Do you have an ereader?

[TrekTheKaty]

I have a Kindle and love it. It is not backlit thus very easy on the eyes. I got it as a Christmas present and have read 30 novels since. My husband and I both plow through books and have 6 very large bookshelves crammed with books. The Kindle is saving space, It has already paid for itself with the amount of books I typically purchase in a year.
I like that you can download the first 5% of the book as a sample to decide if you want to purchase the book. And I love that I can purchase a book anytime day or night and I have it within 60 seconds.

As uforgot mentioned , the library is not always an option for those of us in more rural areas.

What she said. I love my Kindle. To support my local library, we donated a lot of our books and joined as members. I understand not everyone can afford it--but my kindle has paid for itself.

[7rider]

Another Kindle owner and I'm very happy with it.
Although it has 3G connectivity, I usually keep it off and the battery life is amazing.
I will be spending a lot of time on airplanes this summer, and it will be great for having something to read - without carting around books.
FWIW, most of my paper books have come from yard sales. Can't say I'm a regular at libraries.....I am a very slow reader and often sit on a book for months before I finish it. And sometimes, I'll have 2 or 3 books that I'm reading at the same time.
I have some friends who used to rent art work at their local library. They found it great, as they could change pictures in their apartment on a whim.

[surgtech1956]

Thanks everyone. I'm kind of leaning towards the Nook, I work with a gal with has a Nook and she ordered a cover/case for it that has a light. I haven't seen a Kindle yet.

[Kano]

I've got both the kindle and Barnes & Noble e-readers on my iphone.

I don't use them much yet -- I'm finishing up a stack of hard copy books. Daughter had a huge point when she said she's all in favor of doing eco-friendly stuff if it doesn't cost more than being "eco-unfriendly," and the e-readers, besides being so handy for getting the next book, are just that -- usually it doesn't cost as much to read an e-version as it does to read a hard copy version of a book.

So now when I see a book in a store that I'll want to read at some point, I take a picture of it, keep it hanging out on my iphone to remind me that it's on my "to-do" list! When I next buy some reading material, it'll be an e-book!

Nice about the e-reader is that you can travel with a pile of books, and they don't take up any more space than one book. e-reader in my phone means I don't have even that much extra stuff with me when I'm traveling! (knitting patterns, all kinds of stuff hang out in that phone! but wait! That's the other thread...)

Karen in Boise

[bambu101]

Avid reader here, and former bookstore manager.

Not interested in electronic readers in the least bit. I like the feel of a book, turning the pages, looking at the cover, and lining them up on my bookshelf. After working on a computer screen all day, the last thing I want to do is look at a Kindle. No thanks!

[Crankin]

Bambu, you just said exactly what I said to my DH on this topic!
I know it's weird, but to me, turning the pages of a book is a feeling, like pouring my coffee, picking up the cup, and taking a big drink. I love picking the book off a shelf at the library, browsing through the pages, reading the book jacket. I know you can do this on an e reader and get the same content, but it is not the same feeling or experience. I go to the library every week, just for the experience of it.
I think part of the reason I feel this way is that my work does not require me to be in contact all of the time. I generally do not use any electronic devices, unless there is no other way I can do the task. Learning to use a computer was very difficult for me, and other than the Internet (which to me is like a library), I really have to ask for help with most computer tasks. Then, I learn it, the next version comes out, and bam, I don't know what to do. None of this is intuitive to me and I don't remember how to do most of it. I can fake my way through a lot of it, but it really stresses me out; just one more thing to learn.
I think certain people are this way and it's not particularly age related. One son has a Kindle and the other trolls used bookstores and buys antique books. They are both voracious readers, so it really doesn't matter in the end.

[smilingcat]

I'm torn between yes get an e-reader and no.

I love opening the book to random page, read snipet here and there, to search for a book whose exact title I can't remember on my BIG book shelf. searching on my bookshelf is faster than searching electronically.

Sadly though, my bookshelf even 30 years ago was bigger than the wall in my living room floor to ceiling and wall to wall. I've ruthlessly trimmed down the volumes of books and still have half a wall. For some books, I think electronic version would be nice. Others, I would much prefer hard copy.

I use is a hypertext search often and something hard copy can never do... That's one advantage of e-book. What I would really like is to have the e-reader software on my netbook. Technologically, that is the direction we will see where netbooks, e-reader, smartphone will merge into one appliance.

[OakLeaf]

Oh, if all other things were equal, I'd choose paper books and magazines too.

