say the following:

2. Wireless Connectivity
Use of Wireless Connectivity. Your Kindle uses wireless connectivity to allow you to shop for and download Digital Content from the Kindle Store. In general, we do not charge you for this use of wireless connectivity. Your Kindle may use wireless connectivity to make other services available to you for which we may charge you a fee, such as personal file download and subscriptions when you are located in another country. The fees and terms for such services are located in the Kindle Store and may change from time to time. If your Kindle functions with third party services, such as WI-FI access points, a third party may charge you fees for the use of those services.

Your Conduct. You may use the wireless connectivity provided by us only in connection with the Service. You may not use the wireless connectivity for any other purpose.

I'm confused on whether that allows you to pull up mapquest and such on 3G without extra charges.


Edited to add:
Never mind. Elsewhere it says:

Kindle's new web browser is based on WebKit to provide a better web browsing experience. Now it's easier than ever to find the information you're looking for right from your Kindle. Experimental web browsing is free to use over 3G or Wi-Fi [in the U.S.].