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Kindles
Truthfully, I would rather stay on the THE GAUNTLET discussion but I do have a question or two...........
Kindles--I think you, Kate, love to read even more than I do and of course, read things that are far better for your mind!! I know you have a kindle so my question to you and to your loyal followers is...is it a worthwhile investment? Should I not feel guilty about using that instead of purchasing books? Is it easy to use? How expensive are e-books (keep in mind, I read popular fiction).
When we went to Hawaii I took (as I do on every vacation) a stack of books for the beach, for the plane, for sitting in airports, etc. Lots of books, lots of extra weight. The good news is that I left everything I read there for my friends to read and they will, in turn, take them to their local library book sale. Bad news is I bought a stack more for the return trip. I noticed more and more people with Kindles and have really been considering it. I also saw that the price has really dropped.
SO, after you post on Kate’s Gauntlet post, tell me your thoughts...........good and bad. Any suggestions, comments, criticisms will be appreciated. If I decide I want one, then it goes to the top of my Christmas or birthday list as both my sons like ‘lists’ and never know what to get me!!
Ciao’
Yes, I own a Kindle. The first generation one. I’m positively lusting for the newest Kindle, but the one I have is doing just fine and there is no earthy reason to buy a new one when this one does everything I need it to do.
I would unreservedly recommend an ebook reader. I love Kindle, but the Nook and the Kobo reader also are good tools. The latter two have the capability of borrowing library ebooks, which the Kindle can’t do at this time. I think the SONY reader can, too. Amazon customer service is better. And they replace broken Kindles without batting an eyelash. This is no a small matter. They are very responsive.
Amazon’s ebooks are less expensive than hardcovers and sometimes less expensive than mass market paper backs. The publishers are still trying to sort themselves out and I think it will take a while before they decide what their best price point is. The most you’ll usually pay is $14.99 for Amazon ebooks. In general, the books are in the $9.99-$12.99 range for popular fiction. Genre books tend to be less. And, of course, there are a ton of free books to be had. Almost all of the classics and plenty of new authors. As a result, I’ve discovered a number of new authors in genres I’d never had read otherwise. When the price is $0.00, I don’t mind experimenting. I’ve been very pleasantly surprised.
The Kindle is very easy to use. You turn it on and select a book. Or select the line on the menu to go to the Kindle store wirelessly to shop for a book. Downloading it from the store takes about 30 seconds (or less) and you’re good to go.
The new Kindle holds up to 3500 books and you can arrange them according to your own categories or headings. People who have the new Kindle WiFi say it’s even faster than the Kindle 3G wireless. That WiFi model is $139 and the 3G/WiFi model is $189. You’ll save that much in books in a relatively short time if you are a voracious reader.
I’m not sure why you’d feel guilty about buying and reading ebooks rather than paper books? If you buy ebooks, the author is getting as much (or a little more) as s/he would from a paper book.
I also get the New York Times delivered to my Kindle every day. I have an on again-off again relationship with The New Yorker. Currently off, but who knows what next month will bring.
I still read a lot of paper books (library). Only because I can’t afford to feed my reading habit with purchased books. I frequently read 8 or more books a month. So I read paper books from the library quite often. I have approximately 400 books on my Kindle. I’ve read about half of them and will get to the other half eventually. I borrow a lot of newly released books from the library. If I really, really like them, I’ll probably add them to my Kindle when the price goes down a bit.
And remember, if you kill your Kindle, Amazon keeps a list of all your downloads and you can reclaim them (no charge) on another Kindle or device with a Kindle app. Kindle books are readable on your computer, iPhone, iPad, Android device, or Blackberry.
If you get a Kindle, you’ll probably love it. You have 30 days to decide if you love it or hate it. But it grows on you really fast. And remember, just because you have an ebook reader, that doesn’t mean you can’t buy or borrow a paper book if you get to missing the smell and feel and tactile pleasure of turning paper pages.
I’d prefer to do all my reading on my Kindle, but I haven’t reached Soros status with my bank account yet. 
