Comfort Reads discussion

OK, I am heading for a Kindle 3 with WiFi and 3G. I must have 3G b/c I don't have WiFi in the house. Can I also download to my computer, using a USB cable instead of WiFi? . This can be necessary if I use the Calibre site. I don't want to JUST buy books from Amazon!

You must be able to Chrissie, because one of my friends uses Calibre to change the format of ebooks that she has in epub or pdf to mobi and then transfer them to her Kindle.

And of course I said this already, but just to share my thoughts here also, when i was shopping for an ereader, I was doubting between the Sony PRS 600 (would now go for the PRS 650) and the Kindle 3. Because I live in The Netherlands, I finally decided to go for the Sony reader mainly for warranty reasons. Always handy to have a shop nearby to go to in case of problems :-) .

How can I think you guys? I am very appreciative.

I'd say by enjoying your ereader (whichever one it's going to be) when you get it... ;-)

I am going for the Kindle 3 with WiFi and maybe G3 too. I don't quite see the necessity of G3.....

Chrissie wrote: "I am going for the Kindle 3 with WiFi and maybe G3 too. I don't quite see the necessity of G3....."

Chrissie, Sounds as though you've gotten enough info.

Just a few reiterations: For all of them you can set font size, for ones without extra light, they're just like a paper book, you need a lamp. You do for books too, right? I'd get 3G and wifi. I don't have wifi at home but use it when out with my phone, but I can always use the 3G for transfer with my phone at home or out. Very handy. Even though you can plug it into your computer and transfer that way. When away from home, wifi is not available in as many sites as is 3G. At least where I live.

Lisa, what is hard for me is that I knew nothing before entering the conversation. My jusband feels I shoould get it with G3 b/c when I am in countries without computer connection, which I am quite often, I can instead use the G3.

Kindle has still the largest number of books available. Ihas the longest battery life, the largest capacity for books, the largest number of fonts, and excellent contrast. Using Calibre I will not be restricted to buying books only from Amazon. The negative side is that I cannot purchase it in a store nearby. I will order it from England with that lit cover. I am going to wait a teeny bit and check out the books I want to read and see if they are available and at what costs. The bottomline is, I need an ereader for my eyes. This seems like the best. Getting a big one is going to be so clumsy. I want to be able to take it easily everywhere. Maybe seeing hoiw I have switched around will help others make their own mind up too. I feel confident with by decision. I do think I will get it with G3. Later I will understand better how it can help me.

Again thank everyone for all your help. This computer moron needed help. And I met some new really nice people along the way - like Chandra, Andrea, Kristi and Eclipse. You helped me and didn't even know me! Then thanks all of my other friends too, the ones I have previously met and become close to here on GR.

Kathy what exactly is the name of the iten I should buy. You know the cover that has a light in it for the Kindle three? I do not want to buy the wrong thing? I will buy this with the ereader! I even understand now that not having it backlit makes it easier to use outside. I have learned so much!

(((HUGS))) all atound.

Oh, and if you have links where you recommend i look for books that would be interesting too.... Yeah, I am hopeless.

Chrissie, I hope getting this ereader, light, ebooks really helps you read books more easily!!! Can't wait to hear you report back when you've used the ereader.

The main thing is to not get excited when I run into little problems at the beginning. I still have tons of books sitting on my shelves to be read. I am NOT going to abandon them. I will get out my trusty magnifying glass.

I can't wait to try the Kindle. I have to find my first ebook Now I will become a ebookaholic. The thing is - I feel calm about my decision. This alone gives me confidence.

But how do you quote pages for a review? How do you guys do it? Do I just say it is from chapter X? I think Tara told me you can mark sections and write little notes with the Kindle. Is that right you guys? There is so much I must learn.

Chrissie, Do you have any of those page size magnifiers? Some have built in lights. They're for paper books. ETA: Oh, and some are light and flexible; most of the ones I have/have seen are.

Chrissie, http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/bestseller... :-) .

Lisa, I have two, they are the same, absolutely excellect magnifying lgasses. they are not lit but I think the Kindle will be the solution, although the font size is not large when you choose the book. This was mentioned above.

Andrea, without your glasses you use the fourth smallest font size, comparable to the 14pt on Word. Above it says that you cannot choose the font size in the book menus. Are such book menus difficult for you to read? Are they considerably smaller than the 14pt size? If yes, how many pt size would you give it? Do you find that the font size, where it cannot be made larger, is ever a problem? Are there many such menus where I must read in the smaller font?

Everybody, I don't want the DX version b/c it will be harder to take everywhere with me, but I wonder if the font size that cannot be adjusted in particular menus is larger on this version? Doe anybody know?

Eclipse - that is exactly what I plan on buying. PERFECT! Now I cannot make an error! Oscar send you a slurp! I really don't think any other ereader will fit my needs as well.

Chrissie,

If you buy a Kindle from Amazon and it does not work for you, can you exchange or return it (like you can with books from Amazon), or is it that once you've tried it, you are stuck with it? It would really be nice if one could try an e-reader or a selection thereof to see which one fits one's needs. I hope you find your perfect e-reader, Chrissie.

