just treated myself to the new amazon kindle!

[tyred]

I can definitely appreciate the advantages it would have in terms of storage, etc but , I just like books. I like having them around, I like joy of finding the long lost book under of the sofa, I love browsing in a real bookshop, especially second hand ones as you never know what you might find. Books are technology which has been proven to work for many centuries, they won't die, or become obsolete, the battery won't go flat, the screen can't get damaged, etc.

Old books tell stories, you can smile at the 1/6 price tag, the Merry Christmas 1961 from Uncle Arthur inscription and all the other tings that you can piece together ths history of a book in your collection. Try doing that with a load of binary numbers.

 

[Fnaar]

I've read one or two books on my phone, and played with a friend's Kindle (

)
and I can sort of get the attraction... but two things clinch the real books for me...
1) Seeing at a glance how much you've got to go to the end. It's measured in thickness of remaining book, not in page numbers.
2) The smell of books.... can't be replaced imho

 

[vikingcyclist]

I had a Sony eReader (now sadly misplaced) and am actually planning to get rid of a lot of physical books and get another eReader of some sort. I've currently got five bookcases full of various different books, and looking to move to a flat, so one eReader should be able to replace them all.

At least that's what I tell myself, at the thought of getting rid of my books there's a wrenching feeling in my stomach, and I'm unable to even conceive of taking them to a charity shop or similar. My best method so far to get rid of them is to palm them off on friends, acquaintances and strangers who have an interest in reading, since at least they'll be going to a good home.

Speaking of which if there are any dedicated readers in the Bedford area, you're welcome to some.

 

[Archie_tect]

Anyone else still using their library? I like ours, easy to reserve new books and you just give them back when you've finished and get another one + it's all for nothing [unless you're disorganised] - no storage problems and a 'library' of 6000 to browse through on a wet Thursday or Saturday with a cup of coffee.... lovely! + latest DVDs for that wet week-end for £1.50.


[Best place is still Barter Books in Alnwick on a winter;s day with the fire roaring in the grate. Brilliant.]

 

[HelenD123]

I'm seriously considering getting one. It'll be great for touring, especially in countries where the language isn't English. If I can get onto CycleChat from it even better.

 

[XmisterIS]

I would love to get one to hold academic reference books and papers. It would take all the labour out of searching for passages and quotes that I *know* I've read, but can't remember where, and it would make reference searches a doddle!

 

[asterix]

I would love to get one to hold academic reference books and papers. It would take all the labour out of searching for passages and quotes that I *know* I've read, but can't remember where, and it would make reference searches a doddle!

..these aren't on t'internet?

 

[XmisterIS]

..these aren't on t'internet?

Not if it's copyrighted material! (e.g. eBooks)

 

[CopperBrompton]

1) Seeing at a glance how much you've got to go to the end. It's measured in thickness of remaining book, not in page numbers.

The Kindle has a percentage indicator at the bottom of the screen. It also has visual indicators of how far you are through all the books shown on each screen in list view.

2) The smell of books.... can't be replaced imho

Store your Kindle on your bookshelves - the cover will soon pick up the book smell. :-)

 

[punkypossum]

I was tempted, but I like to read in the bath too much.

Same here - and I love being able to buy a tattered second hand paperback and being able to just throw it in my bag without worrying about it getting damaged, stolen, etc. Would love a kindle for the gadget value, but to be quite honest, I'd probably never use it!

 

[CopperBrompton]

Same here - and I love being able to buy a tattered second hand paperback and being able to just throw it in my bag without worrying about it getting damaged, stolen, etc.

They're pretty robust things. Mine goes pretty much everywhere with me (and yes, I do read it in the bath ).

 

[martint235]

I was tempted, but I like to read in the bath too much.

I read mine in the bath, just got be that little more careful. But then you have to be careful with a book if you want to carry on reading it.

 

[goo_mason]

I read mine in the bath, just got be that little more careful. But then you have to be careful with a book if you want to carry on reading it.

Many Kindle users who read in the bath pop the Kindle into a ziploc bag, so that even if you drop it in the water it should stay dry.

 

[goo_mason]

The temptation is growing, stores up to 3500 books, I'm assuming that you can have more on your Amazon account and download a reading list like you would a playlist? But even at 3500 only, that 22 and a half years of reading at 3 books a week, even at a book a day it's still 10 years worth.

Can you share between Kindles in any way? for example if we had more than one in the house could they all be linked to the same Amazon account?

I'm pretty sure that you can share between Kindles if you register them all to the same Amazon account (you can always unregister & re-register them to different accounts later if you no longer want to share).

I also read on the Kindle Discussion forum on Amazon that they're introducing a new feature that will let you share books with other Kindle users - it means that the book is no longer accessible on your Kindle whilst the other person has it on theirs, but when they're finished you get it back. I think it also depends on licensing, so the eBook would have to allow this sharing and that'll be at the whim of publishers - and that it's likely that you'll only be able to 'lend' the book to someone once.

 

[palinurus]

Many Kindle users who read in the bath pop the Kindle into a ziploc bag, so that even if you drop it in the water it should stay dry.

That's a good enough solution for me.

Right, I've ordered one.