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Likes/Dislikes of eReaders

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message 1: by Sandi (new)

Sandi (sandikal) | 1212 comments I just got my Nook on Sunday and am reading my first book. I love that the Nook paginates like real books. (I think the Sony Reader does too.) As far as typeface goes, I have no way of knowing if the e-book looks the same as the dead-tree version. I am reading Palimpsest in paperback right now and the look of the font and chapter headings is really important in that book. It switches between two fonts depending on where the story is taking place at that time. The design of the book is integral to the story. I'd hate to think I wouldn't have gotten that in the e-book version, but I don't know what it looks like.


message 2: by Gary (new)

Gary Oswald (monkeygroove) | 12 comments I have read books on the Kindle app of my iPhone, but I still like the feel of holding a physical book. There is something about the feel of the binding and the smell of the paper. I don't know if I will ever give up real books.


message 3: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimherdt) | 71 comments One nice thing that the Nook does that my Kindle doesn't is give you the option to change font styles - I really miss that feature. The other Nook feature I miss is that it shows the "real" page number as it relates to the physical book - not some bizzare super secret section/line number the Kindle displays.


message 4: by terpkristin (new)

terpkristin | 4407 comments I'm surprised so many people are hung up on the page number. I almost never refer to page numbers in a book. When I'm talking to someone about the book and my progress, I say "I'm about a third through" or something like that. When I'm discussing a certain topic, I usually reference chapters (since not all editions of the books have the same number of pages, anyway). The only place I use page numbers is here at Goodreads for my progress...so I came up with a spreadsheet to estimate my page number in audio books and also in Kindle books.


message 5: by aldenoneil (new)

aldenoneil | 1000 comments terpkristin wrote: "I'm surprised so many people are hung up on the page number. I almost never refer to page numbers in a book. When I'm talking to someone about the book and my progress, I say "I'm about a third thr..."

Another reason why a search option is necessary in these things. I seriously considered the Kobo, but it doesn't have search. Like hell I'm going to scan through an ebook one page at a time to find a passage.


message 6: by Amy (new)

Amy Pilkington | 104 comments I've had my Kindle since it went international, and love it. Pages numbers don't bother me, but one thing that really bugs is the fact that many books I buy for the Kindle will load the first time you open it at the first "page" of chapter one.

This sounds like a good thing, except that it often (especially with fantasy) SKIPS the Prologue when it does this. Most glaring to be recently was Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest. I was so lost on chapter one that I clicked the page back button a few times to find there was a whole prologue describing the events of the world that lead to the way it is. They were very very important to the story, but the eBook was set to open at chapter one.

I can only assume this is in the creation of the eBook that it's set, as it hasn't been with every book.


message 7: by Jim (new)

Jim (jimherdt) | 71 comments terpkristin wrote: "I'm surprised so many people are hung up on the page number. I almost never refer to page numbers in a book. When I'm talking to someone about the book and my progress, I say "I'm about a third thr..."

I'd just like to know how many pages I have left to read to finish a chapter - or how many pages are in a chapter so I can decide if I want to tackle it before bed or wait until the next day.


message 8: by Amy (new)

Amy Pilkington | 104 comments I'd just like to know how many pages I have left to read to finish a chapter - or how many pages are in a chapter so I can decide if I want to tackle it before bed or wait until the next day.

Actually, as another note for the thread starter: Some of the Kindle books have little dots on the progress bar at the beginning of each chapter/part so you can tell where you are in relation. Not all books have it, but I find it's really helpful for the aforementioned "can I finish this before I fall asleep?" question.


message 9: by terpkristin (new)

terpkristin | 4407 comments Jim wrote: "I'd just like to know how many pages I have left to read to finish a chapter - or how many pages are in a chapter so I can decide if I want to tackle it before bed or wait until the next day."

Ah. I usually just flip forward a few pages and see if the end is near, then flip back.


message 10: by Tamahome (last edited Jun 18, 2010 04:36PM) (new)

Tamahome | 7230 comments The iBook app is the best. It shows number of pages left of both the chapter and whole book. But the apple store has a smaller book selection. I wish it showed an eta. :)

I'd also like an app that could read the free library adobe epub books.


message 11: by Jordy (last edited Jun 18, 2010 05:42PM) (new)

Jordy Amy Wrote: "Some of the Kindle books have little dots on the progress bar at the beginning of each chapter/part so you can tell where you are in relation. Not all books have it..."
That is a huge pet peeve of mine about kindle books. I wish amazon would make sure that all books have the chapter breaks I think it makes a big difference.


message 12: by Lisa (new)

Lisa (lapowell) The big thing about page numbers missing on the Kindle is that it cannot easily be used for reference. That means that it can't be used in classes or for anything that needs to be indexed.

But I still love my Kindle


message 13: by Matthew (new)

Matthew Laberge (Matthew_LaBerge) | 16 comments Lisa wrote: "The big thing about page numbers missing on the Kindle is that it cannot easily be used for reference. That means that it can't be used in classes or for anything that needs to be indexed.

But ..."


Check out this Kindle Page Number Calculator Tool http://www.bookmonk.com/labs/numbers.php I use it to calculate the page number for updating my Goodreads Status.


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