What are the advantages of having a Kindle? thinking about getting one.
What are the advantages of having a Kindle? thinking about getting one.
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What are the advantages of having a Kindle? thinking about getting one.
Not having to take a suitcase full of books on holiday, read when the other halfโs asleep, all your books in one place and no dusting books! Donโt get me wrong I do love a proper book and still buy them but for me a kindle is so convenient.
All of the above and instant download of book. I find books can get heavy as well so no problem there with a kindle
I love my paperwhite. Books cheaper . Takes up no room. I only buy e books now. Much easier.
I said id never have one but was given one and I love it .because you can get samples of books I’ve found so many new authors I like that I wouldnt have tried before .lots of free books too
Can read until wee small hours without needing a light on.
Ideal if you can’t sleep and your better half is fast asleep
I only kindle read. As I do most of my reading in bed I find being able to turn the page one handed fantastic itโs a game changer.
Iโve discovered authors I wouldnโt normally read or bother with but because the ebook was free I gave them a try usually theyโre surprisingly good!
Back light is a great thing too as I can carry on reading without disturbing my husband.
Books are heavy kindles arenโt. x
I have exactly the same reasons?
I just love proper books!
All the above plus itโs light enough to slip into your handbag and always have it with you ?
Weight, space, lighting. But it’s just another medium. I still have loads of print books – they don’t travel though.
Itโs awesome
i prefer paperbacks but do have a kindle as can get free books, cheaper books, lights up for night time reading without main light on. can highlight and write comments for references without ruining a paperback.
Reading a word that you’re unsure of the meaning? Just touch the word and you’ll get the Oxford English definition right on the screen. Touch it again to carry on reading ????????
Yes I love that. But read a paperback the other week and pressed the page doh ??
?????
I read on my phone but think itโs time to invest in a kindle. Recommendations please
Paperwhite is excellent as are the others , so light holds thousands of books โ a lot free on Amazon โ ,
And you can have it in your pocket .
Paper white. I wouldnโt be without mine. x
Me too. My Kindle Paperwhite goes everywhere with me and I have just over one thousand books on mine. Imagine how much room they would take up as ordinary books.
after having drawers and shelves full of books, read and unread, grandaughter bought me a kindle, , read more now than ever, so easy to buy from amazon
I joined Kindle Unlimited. Worth the ยฃ7.99 a month as I read so many books
And amazon reminds you that you have a pre order if you forget and try to pre order again
and tells you if you already own it, and just forgot its on your to be read pile
You will be introduced to loads of new authors ?
exactly, or you stay with same old, same old , best present i ever had
Discovering authors that you’ve never heard of and finding even more books to enjoy
All of above xx
Lots more available KG when you travel
The Kindle does not replace a real book-but great for storing multiple books on one device.
Easy to check out new authors – then buy the paperback or hardback if you are missing… ‘The smell of new books in the morning’
For travel, you can take hundreds and not worry about weight restrictions xxx
Go for one that works as a tablet not just an eReader. Then you can also use your public library’s free ebooks.
If you get a paper white you can read in bed with the lights off ?
Light to transport, easy to operate, storage fantastic, take anyway and read in bed even if hubby turns the light out!
I use kindle app for iPhone or iPad. You can look up words and copy interesting text to post. Great tool!
Kindle charger recommendations please
The super fast charge is worth the money
do the books stay on there forever…. i heard scary stories that they can get lost….?
They stay on the kindle or in the magical little amazon cloud.
You can easy delete books off it then add them back if you think you didnโt give the book a fair chance which I often do
I have a kindle and I have the kindle app on my gallexy tablet. I personally prefer the tabet with the app. For some reason I can not get the hang of using the kindle. Been using the tablet for over 5 years.
You will end up with a massive TBR pile on it!
I have to spend a lot of time in hospitals and waiting rooms, and i read fast and the books I like tend to heavy 500 page things, so I can take a months worth of books with me when I’m in hospital on my kindle. On my last hospital stay I read all the Christies, and the one before that, all the Game of Thrones books, all on my kindle. Also, i have a tiny flat with no shelves, so no space for books so I have to keep my library electronically
I was so so against kindles until i got one!!!! I love mine now! Dont get me wrong…books will always be my favourite… but my kindle is amazing. You won’t regret getting one if you love reading!!
Im partially sighted so i bought myself a paperwhite as you can make the letter sizรจ larger. I havnt tried it yet as i love books best! I can get most of my books from the library in large print. I dont know whether to keep it or sรจll รฌt. I havnt even used it
You should try it!
