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Kindle (Read 961 times)

    how exactly are you cutting costs here?  From what I understand and have seen, the books on the kindle (or Nook, which my daughter has) are just as expensive as a paper book, and in some cases more expensive.

     

    for me, I guess it would be more about convenience because if you want a book you can download it immediately.  But I like paper books and dont use a nook or kindle.

     

     It depends a lot on the book.  I've found that on Amazon that many ebooks are as little as half the price of the paperback version.  Books in the public domain are completely free as well.

     

    To the OP: I have a Kindle and absolutely love it.  The display is really nothing like the LCD screens you are used to on laptops or tablets... it looks very much like paper.  The best feature for me, though, is being able to get a book when I want it.  I'm very bad at remembering to stop at a bookstore, and used to end up bookless when at night/on the beach/etc.  Now I just download it in a few seconds when I think of it.  If I read a review of a book online, I just click on over to Amazon and have it sent to my reader.  Very convenient.

    -------------------------------------
    5K - 18:25 - 3/19/11
    10K - 39:38 - 12/13/09
    1/2 - 1:29:38 - 5/30/10
    Full - 3:45:40 - 5/27/07

       

      Amazon of course makes it extremely easy to buy books for your Kindle, but a great deal of the books DW has were downloaded for free.  She subscribes to some blog that alerts her to all the current free downloads.

       Is it Pixel of Ink? I've gotten many free and cheap ebooks through that site. They also have a site for kids too -- Pixel of Ink Young Edition.

        I read a stupid amount--around 100 books a year, sometimes more.  (Hey, I'm an English teacher, and I tend to try to read just about any book I hear my students are interested in.  Some are good, some are bad, but they give me a touchstone so I can recommend actual good books to them!)

         

        I have a Kindle.  I was anti-ebook until February of this year...when my family got me a Kindle for my birthday.  I groaned and grumbled about the feel of paper and eye strain for about a week...

         

        Then I freaking fell in love with the thing.  The e-ink display is absolutely phenomenal.  I have an iPad, and reading on it (and anything not e-ink) is pretty awful, in my less than humble opinion.  I get eye strain, headaches, and all that on LCDs, but the e-ink has never bothered me.  This is with up to four straight hours of reading without break.

         

        I've found many, many of the books I'd be reading anyway for less than the list price, and I never have to wait until I've hit $25 in my shopping cart to get free shipping.

         

        As someone who teaches a lot of the classics, the fact that just about all of them are free is a huge plus, too.

         

        Whatever reader you get, I can't recommend Calibre enough to manage your ebooks, too--especially if you'd like to read the news on it.  (And it's free!)

        "When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. Then willpower will be no problem." 
        Emil Zatopek

        LedLincoln


        not bad for mile 25

           Is it Pixel of Ink? I've gotten many free and cheap ebooks through that site. They also have a site for kids too -- Pixel of Ink Young Edition.

           

          I don't think so.  I emailed DW for specifics, and will share...

          jEfFgObLuE


          I've got a fever...

            I consider to be much more about convenience than cost-saving.  Load that sucker up with a summer's worth of reading, charge it up every few weeks, and read anywhere/everywhere/anytime.  

             

            The cost-wise the argument is interesting.  Most books are cheaper on Kindle vs physical (as it should be, especially hardback), but a lot aren't.  And frankly, eReaders make it so easy and convenient to read that you ultimately end up reading more, and purchasing more books (which is exactly what Amazon and Barnes+Noble want you to do) .  It's the Costco Effect -- you think you're gonna save money buying in bulk, and maybe you do with toilet paper and paper towels, but you end up buying so much more shit that you wouldn't have bought normally.  So in a lot of cases, you may experience a net financial loss (but a net intellectual gain) by using an eReader.

             

            One interesting feature that the Nook has and the Kindle recently obtained is library lending.  In another thread, I mentioned that I recently read In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson.  I checked it out of our local library via software on my iPhone (since my wife and daughter are currently hogging the Nook).  Essentially, the library allows one or two digital copies of some books out at a time.  You download these digital copies, and they expire (i.e. stop working) 14 days after you check them out.  Not bad -- I got to electronically read a book for free that I've been wanting to read for a while, without having to leave the couch.  Since the library only allows one or two copies out at a time, there's still wait-listing, but you can get an automatic email as soon as it's available, download that sucker and be off to the races.  Only drawbacks with the library thing are very limited online selection, and the lack of instant gratification if you have do have to wait-list.  But that's the price of free.

            On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.


            sincerely silly

              I love real books too but I also love my Kindle 3!  In addition to just reading books, I also do NYTimes crossword books on there and a bunch of other games.  And it's so thin!  It's a traveler/commuter's dream.  I have the 3G version with a keyboard, which is nice since it has a browser and I also subscribe to the NYTimes blog for I think 2-3$ a month, and that pushes the latest headlines to you every few hours, including on the train if I have a few minutes.