This has been a very enlightening (oops, pun not intended) discussion. I've been debating about getting an e-reader, but all of this information is a tad overwhelming, and I'm not ready for one yet (especially since I really at least for the moment would only want an e-reader to download vintage books from the internet).

I'm behind on this conversation, but I can tell you (if it hasn't been said) that font size on the kindle is adjustable, but I think the menu will look the same. I love my kindle. I had a first generation and now I have a newer version, and I have no complaints. The lighted cover is also really nice.
I know that Best Buy and Target have kindles on disply that you can play with to see what the features are like.

Christine, how big is the font of the text in the menus that cannot be changed? Can you say what size font this would be in a word document? And do you know if the unadjustable font size in the menus is larger on a Kindle DX, the biggest Kindle?

Gundula, I do not know. I need some ereader, and I am convinced this is the best. I will work with the difficulties that my arise.

Chrissie wrote: "Gundula, I do not know. I need some ereader, and I am convinced this is the best. I will work with the difficulties that my arise."

Good luck, I hope you find "the perfect" e-reader.

Gundula, I have spent all day looking to see if the books I want to buy are availabe at Kindle...... Very few! I will have to find other places to look. There were some so I will test with them.

Chrissie wrote: "Gundula, I have spent all day looking to see if the books I want to buy are availabe at Kindle...... Very few! I will have to find other places to look. There were some so I will test with them."

That's always a problem if you have specific books you want to or need to read (I would have the same difficulties, at least for some of the books on my to-read list).

I love my K3, it has a lot better contrast than the K2. Calibre is wonderful, but many books have DRM protection, so Calibre can't convert those. It's often a problem with books from the big publishing houses. In my experience, amazon has most everything B&N has - it may be that some of the books you want aren't in e-format anywhere.

Or in e-format in Belgium or France or elsewhere.

Debora, do you have another favorite ebook site if Amazon doesn't have the ebook you are looking for?

Another question - has anyone bought their Kindle in one country and then purchased their Kindle ebooks at an Amazon site in a different country? Amazon.com has more ebooks than Amazon.uk. I am wondering if it is then important that I buy the ereader at amazon.com to avoid trouble when I order the ebooks from amazon.com? I want the downloading to be easy.

I tend to use amazon, or the free ebook sites (but I can buy off amazon.com, which has a huge selection of ebooks). I know it can be challenging to buy anything on amazon from a different country. I can't buy books off the amazon.co.uk site, for example. So if that's important to you, you might try buying a book from the amazon.com site first to see if it works. Also, I don't know where you live, but many readers outside the UK get a $2 service charge for downloading books, which makes a $.99 book awfully expensive. I have a couple of readers in South Africa, and I gift them my books from amazon.com, because it seems ridiculous for a short little book to cost $3. So check if that applies to wherever you live - I'd hate for it to be a surprise after you've already bought your kindle!

Deborah, the question is if they will even let my buy Kindle 3 from amazon.com given that I live in Belgium. They might tell me I have to buy it from amazon.uk!

Concerning the 2dollar fee. You mean that if I buy an ebook from amazon.uk they will add a 2dollar fee because I live in Belgium? That is so weird - why isn't the extra fee in £s? I wonder if amazon will charge me 2dollars more than the listed price for an ebook at amazon.com when they have to send it to Belfium? Do you know? This is disturbing!

I must check all of this before I buy the Kindle. If using a Kindle is going to be so messy mayve I should reconsider the Sony?!

Well, it sounds as though e-books are different, but from the U.S. I have gone to amazon.com/uk and bought books (paper books) from them several times with no problems at all.

Oh, Chrissie, and when I order from the UK they do charge in pounds and my credit card does the converting.

There is so much conflicting information. I have sent an email to amazon.com with all these points! Good suggestion.

I know they charge in £, that is why an addition 2USD is strange. Yup the credit card does the conversion. That is no problem.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003...

I found the Kindle link on amazon that lets you enter your country and get info specific to your country, including a link to the country-specific bookstore. I think some of the charges have to do with VAT, on the Europe side, but this is just conjecture on my part.

Thank you Jeanette. The different availability and prices are also due to different agreements with the publishers. Thanks for the link!

You're welcome. I couldn't browse around Belgium, because it knew I was in the US. I read a few articles about e-books in Europe, and it seems that it may get easier in the next year. The publishers in Europe have been a lot slower to decide how to do e-books, and even whether they want to do e-books. The rules and attitudes vary from country to country, too.

Which is a problem for Chrissie, because she can check Belgium now, but not Sweden or France, I'm guesssing. :-(

Yep. One big European Union is nothing like me buying a book from California, or Texas. :(

You guys I tried the search by Jeanette's way and Amazon's instructions, but they went around in circles. finally we did get to a KIndle Store where we could designate our location and it classified the books as those available in "Europe". I think they used the Belium I chose to call them the european ebooks. There were over 600000 books. Much more than Sony. I will order a KIndle tomorrow. this is the best alternative. I will work with it from there. I will get it with G3 and WiFi. I am buying it from the States b/c that is where christina bought hers and I want to avoid additional fees that some have said occur when you do not live in the UK. This is fuzzy, but I am just playing it safe! god am I glad this is over. Tomorrow we will order it so this has taken 3.5 solid days. There is nothing else better. In that I am confident.