Free/cheap books.
Being able to carry hundreds of books around in my bag.
Toddler can’t lose my page simply by picking it up.
Has its own light.
Can adjust font size.
Nobody knows what you’re reading at a glance (I don’t care but some people like that about it)
Can enlarge the text
I love my Kindle. Can take 100’s of books wherever I go
Great to read in bed, better than carrying a heavy book, great on holiday because you can carry 600 + books around
And you donโt need a lamp.
You can buy books in your pjs without going anywhere
You can read in the dark, never short of books as youโll always have another book with you for when youโve finished one.
Too many to mention, but I cannot be without mine now. Reading in the dark, taking 800 books on holiday and buying the book you want without leaving the house make it the best thing ever!
You can have a lot of books when you go away!!
I would never have discovered Ted if I didnโt have a kindle, now that would have been sad ?
@Janet Awww thank you, what a nice thing to say ๐
@Lesley I only tell the truth x
@Janet But very kind of you to mention little Ted ๐
I’ve got the kindle app on my phone and have kindle unlimited so there are literally thousands of books for free. Think that’s about ยฃ5 and the app is free!
Nor me. I love Mr Darling.
@Darryll Thanks very much, very kind indeed.
Holy crap I’m just rereading your Ted books!! I’m besotted with him! You’re absolutely fabulous and thanks for hours of entertainment ?
@Karen Aww thanks so very much. Prequel is coming out very early New Year. A younger, slightly, different Ted ๐
Eek! Excited now ?
The prequel involves a brief backstory for all the cats so I’ve just been Googling ‘handsome young men with kittens’ for inspiration. Oh my days!!! Be still my beating heart ๐ ๐
Not bad research as it goes then? I’m researching for two documentaries – homelessness and serial killers. My pictures are dire lol
@Karen Oh I do the serious stuff too ๐ But the dishy young men are much more fun. I’d share link here but @Llainy would chase me right back to the basement if I did ๐
I’m quite disturbed that most of the links given to the producer are people on my contacts list. I move in strange circles ?
I got my paperwhite a week ago , the first thing I did was download all of your books from number 2. Thoroughly enjoying them.And unlimited free for thirty days win win?
lighter than lots of books when travelling or holidaying… BUT…. so much easier to add books to it even when the shops are shut! ????
No more packing loads of books for taking on holiday and praying you don’t run out…with kindle you won’t run out..
@Helen Thank you, how kind! He’s blushing at all the attention ๐
I have found so many new authors with Unlimited, but often thought of the authors and whether they still got paid. So glad they do ?
@Janet A very generous bonus it is, too, when you hit the big numbers ๐
Yaaaay good for you, x
Kindle Unlimited! ยฃ7.99 a month for all the books you can read. Don’t expect the big names like Patterson and McDermid, but instead explore the wonderful writers on our doorsteps. Oliver Tidy, Robin Roughley, K A Richardson, Damien Boyd, Katherine Pathak, L J Ross, Joy Ellis, Angela Marsons. They are all brilliant and well worth the KU subscription. AND you don’t have a bag full of books to weigh you down.
I really prefer reading in my tablet, among other things, because I am not limited to Kindle, I also have Google play books and Kobo. I have tweaked them all into a black background with dim, orange font, and do not get tired at all from reading. Google books gives me a much easier access to books from the Gutemberg project for example and seems more stable, I have had cases of Kindle deleting some free Gutemberg books from my reader. Also, with my Android tablet, I can download free voices for text to speech function, something I use a lot for practicing foreign languages combining them with e books, in Google play.
Easy to take to work and read on your tea break!!
I love my kindle and Iโve had it five years ? I love the fact that I can order books whenever I want – I can get some free ones too ?
Resisted for ages. Now I get all the fact books I want on it so I can dip in and out. Biographies etc are great on Kindle but a novel has to be a paperback
I can’t cuddle up in bed with a good murder mystery on a kind
Saves a fortune in luggage when going on holiday….!!! Still buy books all the time but stock up on the kindle before holidays ๐
The same advantages for all digital things. No paper. Everything you have his stored safely online so flood, fire and so on – you can replace the Kindle and re-download all your books.
People often forget on house insurance to name things like books. Many people have ยฃ1000s of pounds in books in their house.
Plus, travel, and …. oh, come on…it has to be obvious! ๐
I travel a lot, so the
Kindle has been a real improvement for me. 5000 books in 130gr? And being able to browse and buy a book even at the other end of the world any time?