               

              Also, if your job has to reading pdfs, the Kindle does that well enough too.  You just have to e-mail it to your Kindle e-mail address.  It's kind of small so you'll have to zoom in and scroll if you're reading a lot, but saves on paper and things to carry!

               

              I should mention I'm not too picky about what books I read when.  If I need a book for book club, I'll probably get a used hardcover online for about $5 shipped. Otherwise, I wait my turn for ebooks from the library.  I don't read much, so it's perfect for me and I haven't run out of books yet.  And like others have said, you could always catch up on the public domain classics! 

               

              (And if you need more time to read the books from the library, well, there are...ways of keeping them.  Which I'm okay with helping someone with as long as they're not sharing with other people. Though I guess there's no way of knowing...)

              shin splints are my nemesis

              LedLincoln


              not bad for mile 25

                One thing that kinda bugs me.  If you buy something, you should have the right to give it away, lend it or sell it to someone, right?  Not so much with ebooks.

                Tramps


                  Most of you will know Gutenberg, but in case some don't, check it out.

                  35,000+ free books

                  Be safe. Be kind.

                    One thing that kinda bugs me.  If you buy something, you should have the right to give it away, lend it or sell it to someone, right?  Not so much with ebooks.

                    I don't own an e-book device and am speaking hypothetically when I say: check your actual "receipt" to see what kind of transaction you made.  Could be you merely licensed an electronic copy of the work and actually purchased nothing.  Even if a purchase, the seller can validly impose conditions on the buyer; that buyer can simply walk away if he deems them unacceptable.

                    "I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."

                    -- Dick LeBeau

                    LedLincoln


                    not bad for mile 25

                      I don't own an e-book device and am speaking hypothetically when I say: check your actual "receipt" to see what kind of transaction you made.  Could be you merely licensed an electronic copy of the work and actually purchased nothing.  Even if a purchase, the seller can validly impose conditions on the buyer; that buyer can simply walk away if he deems them unacceptable.

                       

                      Right.  I haven't read any of the fine print that DW encounter(ed/s), but I think it's much like software EULAs.  Just trust them and agree, or you get nothing.

                      LedLincoln


                      not bad for mile 25

                        Most of you will know Gutenberg, but in case some don't, check it out.

                        35,000+ free books

                         

                        Gutenberg is great.  You have to go through some process to get things converted for the Kindle, and some things work better than others.  I don't know much about it, and should shut up, not having done it myself.


                        ultramarathon/triathlete

                          I've been reading a lot lately on my wife's kindle.  It's great and easy on the eyes.  She downloaded Game of Thrones (3 or 4 books) for really cheap and I had watched the show so wanted to read it.  It's been great.

                           

                          I switch between her kindle and my droid with the kindle app.  Very handy.   I also read on my computer screen at work with a kindle app for google chrome.  Super handy.

                           

                          For my birthday this past weekend my wife bought me an iPad 2 so now I've give her back her Kindle and I'm reading on the iPad.  I actually wish the screen on the iPad was a bit smaller, like the size of her kindle, but whatever, it's great too.

                           

                          If you buy a Kindle, I'm sure you will like it.  If I was to buy a Kindle I think I'd wait to see the Fire, but given the current prices of the basic model, I might just get one now.

                           

                          Also, for those who want to stick with physical books... you still can.  My wife reads physical books all the time, and reads her Kindle too.  Going digital doesn't mean you can't still be a paper reader. 

                           

                          Also, if you have kids or plan to have them, might be better off waiting for the Kindle Fire so you can do the color book thing.    Or an iPad, in which case you need to download all of Scholastic's apps for your kids asap.   :-)

                          HTFU?  Why not!

                          USATF Coach

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                            My wife bought be a kindle last Christmas and I've used it a lot. I'm a bit ambivalent, as I like physical books. But the kindle does score well for portability, and I've read a lot of books on it this year.

                             

                            Note that one of the strengths of the kindle (and other ebook gizmos) is the e-ink display which is a pleasure to read - and has very low power consumption so you don't need to plug it in to often. Also works fine in sunlight.

                             

                            The kindle fire is a tablet and not a special purpose ebook reader. I wouldn't get one specifically for reading - although no doubt it's a nice toy to have.

                            xor


                              Noted.

                               

                                I bought 6 books this week at a used book store, 2 hardcover and 4 paperback, total cost $18.

                                Sometimes I exchange books I have read with my son or lend them to friends.

                                 

                                They do not break if dropped, are easy to read in bright sunlight if you put on sunglasses, and battery consumption is excellent.

                                 

                                I can stick something called a `bookmark`between the pages to indicate how far I have read.

                                 

                                Seems to work well for me.

                                PBs since age 60:  5k- 24:36, 10k - 47:17. Half Marathon- 1:42:41.

                                                                    10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.

                                 

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