E-books

[Angelica]

I love this group! I'm just wondering how do you all feel about e-books. I have read books on my Palm Pilot in the past and I recently acquired a Kindle. I enjoy reading on the Kindle and it's what I prefer now. I still read regular books, but I lean more towards the e-books. I'm just wondering what your thoughts are. Thanks for your time.

[Suzanne]

I read "His Family" by Ernest Poole a while back as an e-book on my computer and it was okay. I chose it because at that time the only copy I could find was used for $40 and wasn't willing to cough that up!! So I think it is a neat opition for that kind of thing.

[Melanie]

Another thing to check out it that some authors will put web versions of their books on their websites for free download as way to promote their books.

[Jackie]

I haven't tried reading any e-books. I'm not opposed to it, but I just like the feel and smell of a book in my hand. I can't read on the computer for a long period of time either. I'm always on the computer for my job, so when I come home or on my free time I don't want to be on it other than to read GR posts. lol. My eyes are tired by the time I come home.

I had heard that the Kindle is easy on the eyes and the page looks just like a real book. Do you find this to be true?

[She'Davia]

Jackie, the Kindle is amazing. It is easy on the eyes, I want one badly but their like $300

[Jackie]

Yeah, I can't see myself spending $300 when I can get books for free from the library.

[Chloe]

Petunia, I'm so glad that you love your Kindle. I never thought that I'd grow to love mine as much as I do, but it's become an indispensable part of my traveling life. The print-type is revolutionary, Amazon definitely put a lot of thought into it. I love that the screen isn't backlit and that the battery life lasts forever.

[April]

UGH. I have Finally talked myself into not needing a Kindle. "It's unnecessary," I tell myself. "Real books are so much more realistic," I say. "Backlighting is horrible. Battery life is non-existant. I won't be able to download anything for free," I complain.

Well, guess what's on my wish list now?

Damn you, enablers.

[Chloe]

I'm glad I could help, April. To be sure- the Kindle is not my main reading device. I could never get rid of my real books. It's a godsend for traveling though, which I have to do quite regularly for my job. It significantly lightens the load.

[April]

I have to travel a lot, too. That was originally why I looked at purchasing one. However, the clincher would have been if I could download textbooks. It would be well worth the cost if I was saving $400-800 per semester. Unfortunately now I'll have to hope for one at graduation!

[[deleted user]]

Logan, I didn't realize you had a Kindle. I have been drooling over them ever since I found out. I am hoping my wife will get me one for X-Mas!!

I like the idea that it can have some positive benefits for the environment. The idea of not having any books in print is very scary to me, but I do not see that happening.

[Angelica]

April, as far as free e-books, check out project gutenberg at www.gutenberg.org and also www.manybooks.net. I really like www.manybooks.net. I've downloaded a number of free books from there.

[[deleted user]]

You have never fallen asleep with a book in your hands?? I would say I do that at least 200 days a year!

[Shannon]

I, too, have not done any e-book reading as of yet. I don't get on my computer much at home since I spend all day on it at work. I find even reading documents for work, I have to print them to read through them. These were the ways I had justified not being interested in the Kindle.

I too like the feel of a book in my hands and the smell of the pages as I read them! I am intrigued by the reports of how great the Kindle is, specifically for traveling. I travel quite a bit for work and often have the struggle of books or shoes and I don't like to have to make those kinds of decisions! I will have to look into this more and maybe add it to my wishlist. :)

[[deleted user]]

I enjoy and love reading real books as much as anyone here. It just seems there is a time and place for electronic reading and it looks like there can be some positive environmental impact from not making quite as many books. I also like that dictionary feature.

[April]

Thanks for the tips Petunia!

[Sera]

I was against the concept of e-books, too, for all of the reasons stated, but then I recently received a Kindle for my birthday, and I love it. I still read regular books, but I love the Kindle for the "freebies" and other books that I want to read, but don't really care to keep around on my bookshelf. Also, current best sellers are only $9.99 and there are many other features that people might find of interest, such as being able to subscribe to various newspapers from around the country.