I think for somebody who doesn’t have a e- reader, trying an app first (for Kindle or for any other reader) in a laptop or tablet can help decide if it works for them. As I wrote above, I find the tablet option very good, specially for traveling, since it combines the capacity of a mini computer with the reader option.
I love having a kindle and I was and still am a person who loves a real book. But what I like with working midnights I can buy a book at 2 or so in the morning without waiting until I have time to go to the store. With my schedule being so different I would always order online but then you still have to wait which can be a little meh when youโre excited to get started. Also for a pre order you get it downloaded to your kindle usually around 1 in the morning the day it comes out which me is awesome. And you can read anywhere and travel with more than one book without all the weight
No, I love real books and kindle could never replace for me
Reading in the dark::: reading when ur eating … reading anytime u want without needing to hold the device cos its in a stand …. fab
Great oh holiday sitting on the beach
They are no replacement for the feel and smell of a real book – but you may find them useful for commuting and travelling. I bought one when they first came out but I can count on the fingers of one hand the times I’ve actually used it – have passed it on to my teenage daughter, who loves it.
Easy to carry everywhere and wonderful on holiday you have all your books at your fingertips.
I read more on my kindle than ever before. I have arthritus in a lot of my joints so its much more comfortable. Fab for volume, reduces having to have real books taking up a lot of space ( i still keep my faves however) Great to read in the sun ( paperwhite) and obvs loads of choice to read if on holiday.
I love my kindle. I didn’t think I would like one,but will never be without one again. I read more now than ever,plus it’s great for night reading.
Great for holidays, travelling anytime.After many years kindle reading I have started to return to books, nothing beats opening the first page of a new book
brilliant for your holidays or just travelling. I read my paperwhite a lot on bus journeys where the light would be too poor to read a book
Frees up slot of shelf space
Lighter bags and suitcases . Much, much, much lighter !!!
Huge savings on excess baggage charges
You don’t need a kindle per say…you can get the app for your phone,computer and iPad. However I do know some of these are not great options. I love physical books but a kindle is great for holidays and Amazon often have great books for 99p. Got Oprah latest pick for 99p a few months ago
Yeah they are great for travelling and if you donโt want weight. if you have a kindle fire you can download from some libraries too and borrow ebooks.
A library in your pocket @Steven! ?
A library you can take everywhere with you with out taking up room
Love my kindle. So many books to choose from and takes up no room.
Great for reading in bed. Except when you nod off and drop it on your head. (personal experience-on more than one occasion ?)
!!
Can get loads of books and free ones. Can do emails….apps. ….games….. search the net….. love a book.
Never out of reading material — even if you read everything on it you can immediately download more. Since my commute starts when it’s still dark I can read with the backlight.
Instant books!
I love my Kindle. I spend nearly 3 hours of every day commuting to & from work, and spend most of that time reading. Kindles are far easier to carry round than paper books. They are great on holiday too – no more taking up luggage space with half a dozen books for a week on the beach. I like to keep books I buy but I am running out of storage space. Kindle also solves that problem, as it holds hundreds of books without taking up any Space.
I love the smell of books so for a true authentic read…a book but I LOVE my kobo (kindle) for travel! I download a dozen books and only have to pack a single item!!!
i can never understand why people go rhapsodic about the smell of books. nobody mentioned it until ebooks came out and it was hard to dream up advantages. Books smell like toxic chemical inks on acid-treated pulp from chopped down trees, OK?
@Linton well if you get technical, yes, however I suppose the smell is really a combination of leather and paper and the previous homes the books have been! It’s unique like campfire smoke! Everyone loves a great campfire but the smell brings back memories of all the good times around the fire! So really maybe it’s the smell of memories! ?
Not really. What it REALLY is, is fetishism. Books aren’t about smells and touch, they are about transmitting information from one person to another. The book trappings have no more to do with the content than fetish shoes have to do with sexuality. Not different from people buying books to use as room decoration. And, like I said, it’s something that has only really come up since people had to dredge up some advantage for the paper formats
So people never collected books before kindles came into being? Just because you don’t see it that way doesn’t mean everybody else has to be so clinical. Books are magical, and to me, holding a book in my hand, looking at a special cover, flicking through the pages is special and something that a kindle will never match.
@Heidi Strangely enough, A library in New York actually employs a person to record the smell of different books. I thought it was a wind up but discovered it was a fact. Fact is definitly stranger than fiction sometimes.
You can get my books for less money.
As an interested observer, how does having your product sold for less money actually benefit you?
@Richard what benefits him is you buying his books. understand?
