Kindle V Books. My verdict.

[welsh dragon]

I don't have a Kindle so I can't comment on how good they are. But I do have an overflowing bookcase with books going back to the sixties, all still readable. My experience with electronically stored music is that sooner or later you're going to lose the lot when the storage device packs up or something wipes it clean, so I'm not particularly tempted by a Kindle.

You don't lose the books because they are always stored from the place you bought them from, like amazon and Kobo, so even if your device goes kaput and you buy a new one, simply sign into your amazon or kobo account and download them again. Simples.

 

[TheDoctor]

I love books, as my overflowing bookcases will attest, but Kindle is just...convenient.
I can use the 3G Kindle itself to buy a book or get online anywhere in the world, I can have the books on my laptop and tablet, or if I'm travelling light, on my phone.
It's the best piece of tech I've ever bought.

 

[Dave Davenport]

+1.

Brilliant shop, you find all sorts of gems you'd never otherwise have heard of.

I got a large format 2013 French road atlas there the other week for £1.49, saved me about 30 quid on maps for this years touring.

 

[swee'pea99]

Another pro and another con:

Pro:
Reading one-handed is easier, which leaves t'other free for your pint/cuffing children/other

Con:
Far less convenient for 'nipping back' to remind yourself who this character-you-last-met-50-odd-pages-ago is, and similar. With a book, you know it's 'something like x ago', and can zero in on the right place quickly; with Kindle, you have to go back page-page-page-page etc.

 

[Fnaar]

Another pro and another con:

Con:
Far less convenient for 'nipping back' to remind yourself who this character-you-last-met-50-odd-pages-ago is, and similar. With a book, you know it's 'something like x ago', and can zero in on the right place quickly; with Kindle, you have to go back page-page-page-page etc.

I bookmark names, places, important events etc as I go through, which makes finding them in kindle app a lot simpler. Guess you could search for the name too...

 

[simon the viking]

I find it easier to get older rare stuff..... I had wanted to read 'Mysterious Island' by Jules Verne for years and couldn't find it.... first thing I did when I got a kindle was buy a Jules Verne compilation for a quid.....................

 

[swee'pea99]

I bookmark names, places, important events etc as I go through, which makes finding them in kindle app a lot simpler. Guess you could search for the name too...

I started off with the best of intentions, but TBH I never use these functions now. And I only gave the name thing as a 'for example' - the essence being, it's really easy to check back & forth with a physical book, far more of a faff with a Kindle.

 

[Cycleops]

My experience with electronically stored music is that sooner or later you're going to lose the lot when the storage device packs up or something wipes it clean, so I'm not particularly tempted by a Kindle.

This won't happen with Kindle because you can delete all the books you have bought on the device if you wish but a copy is kept on your account in the "the Cloud".

I do have one and it is great but I don't use it much now as I have bought an iPad Mini and I tend to use that with iBooks.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I use my kindle in the bath, I just put it in a waterproof map cover first.

Also if you get a piece of software called calibre you can convert epub files to mobi so they go on the kindle and if you know where to look there are a lot of "free" books around the internet.

 

[stephec]

One disadvantage I can see with a Kindle is when you tell someone you've read a good book and they ask if they can borrow it.
Am I right in thinking that it's not possible?

 

[welsh dragon]

One disadvantage I can see with a Kindle is when you tell someone you've read a good book and they ask if they can borrow it.
Am I right in thinking that it's not possible?

I think they may be able to borrow a book from you, but I don't know how to do it.

 

[John the Monkey]

I use my kindle in the bath, I just put it in a waterproof map cover first.

Also if you get a piece of software called calibre you can convert epub files to mobi so they go on the kindle

...or other e-readers. i use a nook (which reads epub format) and Calbire will convert mobi to epub too. As well as the books being available for redownload from the e-store you purchased them at, you can back them up to a local drive (or dropbox, skydrive &c) using Calibre. It's a handy program for much more than just sideloading snide copies, or converting formats (I think, at least with epubs, it syncs your notes and highlights as well).

 

[Cycleops]

Lend or Borrow Kindle Books
You can lend a Kindle book to another reader for up to 14 days. The borrower does not need to own a Kindle device and can read the book after downloading a free Kindle reading app.

Note: A book can only be loaned one time. Magazines and newspapers are currently not available for lending.

Table of Contents

• Loan a Kindle Book from the Product Detail Page
• Loan a Kindle Book from Manage Your Content and Devices
• Borrow from a Friend
• Return a Loaned Book

Kindle Store from your computer, and then locate the title you'd like to loan.

• On the product detail page, click Loan this book. You will be sent to the Loan this book page.

• Enter the recipient's e-mail address.
  If desired, enter a personal message.
  
  Note: Be sure to send the Kindle book loan notification to your friend's personal e-mail address and not their Kindle e-mail address.

• Click Send now.

Note: If the loan is not accepted after seven days, the book will then become available in your Kindle Library and you will be able to loan the book again.

 

[John the Monkey]

One disadvantage I can see with a Kindle is when you tell someone you've read a good book and they ask if they can borrow it.
Am I right in thinking that it's not possible?

Depends - some books are lendable, some not (again, speaking of my experience of the Nook library). DRM free epubs (and there are some, Tor, for instance, do not use DRM) could be lent without reference to the functions of the e-store you bought it from.

 

[Piemaster]

I use my kindle in the bath, I just put it in a waterproof map cover first.

Also if you get a piece of software called calibre you can convert epub files to mobi so they go on the kindle and if you know where to look there are a lot of "free" books around the internet.

Ziplock bag for me, you could do the same with a paper book but how do you turn the pages? Plus you could then use it in the shower, try that with a book. Note; I don't actually do this, but I could.
I actually have more books than will fit on the kindle keyboard in one go so Calibre is an essential. I will not live long enough to read all of them. Usually keep around 20-30 on it at a time, plenty to keep me going as I'm away from home for weeks at a time. Plus it will go in a cargo trousers side pocket when flying whilst holding flight documents in the cover - bit more difficult with a Stephen KIng novel.

It is pretty useless for imagery, cookery books and the like though.