Thanks Kate....exactly the info I was looking for. As for feeling guilty, it is cause I do not want to be responsible for bookstores going out of business & libraries closing down (I guess I don’t read THAT much), but this summer I have probably averaged 3-4 books a week and so that was my concern. However, when I think over what I buy, I realize quite a bit is from the library book fair so do not pay more than $1 per book, and I take a lot out from the library as well (yesterday picked up 8-10) so I guess I do not buy as many NEW books as I thought I did.
On another note, several of my friends belong to bookclubs........reading ‘good’ for your mind books; I think I am going to start my own......and call it Mamacyn’s Trashy Book Club!! I wonder how many people would dare to be honest and admit they read what I read!! LOL I always figure those are the ones on the T with ‘covers’ on their books. ;)
That’s one of the nice things about an e-reader...no one can see what trashy book you’re reading. 
I don’t think paper books will go away entirely, but I do think bookstores will either find a way to adapt or go out of business. (And publishers will have to develop a more cost effective business model.) I read that Barnes and Noble will be devoting a 1000 square foot section of their stores to the Nook and Nook books. Starting this autumn, I think.
I would also be very sorry to see bookstores disappear. But by patronizing Amazon and the library for several years, I’ve unfortunately done my part to put a nail in the independent bookstore coffin. And the publishers can accept a huge part of the blame. They really have made book purchasing a rather elitist activity. I believe they have preened in that rarified air and now reality is smacking them upside the head. E-readers are here to stay. E-books will become less expensive for plain e-books and pricier for enhanced e-books. They will only get better now. Textbooks will be going electronic (already are) and it is just the wave of the future already at our doorstep.
I’ve had the 2nd-gen Kindle since it came on the market and I’m pretty pleased with it. At first, I had some trouble finding the books I wanted for it, but things have vastly improved since.
My biggest complaint is probably not so much about the Kindle as it is for all e-books in general. The number of punctuation errors (i.e., missing periods, commas, spaces between words, etc.) is VERY distracting, especially if you’re a fairly fast reader. I find myself having to pause to decipher some things which I would never have to do with a dead tree version.
Having said that, go read “Cloud Atlas: A Novel” if you haven’t and try to ignore the punctuation mistakes. I’m on my third run-through of this book and it never gets tiring!
I have been fortunate in the books I’ve downloaded, I guess. Rare has been the typo or punctuation error. It drives me crazy when I do find one, though. I’m not sure I understand how that happens. Almost all book galleys are saved to tape or disk or whatever and have been for the last 20-25 years or more. How does a saved file that produces clean galleys turn out typo-filled electronic copy? I do not understand this at all.
And speaking of…
I was cruising along in The Hunger Games last night when I hit the word spoonfuls and it was like hitting a brick wall doing 90. For me, anyway. I was always taught that the proper word is spoonsful. Now, however, I find that many, if not most, references say that spoonfuls has become accepted English.
I just want to say....Profanation!
Alan… Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell? If so, it sounds fascinating. Six narratives told in six different prose styles (genres) in one book? Holy Mackerel, that must have been a challenge to write.
Kate, yes that Cloud Atlas! If you’re familiar with the website “The Millions,” that novel has made its way to their hall of fame since it was a top-rated favorite for so long.
And, you’re lucky on the typos. Probably half of my downloaded books (and I have a LOT) have them, and Cloud Atlas is one of the biggest offenders. I’d almost recommend the paperback over the Kindle version.
I’ll put it on my reserve list at the library. One of these days I’ll find a book that doesn’t have 200+ people waiting for it before me. ;)
The publishers should take the same care with e-books that they do with the dead tree versions. Obviously. Especially if they insist on gouging us with the prices. They really can’t justify their high prices when delivering crappy quality. Not that they’re trying very hard to justify anything.
Ok, yesterday I received an email from Amazon re: Cloud Atlas which said the original version contained a number of errors and had been corrected. All I had to do was respond to the email and they sent the corrected version to my Kindle.
How weird is that? And, I appreciate the customer service. ;)
Ooh, twilight zone music....
That was certainly one of those synchronous little twists. I’m glad you have a corrected version now. It’ll make reading it a much nicer experience.
Thank you, all of you, for your suggestions, input, etc. I definitely want one!! And if someone does not give me one for my birthday or Christmas, then I intend to give it to myself!!
I should have acknowledged all your responses sooner, but as often happens, life intruded on my fun!!