What is the Point of Kindle/eBooks?

mrsvalkyrie said:

I agree with you, Technician.

I mean, really, how many books could you possibly read waiting in the doctor's office or waiting for a meal at a diner (when you should be paying more attention to the person you're with, if you are with someone.) Not to mention it's a lot cheaper to forget a paperback in a cab or drop one in a puddle. When I drop my book on the ground, I certainly don't have to cry over it. I pick it up, find my place, and get back to reading.

I understand if you're traveling for business and will be away for a while, but other than that it doesn't make sense to me. If you're on vacation, why bring books (okay, one book I could understand) when you should be enjoying your vacation?

I don't want it to seem like I'm criticizing those who have Kindles or whatever else you can read books on. This is just my personal preference. It just seems like a lot of people (not everyone, and most likely no one on here) buy all of this new technology just so they can feel like they're moving with the times and having the best of everything to show off to their friends. With the exception of my Netbook, I won't buy into all this. I'm perfectly content sitting back with a paperback and watching television on a non-HD big back TV, or popping a VHS into my VCR.

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Well do what you like and let others do the same. People who vouch for paperbacks over everything else seem to belittle anyone who reads ebooks just to prop up their own argument.

I read both formats just as I own CDs and MP3s I don't see why you have to forfeit one or have a vendetta against either.

My holidays consist of me going to caravans lazying in them and on the beach. I'm not an adventure type holiday person so I'm content with lazying in the day and having a meal in the evening out somewhere. I tend to watch tv in the caravan and read a book at the same time. Suppose it's like home with a different setting but eh it's what I enjoy.

A lot of people read really fast so one book isn't enough, my boyfriend reads through one 400 page novel in an hour and half and then will read another so he's always buying books and reading on his kindle app.

This is the way it is going; the apps on smart phones are going exponential. I am hardly surprised that some are talking already of another internet of super computers in smart phones because the memory available is not far away from the memory in the linked computers that is the internet. The possibility that our mobile phones will be used against us draws ever closer.
Quis custodies ipsos custodiet?

And this has to do with ebooks...how?

Ever since I got my Kindle, I buy and read more books across ALL formats (both ebook and paper) than before. Example: I purchase more hardcover books now than I did before I got my Kindle. I'm not sure why, but I'm sure having fun reading.

Technician said:

This is the way it is going; the apps on smart phones are going exponential. I am hardly surprised that some are talking already of another internet of super computers in smart phones because the memory available is not far away from the memory in the linked computers that is the internet. The possibility that our mobile phones will be used against us draws ever closer.
Quis custodies ipsos custodiet?

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LMAO...

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That is all.

Who knew that the vector for SkyNet would be smartphones and ebooks?

Technician said:

Reading one of the posts I was also alerted to the possibility that you may only have access to a book via an E-reader for as long as the publisher chooses to remain in business.

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That's not correct.

mrsvalkyrie said:

I don't want it to seem like I'm criticizing those who have Kindles or whatever else you can read books on.

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And yet, here you are implying that people who read ebooks are a bunch of antisocial techno-hipsters. I mean, seriously, you're judging people who like to read on their vacations? Gosh, I had no idea I was enjoying my vacations wrong.

I read an awful lot waiting for things (like taxis, planes, prescriptions etc). And I am not usually with anyone at the time. I guess I forgot to be permanently in the presence of my non-existent life companion. How remiss of me.

Since November, I've read over 30 books on my Kindle. Prior to that, I didn't read 30 books over probably 5 years. I don't have to worry about the kids losing my place in a paperback (my son is notorious for this.) It takes up no room when I go away (even if it's just a weekend at the in laws. I can buy as many books as I want and not have to worry about which one do I really feel like reading, so I don't pack one, only to find I really would rather read a different one.) I throw my Kindle in my purse and off I go. I'd forgotten just how much I love to read, and realized how much I've missed it.

Some of you may laugh but we currently have an enquiry in Britain in which evidence in the form of telephone messaging and text messages is being used and analysed to find out who said what and when. It is the Leveson enquiry and my only observation is that there are now a lot of people who have been through that enquiry who are seriously regretting sending those texts. It is becoming clear that what people are saying under oath is not corroborated by what they said in texts. What is this? Some call it perjury.
Yes, the section on the publisher going out of business was me repeating another post. But I did think about it.
I am not condemning E-books or readers. If that permits more luggage to be carried because less books are needed, fine. But as someone said, do you go on holiday to read? I know what my partner would have said if I had my nose in a book for the entire holiday.

But what does this have to do with Kindles or ebooks in general?

Umm lol.