[Joanie]

I think if I traveled for work the Kindle would be perfect-especially since I bring 5 or 6 books with me whenever I go away, but I don't. As much as I think it would be cool to have one I can't really see it as a justifiable expense right now. Maybe someday. But even then I'm sure I'd still have a stack of unread paper books.

[Marc]

There are lots of formats for e-books. Kindle is simply Amazon's attempt to corner the market. Just like they bought their own POD printer. I have a number of e-books that I got from fictionwise.com and downloaded in Adobe. No need to spend money on a Kindle, or any other.

[[deleted user]]

If you want to carry your laptop everywhere you go!

[Kimberly]

I actually just uploaded the e-book version of my newest novel here at GoodReads. The Family Bones is now availabe, for free!!!!

I won't get read if it's not out there to be read!!!

Good Reading!!!

[M.G.]

Logan wrote: "Petunia, I'm so glad that you love your Kindle. I never thought that I'd grow to love mine as much as I do, but it's become an indispensable part of my traveling life. The print-type is revolutio..."

Is it really that great or is it just new. It is common knowledge that the computer/tv/monitor screens worsen eye sight so the question is has Kindle fixed this problem. If they have then they have something. Actually I did think about getting a Kindle at one point, but I have too many electronic devices as it is.

[IUHoosier]

I've had a Kindle for 8 months now and absolutely love it. In fact, it was six months before I bothered picking up a 'real' book again.

I think it was April talking about textbooks - Amazon is releasing a Kindle Textbook version later this year. I'm anxious to see that as I'm in school, too.

And M.g. - the Kindle screen is not backlit - neither is Sony's eReader - which makes reading much easier on the eyes. The screen resembles paper and I've even ran into some ebook editions that look exactly like photocopied/scanned pages from the original books. Very freaky when you see ink stains on a book and seconds later realize you're reading on an electronic device....

[Roy]

I've never read an ebook even though I happen to be the author of one. For a novella such as mine or a collection of short stories, reading in electronic format doesn't strike me as the worest thing ever. No doubt the younger you are and therefore more accustomed to reading off a screen, the easier the transition is. My daughter who is not quite 3 will probably live in a world where paperless reading is the norm by the time she reaches college, perhaps by high school. I personally prefer it when a tree or two has been sacraficed for my reading pleasure once page counts hit triple digits, but I'm accustomed to reading news articles online so the transition to short stories and/or novellas probably wouldn't be too traumatic.Feeding the Squirrels A Novella

[Irene]

These days all my books are e-books. It's way cheaper and I now live in a one bedroom apartment so space is a premium.
Plus I can read Twilight [image error] on my PDA
and nobody know I'm not reading Pride and Prejudice orUlysses

[Justine]

I read e-books from Project Gutenberg on my computer at work when things are slow or I am lazy. I downloaded an application on my Ipod that is fifty classic books, so I read those if I'm in line somewhere and (gasp) did not bring a real book with me. I use e-books exclusively for classics that I don't want to have to buy/go to the library for.

[[deleted user]]

Reading e-books are convenient and cheaper, too.
I have windows mobile on my phone which I use for reading in bed. That way I can read even with the lights out and the hubby was already sleeping.

[Coalbanks]

Convenient, cheaper, better access to hard-to-find books. Works for me but I still prefer the paper book although if KINDLE is as user-friendly it might be worth looking into but for the price of KINDLE vs library card.

[Anna]

I have a Kindle and absolutely love it. I still read real books but it is so handy for traveling and for those books that I want to read immediately, or the times when nothing on my shelves looks good but I need something to read. I read different books in different places though so until I have multiple Kindles (yea right) I'll always have real books. I'm also a very hermit type person who works in customer service so on my days off I don't want to go anywhere near people so having a huge supply of books at my disposal without having to see a single person is fantastic.

[Katie]

I have a Sony Reader 700, and my reading has increased three-fold because of the ease of downloading free classics that are in the public domain, being able to carry it everywhere with me, and the comfort of holding it (not having to deal with a stiff spine).