I appreciate my question was over simplified, but most people get a commission or percentage on Books (thatโs a number out of 100, understand?) so if you sell for less than an RRP then you devalue your product and get make less money ( because the costs of making it donโt go down just because you want to sell for less). See we can both be patronising ?
no, I wasn’t really patraonizing. And what you’re being is confused and obscure. But have fun with it
@Linton wasnโt meaning to confuse or be obscure. It is a genuine question about how an author makes a living by discounting his or her product and therefore devalued by it as a brand.
nobody means to be confused and obscure, they just can’t help it. and don’t conflate “being confused” with “confusing others”. It’s the opposite. That’s what sucks about “its all about me” people…. they start getting weasely and twisting shit around.
Iโve just seen you used to write for a publication that people bought just to look at the pictures so Iโll maybe wait to see what and author has to say on the subject. But, as you said, have fun with it. ?
like I said, get a weasel. Gee, must be dumbass to wrote for markets that pay thousands of dollars… and beat the competion for those sales. Look, why don’t you toddle off to bed and play with yourself. This is about a guy asking about ereaders. You’ve just want to turn it into some bitter little pity party.
Let me clarify, I get a royalty on a Kindle sale just as I do on print or audio. In fact, I have a few books that are only on Kindle. They are shorter and wouldn’t work in print but for the small price that can be charged on Kindle they are a great deal.
To be less self-centered about it, the lower prices on Kindle allow readers to sample more authors and with less concern about cost. And, for authors with smaller publishers, it gives us a better chance of being seen by readers interested in exploring.
@Kenneth so the royalty is the same regardless of selling price? Cool.
Well, it isn’t that simple, but yes you do get paid.
@Kenneth so, it makes sense to get the cover value of the book wherever possible in order to maximise your time and not devalue the brand?
No. They are different markets and the royalty income from Kindle is quite worthwhile.
Couldn’t go back to reading books full time, love reading on my kindle. Still love books but it is just so convenient to.use the kindle. Plus there are loads of free or reasonably priced downloadable books out there
I love a book, but they are good for taking on holiday, no need to take up space with books.
great for reading in bed…. you don’t need a light and don’t need glasses because you can adjust the font size. Can carry a jillion books in something the size of a smart phone. Can search for words, etc.
Paperwhite is the hot setup, I’d say.
Carry your own library in a little 6โ tablet
You can slowly but surely help increase Amazonโs stranglehold as it throttles the life out of the Independent shops, while at the same time it clings on to the money it should be paying in tax in the other hand.
Oh, hang on did you say advantages? Sorry.
he’s asking about ebooks, not companies. you don’t even have to do business with amazon if you don’t want to. and actually, who amazon hurts is the big book chains, not indie stores.
@Linton if you use a kindle you have to use Amazon. Also as an indie Bookshop owner I think I know just how much Amazon is hurting my business and believe me itโs a lot!
not the readers’ problem, actually. And as a matter of fact, you can read all kinds of ebooks on a kindle, like I do.
How do you mean not the readers? They donโt have to use Amazon or they are hurt by Amazon?
jesus…. hate to gear down… this happens with people who are all bout their own stuff…. Most people would immediately realize that I’m saying that your business problems are not a big concern of somebody trying to decide whether to get an ereader. I realize that’s all you can see. And, again, they don’t have to use amazon. And they buy from writers. Which is what Weene was talking about. You just can’t see any perspective. Best give it a rest
I was under the impression that to use a kindle you had to use Amazon. If that is wrong I stand corrected. I also apologise for trying to run a small business and getting aggrieved when people try to devalue such a great thing.
you were under an incorrect impression. So now you’ve been told that three times. And again…. anybody who says a product is “devaluing” because they think it hurts their business is so wrapped up in themselves that their comments to other people, about their questions, are useless. Start a whining thread of your own, why don’t you? This one is about pros/cons of ebook readers.
@Linton no itโs not itโs about the pros and cons of Kindle!!!
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/m.wikihow.com/Buy-Books-for-Your-Kindle%3famp=1
You are really a drag. I think you’re the first indie bookstore owner I’ve ever met who is unpleasant. Congratulations.
Just in case you actually pick up information from anybody, go to Smashwords, look at the ebooks there, figure out somehow that you can load the mobi files onto a kindle. And that you can read them on your phone or tablet with an app. I realize you don’t care about that. Just your own little world. But maybe if you actually go try to learn it’ll shut you up for a while
@Linton what a great site. Unfortunately I didnโt manage to find Philip Pullman. But Iโll keep looking.