Technician said:

I am not condemning E-books or readers. If that permits more luggage to be carried because less books are needed, fine. But as someone said, do you go on holiday to read? I know what my partner would have said if I had my nose in a book for the entire holiday.

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I read whenever and wherever the mood strikes. Mostly, I do it sitting on the deck while my kids are playing in the pool. But I spend a lot of time in waiting rooms, so my Kindle is a godsend in that respect.

It's not an all or nothing thing. You can spend only part of the time reading, perhaps while your other half is off doing something he or she enjoys that you don't. My husband is a golfer. I despise golf. He plays, I sit and read. I've yet to spend an entire vacation doing nothing but reading, even when I've brought more than one book with me.

Can't we all just get along?

I'll tell you one thing I can do with a Kindle that I can't do with any paper-based book. Text to speech. Using text to speech feature of my kindle, I can "read" nearly any book while I'm driving 40 miles (each way) to and from work. I can "read" while exercising on the treadmill or elliptical machine at the gym.

It must be the heatwave. People seem extra cranky these days...myself included. (-;

I love how I can highlight text in the kindle app while I'm reading and then refer to the text while writing a review of the book. Handy!

Yes, I go on vacation to read. Not always, but sometimes. It's one of my favorite activities, why would I not include it during my relaxation time? What better way to escape from normal life than through a book?

Benefits of my nook:
I can read the same book as my husband, even if one of us is traveling. I can buy a book while traveling/sitting on the beach/etc. I can trade books with friends digitally from a distance. I can, if I want, read my books on my nook, my PC, my laptop, my iPad, or my phone, so I'm never without a book if stuck at an appointment, etc. I have much more bookshelf space and no longer have to organize new stacks of books. I never misplace a book because they're all in my nook, and my nook goes in one place. I can peruse the bestsellers list in my pajamas and download samples to see how I like the writing. I can put my own documents or books I'm beta reading on it for more effective reading/less cost in printing. I can download many classics for free, legally. I can download books from the library for free. I can make notes in the ebook without writing on pages. I can search an ebook. I actually read faster on the nook than in hardcopy, and my eyes don't hurt a bit. (Note: For me, this is not true of reading on the ipad.) I can read whatever I like without anyone knowing. (Not just for erotica. Adults reading YA/kidlit are sometimes judged too.) Ebooks are sometimes cheaper than hard copies (though sometimes not). Even 1 Stephen King book weighs a ton, not to mention the reference and textbooks my hubby reads; the nook is light and small, which makes it easier to hold for long time periods. (It's better for your wrists.) My hubby's nook has a touchscreen for ease of use. You can change the text size and font, which is great for people with varying levels of eyesight. (I know a woman who bought one for her husband who hurt his brain and can no longer focus on the tiny text in regular books.)

Honestly, the only reasons I can see for NOT buying books on an ereader are
1. the whole mess of whether or not authors get a fair percentage of ebook sales. I have no problems paying authors for enjoying their hard work. I've actually decreased my library use because I can afford to buy more books now, and by purchasing, I feel like I'm making contribution to the authors I love so much.
and
2. missing the smell of new books

Technician said:

But as someone said, do you go on holiday to read?

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I do. I really do.

(For the record, I have a kindle, but I HATE IT TO BITS. Just sayin' ...)

Technician said:

I am not condemning E-books or readers. If that permits more luggage to be carried because less books are needed, fine. But as someone said, do you go on holiday to read? I know what my partner would have said if I had my nose in a book for the entire holiday.

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A lot of people travel for reasons other than taking a holiday. Many travel for work. When I do, I read in airports, on planes, in my hotel at night, at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

My one pet-peeve is that they make me "turn off" my kindle on take-off and landing, even though pushing the power switch doesn't actually turn the thing off.

Roger J Carlson said:

A lot of people travel for reasons other than taking a holiday. Many travel for work. When I do, I read in airports, on planes, in my hotel at night, at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

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This[sup]10[/sup]. Reading during travel is more to keep me entertained than my main activity. I bore easily, almost as quickly as a toddler, if I have to sit in a crowded, noisy boarding gate at the airport or during an extended bus ride to Wisconsin. If I'm not sleeping, I'm reading.

I'm from England, but I spend a lot of my time in Spain. Buying a Kindle was a great help to me.

I read a great deal and often attempt the odd Spanish novel, but for a relaxing read I prefer to read in English. However, that is not easy to achieve when most bookshops sell books mainly in Spanish (of course they would - I'm in Spain after all ) and the offerings in English are often quite dire.

So being able to download books to my Kindle has increased the number of books I can read, without having to resort to grubby, 20th-hand books at a car boot sale and has certainly improved the quality of English language books I have access to.

