Books vs Kindle

I've been around 99% ereader/tablet (for graphic novels/books with more diagrams) for probably 15+ years now. mainly space and convivence reasons.

Currently on an Amazon Voyager which is probably going to need replacing soon as the battery life is dropping a bit and it's storage capacity is low compared to modern ones, but it does have page turn buttons (I love it, but my old Sony 505 is still hard to beat in terms of feel).

I love paper books, but don't have the space for them and a lot of my favoured ones are very heavy tomes in dead tree format (600-1000 pages is hefty and hard on the spine unless you're really careful), so these days I tend to only buy paper versions if they've special in some way or simply won't work in eformats (things like making off, behind the scenes, photographic books etc).
 
My first Kindle was the Kindle Keyboard and I've still got it. It's still in 99% working order but the bit which doesn't work is the select button which makes it useless. I bought that around 2010.

I had a Paperwhite but really missed the page turn buttons so early last year, I upgraded to an Oasis.

As much as I love the look and feel of real books, I haven't bought any for years. I read every night before bed in a fairly low light situation and it's so much more convenient to do that with a Kindle.

I randomly announced to wifey just a couple of days ago "I do love my Kindle".

opethdisciple said:
Are the best e-books the Kindle range from the digital river or are there any better ones?
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Considering you're talking about one of their primary products, you're quite OK saying Amazon.

I wouldn't buy an e-reader that's not a Kindle.
 
I use a Kobo. I was at one point all for books but they take up room I could use for other things, plus I can now have hundreds available with no space taken up. Night light on the devices is excellent for reading at night. I do miss turn pages, but I personally find it hard to read paperback books with the writing usually pretty small already.
 
I've used a kindle for years now, i pretty much read everything on it and i find it greta saves loads of space which my wife likes as well. And I find i'm generally spending less on book s as there always seems to be a deal going on for kindle books.
 
I generally use my ereader now. Not that I dislike books, but I find that it's rather nice not having to carry a load of books with me if I go somewhere and want to read. I do like the feel of a book, but not enough that I care.
I don't have a kindle though, so can't comment on that. I've got a Nook Simple Touch which was bought for a whopping £30 ages ago.
 
Thekwango said:
100% this.

there's whole load of deviants in this thread that need to be kept an eye on i reckon..... :p
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I was that way once, but then I saw the light.

And after I'd cleared up the stacks of books that once blocked the window before falling on me I realised that I needed to clear some space.

Unfortunately the space I cleared in regards to books is now taken up by dvd's...
 
I'm a relatively quick reader (typical paperback in a few days) so physical books, despite the tactile benefits to them, just took up far too much space in the end for me. I swapped over to "digital" with some of the first Sony E-Readers (PRS-505) which had obvious technical limits but showed me that Digital was the way forward.

Once the first Kindle came out I realised they'd "fixed" most of the issues I had with the early stuff and, after buying a Kindle 2 I've had a Kindle ever since, so about 13+ years so far.

I still miss the 'feel' of real books but the huge amount of advantages that Kindles etc bring is more of a benefit for me now, especially with 500+ books in the collection.
 
I used to be against Ebooks but after I found that I needed a hospital stay for a operation I bought a Kindle Paperwhite. I am on my second now (newest version) and have over a thousand books on it. However, for reference books there is no substitute for a real book and I have several hundred books with more being added every month.
 
What few books I read, I have a mix of Kindle and paper books. 99.5% are non fiction. Used to read loads as a kid/teen. Then came GCSE English which killed my love of reading, thanks to Bored of the Flies.

I never pay full price for Kindle books. Deals on Amazon and Bookbub daily emails. Buy books what I fancy. Have about 240 Kindle books which paid about £1.20 each.

Kindle is better for holidays as first weighs less than a book and go through phases of which genre I read.
 
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Similarly to the last two posts I take some as Kindle books and others as physical. Mostly it's fiction on the Kindle and non-fiction, reference material etc as physical. And lately even Audible for autobiographical stuff (though Spotify may replace Audible lately, obviously).

Anything I'll be expecting to not read linearly, or that I think I will especially treasure, or that I want in hardback, I'll get physical.

I used to want/look forward to having a huge library of physical books, but that's drifted away as a lifestyle target and been replaced by... a nice sit down :D.
 
ci_newman said:
Reading on a kindle is nothing like reading on a full digital screen like an ipad / phone though. I agree I really dislike reading on a mobile / tablet / PC, but a kindle is something completely different from those.
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^^^ this, re the screen at least. I don't understand those complaints as it's nothing like a regular digital screen, easier on the eyes, can read in sunlight.

Personally, I have a mixture and find different options optimal for different purposes, my ideal is:

Kindle Fire: Mostly for anything non-fiction with graphics whether papers or books. (Though for large reference books, if I use them frequently, I will get a physical copy too). Also useful to watch Netflix etc.. when traveling, it's a nice enough HD tablet, no point in me spending way more on an iPad.

Kindle Paperwhite: Great for general reading both fiction and some non-fiction (so long as the latter doesn't require graphics).

The only reasons I have for physical books are; any reference book I might use frequently and jump back and forth with rather than read all the way through. I may still buy a few fiction books (especially in hardback format) like say I might want the complete set of Harry Potter etc. Whereas for some Jack Reacher type airport books I can have those on the Kindle.

Lastly (not ideal but just happens sometimes) if a book has been out for a while then the second-hand version can be way cheaper on Amazon so I might end up buying a physical copy anyway, can always give those away after.
 
Kindle since gen 1, far far more convenient and I can have loads of books without needing shelves everywhere.
 
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