Kindle Vs books

T

truthseeker

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Just saw another thread about a charger for a Kindle and it got me thinking.

Im an avid reader, I go through a number of books a week. Perhaps Im a luddite but I just cannot conceive the idea of doing my reading on a Kindle. I like handling a book. I like the smell of an old book. I like having books on my shelves.

What do other people think? Will books as we now know them disappear?
 

I am like you but recently a friend of mine who is an even bigger book nerd than me got a kindle and swears by it. However she does say that she uses it mainly when she is travelling with work. If she wants a book to relax at home with, she will buy a proper one or get it from the library. I tried it and they are not as bad as I thought. I can see the attraction if you travel a bit. Don't think they will replace books though.
 
Never mind a kindle
Get an audiobook, you can listen on your ipod in the gym or commuting or wherever.
The voice actors are usually great

Haven't bought a book in a long time, there is often an audiobook version
 
truthseeker said:
What do other people think? Will books as we now know them disappear?
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I have to admit I have been thinking about getting one as well but decided against as I just love going to the bookshop, taking my time, selecting what I want with a coffee in hand. I also love to pass on my books, I'm not one for collecting them and having them sitting on my shelf gathering dust, I like to share them around and always just ask my friends to pass the books on to their friends. Of course there are certain books that I keep but generally speaking books should be shared and dog-eared and used as much as possible. My brother an avid reader has literally thousands of books and not one of them has the spine cracked on it - he insists that they are kept in a perfect state, so I just get recommendations from him and buy the same book myself so that I can read it in comfort!
 
I have a kindle and love it. I also adore books but i don't think you have to have one or the other.
I love re-reading all my old books but find the kindle extremely handy.
It's light, stores thousands of books, easy to read - it's not like looking at a computer screen.
If you get one with 3g (which i'd recommend) you can instantly download books and they tend to be cheaper than the print versions.
I like having some of my old favourite books in print version but for everyday reads the kindle is fantastic, saves on storage too, i had piles of books shoved into presses and shelves before i did a clear out.
I'd really recommend it and to the naysayers i'd say don't knock it til you've tried it, you might be surprised how much you'd like one!
 
I put the kindle app on my iphone and have managed to download and sideload some new books into it. It's a brilliant app but I find I only use it on the bus or when caught waiting somewhere unexpectedly. Nothing can replace the feel and smell of a book in my opinion.
 
I remember people saying something similar about records versus CD's, then mp3 players versus CD's.

I was the same about mp3 players but when I moved house last year not having to cart a tonne of CD's (and I'm no music buff) was a relief.

I know a good few people who have been converted to a kindle. Seems the screen isn't hard on the eyes. I can see myself getting one in due course for chick lit books which I read from time time.
 
I love the smell of books, particularly old books, you won't get that from a Kindle. And old books have a history themselves, I wonder who flicked thro them, what the underlined bits meant to them etc. I used to hate people writing on library books, now I kind of like seeing it. I muse about who they were, where they are now,did what they read matter to them, change them in some way ? Were they moved by beauty or enlightened and spurred on by an idea? Give me a book, an old, well-thumbed and scribbled on book!
 
becky said:
I remember people saying something similar about records versus CD's, then mp3 players versus CD's.
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Dont know how much I agree with this. Books have been around for centuries, before the printing press in the 1400's there were handwritten books, before 'books' there were papryus scrolls.

Music media has been in a constant state of flux by comparison. Plus, you dont 'handle' your music media to use it - you place it (a record or CD or tape - remember those lol?), somewhere and sit back and listen. But you actually hold your book to read it and books contain more than just the story in the book, there is also the story OF the book.

Im studying at the moment and I have a brand spanking new Complete Works of Plato, plus a really old chunky heavily bound version. The really old one has this kind of thin paper and smells like old philosophers - guess which one Im using to study with?

Even if I need to study or read something from the internet, Ive a tendency to print it out to read it - theres just something about reading from a screen that puts me off.

Plus I like to write in books sometimes or use a highlighter pen.
 
Ciaraella said:
I have a kindle and love it. I also adore books but i don't think you have to have one or the other.
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+1

Or rather +1 from the Mrs. She was very dismissive of e-book readers 'til she got the opportunity to 'road test' a Kindle and fell in love with it. She hasn't abandoned books.
 
horusd said:
I love the smell of books, particularly old books, you won't get that from a Kindle.
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You won't, but it's also pretty hard to carry around 10 hardbacks in your bag.

I'd tend to read 2 or 3 books at a time. Or if i'm in the middle of a fairly serious heavy book i sometimes like to read a couple of chapters of something trashy and light.
I'm a book lover but i must admit i do find it annoying when people dismiss the kindle because they love books, the beauty of music and books if that you can never have too many books or cd's imo.

Or maybe i'm too sensitive because i love my kindle so much!
 
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I've never used Kindle but to me it would be akin to reading the newspaper online (which I do Mon-Fri) compared to reading the actual paper (which I do at weekends). I find when online I skim read, but at the weekend I actually "read" some pieces. I'd say the same would be try of e-books...I'd read it very quickly and get the main points, but I wouldn't take in the story/topic as deeply if I had read the hardcopy.

That took me a while to say
 
I find the Kindle great for fiction, particularly light fiction that you'll read once and not want to keep around the house. For books that I'd want to read or dip into again, I would prefer an actual book and for most non-fiction, particularly anything with diagrams or pictures, I also think actual books are best. That said, I love my Kindle - it's fantastic when travelling and it's as easy on the eyes as a regular book but lighter and also easier to hold with one hand - I found it great when sunbathing on holidays - you don't have the problem of folding over a thick book and wrestling one-handed with it.
 
I have a kindle.

It is nothing like staring at a screen. It really is like looking at a book.

Its software is quite buggy though.
 
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