Roger J Carlson said:

A lot of people travel for reasons other than taking a holiday. Many travel for work. When I do, I read in airports, on planes, in my hotel at night, at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

My one pet-peeve is that they make me "turn off" my kindle on take-off and landing, even though pushing the power switch doesn't actually turn the thing off.

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I just did a domestic flight home, and they didn't even ask if my wireless was turned off (although it was), I just kept reading and the flight attendants glanced at my Kindle and kept walking. Although they did make my seatmate turn off her ipod (hehe).

Anyway, I adore my Kindle. I can read whatever book I feel like in the moment, I don't have to be able to stuff a heavy paperback in my purse or carry it in my hands if it is too big, I can listen in the car (HUGE BONUS!!), I can pull it out when I have to sit and wait unexpectedly, I don't have my son stealing my bookmarks (THING sticking out of book is apparently irresistible to a 4 year old), and I know this is a petty concern, but I can eat things that take two hands and still read because I don't have to worry about propping my book open. (The same goes for other two-hand activities, like knitting.)

I'm often next-to-last to catch the tech train (I've had a smartphone for all of 6 months now, I think), and I don't even own a television, but I LOVE my Kindle. And I've never dropped it in a puddle or left it in a cab. But even if I did, I'd buy a new one, because I simply love it that much.

I think until you try one you basically can't complain about it. You have misgivings, sure, but to me your negatives about the device seem to stem from a commercial rather than personal opinion. As with anything you get used to reading on the Kindle. One of my favorite things about it is being able to adjust the size of the text to suit my needs, change the color of the paper (on the iPad at least), and add notes and highlights. I mostly use mine for school but also read the entire Hunger Games trilogy on my Kindle and it worked out pretty well. I still buy tangible books so it's not like a Kindle has to be a be-all-end-all for you.

I'm not belittling anyone. I thought we were expressing opinions, but I guess it didn't come out that way.

I just hate the thought of someone buying one and then dropping it or spilling something on it and breaking it after spending all that money. But someone did say that everything is stored online, so I suppose that's a plus.

Someone else made good points after what I posted that I didn't know. They said that they can share books with friends and read the same book their husband is reading. I didn't know that. That's actually pretty cool. It may not appear this way, but I can see both sides to every argument/discussion. I am willing to admit when something I don't like has a plus side to it or might not be as bad as I thought.

My mother-in-law lent me hers when she first got it, and I just couldn't get comfortable with it. But I only used it for a few days. I suppose that might have something to do with it.

I wouldn't quite call me not liking the Kindle a vendetta against them. I'm not part of any 'Ban Kindles' group and I don't go around with a bucket of water getting ready to splash anyone with a Kindle. I don't see someone using it and say, 'What the hell is wrong with you? Those things are for (insert whatever word you please here because I can't think of one.)' In fact, I don't even think that. I see them, good for them to be able to afford one because I sure as hell can't, and I move on. Sometimes I'll ask what book they're reading if we happen to be already making small talk.

And for those of you that said you do, in fact, read on vacation, that's awesome. I don't know if I would. I've never been on a real vacation, so I don't know if I would bring a book with me. I suppose I would in case it's rainy and I can't go out. But I don't know.

To each his own. That's the bottom line.

Take care, everyone.

WildScribe said:

, and I know this is a petty concern, but I can eat things that take two hands and still read because I don't have to worry about propping my book open.

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Not petty at all. Since I live alone, I like to read while I eat, but it's hard to read while eating a messy sandwich and (unsuccessfully) propping my book open with my elbow. Now that I have my Kindle, reading while eating is much neater.

I usually read at lunchtime and prop the Kindle on the newspaper (really all the good a newspaper is for these days, since the news never changes and is usually depressing. )

My daughter was saving for a Nook, but then she lost her iPod and the money she had stashed away went to buying an iPhone instead. She doesn't know it, but she'll be getting one for her birthday.

Bubastes said:

Not petty at all. Since I live alone, I like to read while I eat, but it's hard to read while eating a messy sandwich and (unsuccessfully) propping my book open with my elbow. Now that I have my Kindle, reading while eating is much neater.

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I dunno... You could have taken the hardcore option and starved...

I don't like kindle because it's nearly as good as reading paper, except not quite. You get the words, but that's pretty much all you get. All the stuff I love - the smell, the weight, the cover, the fact that you can bite the book when you love it (what - you don't bite the books you love?? Oh, come on!) all that's gone. You can't bite a kindle. I've done it. Once. Not satisfying.

I like paper books. I lurve paper books. Kindle gets in the way of me buying more paper books.

I don't love my kindle.



But I'm happy that most of you do. Because I'm just sweet that way.