I agree with Sue and have similar problem
No fun
another ereader advantage… no page turning, you can read with one hand. This can be of great advantage in some situations. Hell, you can read in the bathtub.
Best buy the waterproof version though – which is actually quite a bit more expensive.
Didn’t know there was a waterproof kindle. I just rely on not being clumsy. ๐
God, you mean ther’e’s an ereader you could read underwater????? Wow, how cool is that. Speaking as a free diver.
Linton Robinson Don’t know whether it’s THAT waterproof! It’s called the Kindle Oasis. And it’s well over ยฃ200….
BTW… oddly, the reason that I still have stacks of paper books around is because they are cheaper. Yep. A new Kindle book by Grisham or Leonard or whatever can cost $20. But you can buy used ones for a quarter on amazon (which means $5, if you include S&H) And in bookstores, etd they are cheaper yet, and I read a lot I pick up for free. There are no “used ebooks”, but indie writers are cheaper. I am reading a paper book now, though I find it more convenient to read ebooks.
You see, hear or read about a book. You order it, you download it and, whoa, immediate satisfaction.
I find it easier to hold than a book and take it everywhere with me
I have a Kindle, but actually use the Kindle app on my tablet and phone much more often. Syncing across all devices is useful, and means if I have done time to kill, I can whip out my phone and carry on reading, wherever I am!
Since you’re an app user, like me, try also Google play books, for example their samples are much longer, about 10% of the book, so that you can get a very good idea if you like it or no. I have both apps, plus Kobo, in my tablet.
Plus uploading books from Gutemberg project is very easy on G play books. I also use it a lot for practising my foreign languages, combined either with free audiobooks from librivox or with the (free) text to speech voices I downloaded for my Android tablet. Sadly, this is not that easy for Kindle, you have to use talk back which is very clumsy. Only disadvantage of G play for me: they don’t have as many books as Amazon, and so far I’ve been unable to download a dictionary for languages other than English.
Advantages and disadvantages with having a kindle:
Advantages:
Books at reduced cost
Get many, many books all dependent on the Kindle you buy.
Some books both written and audio are free.
Easy to carry.
Disadvantages:
You do not get the good smell of a book.
There is no joy in it when you finish with a big book.
So true
not really. the smell thing is kind of invented, and a fetish that has nothing to do with what a book is, or what reading is. And some books smell bad. The “joy” thing is just weird. Why would it be more joyous to finish a paper book than an ebook? (And btw, if you’d read good books, you’d find that finishing them is more often sad)
I like my kindle because I can change the font size. Paperbacks are too hard to read for my ‘more mature’ eyes ๐
easy to read, cheap books, change the font, line spacing,
Plenty of advantages no doubt but when did you last see a second hand e-book? Join a library where you have a much better choice of books.
Much easier than a book to take anywhere and you have a library of hundreds of books , free books too. Wonderful for reading anywhere and you can easily change size of writing!
Great for holidays – no heavy books to weigh down your case!!
I must say I use all the possible ways of reading: reader apps in my tablet, 1st hand and 2nd hand books, library, I’m a real bookworm.
i like http://audible.com/
This will sound daft but I get travel sick listening to things recorded ๐ It’s Freudian – my father was a dreadful driver. He always had a terribly tinny old radio in the car (before there were fitted ones – 1960s) and we’d listen to various books being read, plays and things. So it’s always associated in my subconscious with travel sickness ๐
Same experience with the father and the radio, in his case it was football matches, horrible memories of going back home on Sunday evening being totally nauseous in the back seat and listening to the match ๐ . However, I listen to audiobooks and podcasts all the time, including in trains, buses, etc, and do not get travel sick from them, maybe the other way round, if I’m not focused on listening to something, I get very much travel sick. It’s strange…
@May Our subconscious is very bizarre, isn’t it?
It is, yes… ๐
Sorry bit of a Luddite had a kindle for some time.It is in a drawer somewhere but I have lots of books!
Kindle is worth the effort, @Ann, especially when travelling. Hope youโre well x
Free books
yeah, but there are actually more and better quality free and dirt cheap books around on paper. Not everywhere, though
Convenience and price
I have a Kindle which I use but you can’t beat going into an actual bookshop and looking at the books/covers
Being able to carry lots of books and the dictionary (particularly for those reading older books when English isn’t your first language, i.e. Moby Dick lol)
Light and small to carry, hundreds of choices, can drink a coffee without wrestling to keep the book flat and open, love mine, but still buy real books.
I donโt find the Kindle so good for reference books.