But on a plane or train, if I can carry a small tablet instead of a great big book, I'm all for that; and for magazines that I know I'm going to read once and recycle, I'm much happier if I'm not using all that paper.

[uk elephant]

I am getting more and more tempted by the latest Sony readers. Not for recreational reading where I much prefer leafing through a paper book. But for science reading, I hate having to print out stacks and stacks of paper to read journal articles and I hate reading them on the computer. From what I understand, the latest Sony lets you highlight or add comments to pdf files? That is the kind of function I really would find useful. A device that is light and easier on the eyes than a computer, but lets you carry around loads of pdfs without breaking your back, and lets you annotate pdfs as you are reading. Now if it also had a replaceable battery, that would be even better. Then I just have to wait for it to come down in price a little, and for more of the inevitable "new technology bugs" to be worked out.

[badger]

to those who have ereaders: do you find that you read more now with the ereader than reading a book old-fashioned way? Or would you still be reading just as much if not for the ereader?

[limewave]

I definitely read more with my ereader. It is more comfortable for me to hold than a book and is less strenuous on my eyes. It's also easier to carry with me in my purse.

I do still read books. I have a great love for books, I even work at a publishing house. I never thought I would like an ereader. I was surprised at how much I fell in love with my kindle.

[uforgot]

to those who have ereaders: do you find that you read more now with the ereader than reading a book old-fashioned way? Or would you still be reading just as much if not for the ereader?

Much more. Not sure why, probably because it is always with me now. I would also like to comment on those that like the look and feel of books in the library. Is it just me? I've always found there to be an ick factor with used books. No, I'm not a neat nut, far from it. This all started when I turned a page once and there was a smashed fly!lol It's just that I always seem to have my hands on a book and I always wonder who has sneezed in it, read it in the bathroom, etc. I know money is dirty too, but I don't thumb through money while having lunch or laying in bed right before I go to sleep. I never keep used books, I always donate them or get rid of them. I like not being surprised on a page turn now. I don't believe I have ever heard this being addressed anywhere. Just my own little quirk, I guess.

[uforgot]

I definitely read more with my ereader. It is more comfortable for me to hold than a book and is less strenuous on my eyes. It's also easier to carry with me in my purse.

I do still read books. I have a great love for books, I even work at a publishing house. I never thought I would like an ereader. I was surprised at how much I fell in love with my kindle.

I was surprised too. Fastdogs kept telling me how much she loved it, and I just couldn't see it. Everyone said that as much as I read, I should get one, so I just thought I'd give it the 14 day trial. What could that hurt? No way is it going back. I can't believe how much I love it either.

[Catrin]

I am getting more and more tempted by the latest Sony readers. Not for recreational reading where I much prefer leafing through a paper book. But for science reading, I hate having to print out stacks and stacks of paper to read journal articles and I hate reading them on the computer. From what I understand, the latest Sony lets you highlight or add comments to pdf files? That is the kind of function I really would find useful. A device that is light and easier on the eyes than a computer, but lets you carry around loads of pdfs without breaking your back, and lets you annotate pdfs as you are reading. Now if it also had a replaceable battery, that would be even better. Then I just have to wait for it to come down in price a little, and for more of the inevitable "new technology bugs" to be worked out.

The last couple of versions of the Sony reader has allowed note-taking, etc. You can do this with any text, not just PDF files. Please note that the quality of the PDF on the Sony Reader has much to do with how it was originally generated. Not all PDF files on the Sony Reader are comfortable/easy to read because of formatting issues. It is this way with all three of the main e-books (Sony, Kindle, Nook) due to there not being an industry standard on how PDF files are generated. I have heard this will change, time will tell.

[7rider]

Avid reader here, and former bookstore manager.

Not interested in electronic readers in the least bit. I like the feel of a book, turning the pages, looking at the cover, and lining them up on my bookshelf. After working on a computer screen all day, the last thing I want to do is look at a Kindle. No thanks!

There's no law that says if you have an e-reader, you can't read a paper book.
I have a Kindle. And since I've purchased the Kindle, I have still purchased paper books and borrowed paper books and sat for hours with my nose in a paper book and still have several paper books on my bookshelves that I intend to read....one of these days.
And I still subscribe to paper magazines. And I still read the newspaper on the subway in the morning.
The Kindle is an alternative. It's useful for what it does and I don't regret getting it or choosing the books for it that I have.
But just as my bike will not - and cannot - completely replace my truck, my Kindle will not completely replace a paper book for me.