Well, I wish you much intelligent and pleasurable reading with your new Kindle, Chrissie! :D

Chrissie, Congrats, and I hope you enjoy it. It's exciting, I think. The good news is that it seems they'll treat you the same whether you're in Belgium, France, or Sweden, and that will make things easier.

I feel confident this is the right choice. STILL I will be happy when I start purchasing books to see if what I think is available really is! I know there is no other better reader out there for me. Cool huh?! I wonder how long it will take to get it :0) Thanks for all the support. I really did need your help. I am a computer moron.

Chrissie, You're not a moron in any way. It's a complicated and difficult decision. This is new technology for you, and fairly new for us all. This is so exciting! Do you know which ebook you want to read first?

I am considering Ava's Man, French Lessons: A Memoir, The Kitchen House, Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome, Ama and Once More...From the Beginning looks funny and I could learn a bit too! I think all of these are available :0)

I wish something like this had been available 20 years ago when I moved to Germany! I had to read a lot of Agatha Christie, because she was one of the few authors available in English in the book stores. I didn't have enough knowledge of German to read novels.

Have fun with your new toy! You have officially advanced beyond "moron" status, so don't attach that label to yourself again! ;) Let us know how it works out for you.

Jeanette I am really excited! I got a message from someone at the Kindle Group and they said that the Amazon DX which is larger has a teeny bigger font in the menus, which cannot be enlarged, but that the Kindle 3 is still easier to read because the letters are sharper! I feel so happy! I bought just the right thing, for me that is! I should get it next week. it may take me awhile to learn it! I will buy a book the same day. :0)

Chrissie wrote: "Jeanette I am really excited! I got a message from someone at the Kindle Group and they said that the Amazon DX which is larger has a teeny bigger font in the menus, which cannot be enlarged, but t..."

Chrissie, I think that there are also quite a few free downloads for the Kindle on Amazon, but with that feature, you do have to be careful. I've heard complaints that some of the free downloads are missing parts of the text, that they have been abridged. Anyhow, I hope that the Kindle you bought will be just the things for you and that you find many cool and interesting books both on Amazon (and for downloading from free internet sites).

Gundula, I will see about those free books. You know I am not one for classics, and I bet the freebies are such books, books where the copyrights are long since passed. I have seen lots of people reading "that which is free". I thik I am too picky for such. Sure, if a book I really want to read is free, well that is nice. First I have to really want to read it.

Chrissie wrote: "Gundula, I will see about those free books. You know I am not one for classics, and I bet the freebies are such books, books where the copyrights are long since passed. I have seen lots of people r..."

Also, if these classics are really abridged, why bother? Usually, freebies are too good to be true, especially when it comes to books.

I'm supposed to be reading The Name of the Rose for a group read, but I'm just not into it. I dug up my copy of My Father's Paradise: A Son's Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq and realised I would rather finish reading that.

Gundula, I am with you. I could never finish The Name of the Rose although a lot of people I know read it and loved it. I loved My Father's Paradise - so interesting!

Maude wrote: "Gundula, I am with you. I could never finish The Name of the Rose although a lot of people I know read it and loved it. I loved My Father's Paradise - so interesting!"

I had to actually read it for university, in German. But, I don't remember anything and had to read it in something like a week, so yeah, that was not a fun experience. One of the reasons I'm taking it slow this time, is that I do want to finish reading the book, but if I feel rushed, that just is not going to happen.

Gundula, My Father's Paradise is really good! Much better choice!

Chrissie wrote: "Gundula, My Father's Paradise is really good! Much better choice!"

I think so as well

I have downloaded a couple of freebies from Amazon on my Kindle, but I've only read a bit of one of them, Scottish Ghost Stories by Elliott O'Donnell. The first story I read was fine. I'll get back to the discussion on it after I've read more.

Seems to me that the majority of people who have e-readers prefer the kindle. However, I have a nook and I love my nook. I'm dangerously addicted to it - I love the screen and the light weight. I thought it was much easier to use then the kindle and sony e-readers where, because we tried all three. Also the libraries are now loaning e-books only for the nook. Which is why I ended up getting it.

My library has e-books for just about all formats, including the Nook and the Sony e-readers, but not for the Kindle, and I assume Amazon will never allow for Kindle e-books to be loaned as library books.

I'd consider buying a Kindle if not for that. Most of my books, I'd say 95-99% of them, are borrowed library books.

A color Nook is appealing for this reason and also because it might work best for children's picture books, and I read quite a few of those.

ETA: But I doubt I'll buy any e-reader unless I get more opportunities to travel. That's when an e-reader would really come in handy for me!