[Coalbanks]

The ease of obtaining & carrying & free (other than the cost of the reader) access to books in the public domain but not locally available in the regional library system might convince me. Just a matter of time & a good sale on KINDLE, SONY READER etc.

[Mel]

Mark me down as another thumbs up for e-book devices. I don't have a kindle but a similar e-ink device and the convenience of having several (hundreds if you want) books on hand at a given moment and its compact lightweight packability makes it perfect. It allows me to indulge in carefree travel packing and still bring twenty or more books which is necessary at the rate I go through them on vacation. It allows me to read standing up on crowded streetcars and still be able to hold the pole constantly with the other hand to prevent me accidentally ending up in someone else's lap. It packs lightly into a purse or shoulder bag without giving me any neck or back strain so I can carry it constantly just in case I will have a moment or two of waiting to dive back into my current obsession. Plus it results in a lot less clutter in my house.

I only read books in paper now if they are leant to me, if they aren't available in ebook or if they have some special formatting that needs to be preserved to get the most out of the book.

[Suzanne]

I don't have an eBook reading device (yet) but I do read a lot of eBooks on my laptop. I started reading them about 8 years ago (when they were fairly new) for the convenience factor. I love that when I'm in the mood for a book I don't even have to leave the house, or wait a week for a book I ordered to come in the mail. I can start reading it within minutes.

I'm kind of upset that Amazon.com stopped carrying eBooks in formats other than Kindle(I'm guessing it's so they can force people into buying Kindles) but I just go to fictionwise.com or a different eBookseller and buy them there.

[Mel]

I wanted to add that many libraries offer ebook "borrowings" as well in certain formats including mine, mobipocket. And that an ebook provides you with access to a vast library of out of copyright classics free of charge through Project Gutenberg and other sites like Mobileread where people have taken the time and effort to format and index everything for you. So that should be factored in to the cost of the device. If you were ever likely to buy a copy of, The Woman in White, one of June's reads on this group, that book would be available for free, no waiting, no travelling and no hold lists through your computer or an e-ink device. Just another factor to think about.

[Cassie]

I love ebooks too. I find it so much easier to organize my library electronically. I usually will buy ebook copies of books I own that I really like. Makes it easy to read at work ;)

[Lianne]

Jackie wrote: "I haven't tried reading any e-books. I'm not opposed to it, but I just like the feel and smell of a book in my hand. I can't read on the computer for a long period of time either. "

Same here, I love the feel and smell of a book in my hand. Plus it doesn't kill my eyes the same way as reading on the computer (which is a pain when I'm reading online journals for my research, I usually end up printing them out or writing notes for myself...but that's a different story altogether =P).

I used to be on the fence about e-books but I have gotten around to them recently because last year Tor was holding a promotion where they featured fantasy and sci-fi novels in .pdf format while they were revamping their website. Then I recently discovered classics novels (i.e. Gaskell, Forster, etc.) on .pdf format for free...since my bookshelf's getting rather cramp now, I've started reading classics on .pdf and only if I really love the story will I go out and buy a hard copy of the book. I can still only read a chapter or two at a time, for the sake of my eyes, lol.

[Mel]

A distinction should be made here between ebook reading devices. While computers and other backlit devices can be very straining on the eyes, the Kindle and other "e-ink" devices are not. The screen is unique, it is rendered in shades of gray, has no backlighting and uses very little battery life. It really resembles nothing so much as a printed book page and will not cause eye strain. It really needs to be seen to be understood so I recommend stopping by a Sony store or another retailer that has one and checking it out.

[Anna]

I agree with Mel and was really worried about eye-strain before I bought my Kindle but I have been able to read for hours without a problem. Also I can read in bright sun without the glare that you usually get on a laptop.

[Cheri]

I have had my Kindle about 2 mos and I love it. I was one of those people who said 'oh, but Ill miss a book in my hand,etc" but you really dont. you get absorbed into the story and forget that you are even reading on a device. the button clicking becomes as second nature as turning a page. Plus, now I can afford to buy more books since the ebooks are much cheaper.