Amazon Kindle – The lightest and most compact Kindle, with extended battery life, adjustable front light, and 16 GB storage
Commission Earned.
I thought it might fatigue my eyes, but the one I used didn't, surprisingly. Read quite a few books less expensively before a relative talked me out of it. Not a bad little gizmo.
I used to carry 5 or 6 paperbacks with me to read while I was working offshore, and exchanged them for ones I hadn't read. This worked fine until I started working on the new ships that hadn't had time to accumulate a library. My sister gave me a Kindle, and I never looked back.
ReplyDeleteI bought the original Kindle Paperwhite in 2013, and I'm still using it. I've read that the newer ones have problems.
ReplyDeleteKindle is a very, very good alternative for heavy readers. The major problems are access to recent releases and breadth of free (eg, library) collections. If you're willing to put up with Kindle Unlimited - which has a LOT of dreck at $12 a month, 4 million titles but you'll be interested in maybe 50 or so - AND have a decent big-city library to tap, Kindle is almost unbeatable. HINT: a LOT of libraries will sell you a non-resident subscription for not a lot of money. One can float from one biggish library to another as you read thru the e-book collections. Typical annual subscriptions are in the 25-50 a year range, though it varies all over the map.
ReplyDeleteNope. Not even in the same ballpark.
ReplyDeleteAmazon only lets you BORROW the books.
If you're serious, you get a generic tablet like a Samsung and put all your ebooks on SD cards. But only if you're serious.
Then there is the DRM scam. I've only bought non-DRM ebooks, usually from Baen.com. Plenty of non-DRM readers out there.
DeleteAmazon has a very bad habit of deleting customers' libraries for very flimsy excuses. Ghostsniper is right--Amazon will take back every ebook you bought and paid for without notice. Don't trust them, ever.
ReplyDeleteThat's a serious accusation, I've never even heard of them doing that until now.
DeleteDid it actually happen to you?
@Rob
DeleteIt's bullshit. I dropped my Kindle in water on vacation. Went to a pawn shop and bought an emergency one for $50. I logged in on a restaurant's Wi-Fi with a 20% battery charge and it instantly downloaded my entire library. Vacation reading salvaged.
Valid criticism I respect, but some people lie. And, yes, paper books are what you want for the long term.
I own one of the first Kindle’s and it is still going strong. I’m now using a Kindle Fire 10 inch. I have more than 900 books on my Kindle. I joined Kindle Unlimited and read enough to justify the monthly expense.
ReplyDeleteI just can't get over holding a real book, and putting on a shelf to accumulate with others...
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI've got a 20-year-old Nook that's still putting along, but I prefer going to the library and getting the real deal. Older well used books are great cause you never know what's between the pages. Mashed bugs and boogers, coffee stains, blood stains, pieces of pasta and more are frequently discovered and pique one's interest on how they got there.
I picked out an old paperback from a small bookshelf in a downstairs room. And in-between the pages I found an old grocery list my late wife had written. I knew her handwriting immediately after 13 years.
DeleteCan't get that from an ebook.
I invested in the Scribe to get a big screen, and buy your books from folks like Baen who let you download copies too.
ReplyDeleteWhen I went from a house to an RV most of my books went away, I tried to keep my favorites but there is only so much room.
ReplyDeleteI have a kindle paperwhite and use it all the time, bright noon day sun or at night anywhere in the dark, it works.
I guess I should backup copy the rest of my favorite (bought) books to somewhere safe.
Using my Kindle Fire 10 right now. Better than a hand full of books.
ReplyDeleteSeveral hundred books on mine.
It's interesting that you endorse this, but "a relative talked you out of it." You're sending hugely conflicting signals here.
ReplyDeleteHow is it that you were talked out of it. Seems like an explanation is deserved.
Deletekindle software on an ipad is very practical. I have a paperwhite, too, and it's a dog.
ReplyDeleteI use my laptop to read books. Convert them into .rtf files so I can manipulate the text style, spacing, fix misspelled words and adjust the background and size of text.
ReplyDeleteAnd using the laptop doesn't make my hands cramp like books or a Kindle does.
There are two advantages for me, living off grid I don’t have to wear a headlamp to read like I do with a paper book and I can change the type size to ease my old eyes. I have a fire and also have the App on m y iPad?
ReplyDeleteI'm not on Unlimited but the mesahib is and I'm second user on her account. The only problem I have is that I'm forever being offered romantic fiction. Then again, she probably gets a similar offering of my factual historical and sword and sandals fiction.
ReplyDeleteThe newer Paperwhites look better and have much more memory, but they don't organize your books like you want them to. Even after putting your books into collections, they just show up randomly on the screen. The 'search' function ignores what you've got and automatically checks the store first. The 'organize by series' is nice when it works, though.
ReplyDeleteI was reluctant to switch over but I like it. Interface could be better/faster (couldn't it always?). I have the app on my bigger Samsung tablet then use a program "Send to Kindle" on my main computer that syncs to all of my devices. Still roam thrift stores for used books as you can't find everything for free.
ReplyDeleteI prefer a physical library.
ReplyDeleteA Kindle can't give you a signed first edition of "Ringworld".
Current abode was specifically chosen to be able to have an upstairs and down stairs library plus since we have 6 bathrooms there are 6 satellite reading rooms. My Dad used to go to the local library and buy the used books at 10 cents each. When he passed we boxed up 9.4 cubic yards of books. It was his legacy to his children. We humped them up 4 flights to a storage space my brother had.
ReplyDeleteI grabbed a few Lincoln titles and auto books to take with me. We moved a few years later and my father in law disposed of some of my library while I was away doing contract engineering. A box of signed first editions disappeared into the ether. Gifts from my Dad and friends. FIL doesn't get it. He hates the two libraries as it takes up good space. At least the Pretty Daughter inherited Dad's appetite for reading tattooed dead trees.
Spin
This may seem overly simplistic, but I believe the moral her is that computerized reading is great for certain people, but there will always be people, such as myself, that will always frequent bookstores(new and used)and hold a certain joy and reverence for actually holding a collection of words laid out between two covers. The actual printed word holds a nearly mystical attraction for those of us that choose the latter. The important takeaway here is that we choose to read, whether it's printed on paper or read electronically.
ReplyDeleteSorry, meant to say here*
ReplyDeleteThe problem with Kindle is that they randomly "update" the books. Covers change, even the writing can be fiddled with. Along with those changes is that they then change the data about if it has been read. Might not be a big problem for those with only a couple dozen books, but when you have over a thousand books on it, it can get damn frustrating. Also, there is no way to group the books. EVERY LIBRARY in existence has some form of arrangement, but, oh no, not Kindle!
ReplyDeleteI have a kindle paperwhite, older version but I don't really use it. I haven't found the free sections yet I suppose.
ReplyDeleteI hate paying for stuff I could find for free elsewhere.
I have a free membership to internetarchive.org and there's hundreds of thousands of books to read on there.
Right now they are going through some kind of litigation and about 500 thousand books have disappeared but there's still a lot to choose from.
If the litigation goes their way the books missing should come back.