I love my Kindle. I really do.
I don’t use it as often as I’d like, because the vast majority of the books I read are sent as Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) from publishers, so I’m not buying many books, but when I do use it, I am reminded how very much I love it. When I’m in the position to defend or inform — as I was twice in the past week — I am also reminded what I love about it.
Recently a friend asked if anyone had any of the e-readers, because that’s what her husband wanted for his birthday. I told her that I had a Kindle and loved it. She said he was leaning towards that one, because you could read it outside in the sun (Good job on the advertising, amazon, since this is the one feature that distinguishes it from the Nook and the ipad). I told her that indeed you could read it outside just as easily as inside.
Last week I was having lunch with some people while I was at the Hidden Valley Ranch Love Your Veggies kickoff event (I’m happy to be on the Mom Panel this year), and as is often the case with interesting, intelligent people, the talk turned to books, which of course made me very happy. Of the 5 people at the table, 3 of us had Kindles, 2 had ipads, and 1 or 2 had Barnes and Noble’s Nook (with one guy having all three–ipad and Kindle for him and Nook for his wife!).
The fifth was a die-hard non e-book owner:
I might be old-fashioned, but I just love the feel of a book in my hands.
That’s the most common complaint. Those people who are afraid that their love affair with the book just won’t be the same. I admit that there are things I love about the printed book that the Kindle doesn’t offer — I love the cover, especially when it’s truly representative of what’s inside, and especially those super-smooth trade paperback covers. I love being able to see what book someone is reading (or for them to see what I’m reading) which might spark conversation, but in general, I love the ease of reading on a Kindle (I wrote some specifics about one-handed, one-finger reading in regards to my Kindle when it was brand new. Please see that post for my complete list).
The latest discovered benefit of having the Kindle is Free Kindle Books. That’s right, there are many books available each week that I find by browsing the Top 100 free Kindle books list. Everyone thinks that it’s only classics found in the public domain, and while you can always find several Kindle-formatted books by Jane Austen on the list, there are also backlist titles from popular authors that are offered for a week or two at a time — for free! My Kindle has at least 15 books on there, just waiting to be read, that I snatched up when they were offered free. Here’s a diverse list including classics, suspense, YA, nonfiction, and women’s popular fiction, and at the time I posted, they are all still available free:
- The Lazy Project Manager by Peter Taylor
- The Little Known by Janice Daugharty
- Life From Scratch by Melissa Ford
- Listen by Rene Gutteridge
- Emma by Jane Austen
- Sheet Music: Uncovering the Secrets of Sexual Intimacy in Marriage by Kevin Leman
Do you have an e-reader? If so, which one? What do you like or not like about e-reading?
When Jennifer Donovan travels alone, a long flight or a layover just adds to her sense of “getaway,” since it means more time to read. She blogs at Snapshot.
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I so agree. So many anti Kindles haven’t had a chance to really experience the kindle love. I too love books, but having a Kindle has made life so much easier and I still definitely read books.
I attended a neat seminar at the BookExpo last year where they said that certain e-reader adopters read much more than they did before because of the convenience.
I have the Kindle too! Steve and I share it but I probably use it the most. I really need to check out the free books more often than I do. My youngest is using it to do his daily reading right now because we could not find the next book in a series he is reading at the store. Just funa nd easy!
I’ve downloaded books for Amanda too. Terry’s not interested at all — even when he was commuting on the train for so long each day. His loss.
Have you requested that the ARC’s be sent to you electronically? One source of electronic ARC’s is GalleyCat. I do not own a Kindle, but the Amazon Kindle store allows you to subscribe to the GalleyCat [kindle Edition] blog for $1.99 monthly. I do have an iPad, with many eReader apps, including the Nook and Kindle. I have downloaded electronic ARC’s using my iPad.
Paulette–I have used NetGalley (which I think is part of GalleyCat, right?) and it’s okay, but most publishers don’t like e-copies yet for wide release.
And what I don’t like is that they aren’t formatted — just PDFs, so it’s not nearly as easy to read as a regular Kindle book. But I’d gladly read “real” Kindle formatted books, but I don’t think that’s likely to happen anytime soon.
Great post! While I was originally in the anti-eReader camp, I’ve been converted and am now a happy nook owner! I have the classic nook, and have no trouble reading it outside. I think the new NOOKcolor is the one you can’t read in the sun, but no problem with my nook!
Totally agree with you on the free eBooks, as Barnes & Noble also offers a rotating selection of freebies. Think I have over 60 free backlist titles downloaded! And I’ve also started receiving eARCs from netGalley, which is another bonus to having an eReader!
I do miss seeing what others are reading, as it was a great way to initiate conversations. I wish the publishers would realize that we still want the cover, even on eBooks, as cover art is important!
Alexia’s Books and Such…
I haven’t ever seen the original Nook, but yeah, the Nook color has that shiny laptop screen.
I LOVE my stash of books that I’ve downloaded free. The ones I listed are just from the last week or so!! One day I’ll take a long trip with only my Kindle and read and read and read.
I have yet to make the jump but already know when I do it will be to kindle. When e-readers really made the big push i-book decided to limit itself to the US as they did not have enough stock to cover USA and Canada. Consequently, kindle took off big time here. I only have one friend who uses anything other than a kindle and she has it downloaded onto her i-pad anyway. Plus with Chapters being our main brick & morter bookseller and the dealer of kindle it is really the one we have the most exposure to. So it is on my list of things I really want and hopefully hubby gets the hint!
Tennille–
I can’t believe how cheap the newest one is — $139 U.S. with WIFI (not 3G). If I was buying now, I’d definitely buy the WIFI capable one, because you can buy the books online and download from your laptop with a cord, OR buy directly from the Kindle anytime you have WIFI. It wouldn’t work for last-minute purchases necessarily, but even if you were traveling you could go to a WIFI hotspot and load up more books if you needed them.
Thanks for such an informative post! I’m still pretty much in the anti-ereader camp, but partly that’s because I don’t have money to spend on a new gadget and I have 2 whole shelves of ARC’s waiting to be read so I really don’t need a lot of new material!
I appreciate the comparisons and I actually have almost a dozen kindle books (of the free downloads!) on my computer, although I’m less likely to read here because I’d rather be reading blogs!
I’m glad you made that point about the Kindle apps. They have them for everything — iphone (and ipod touch and ipad), I think Blackberry now, computer — so yes, people could take advantage of the free books even without owning a Kindle.
I have never read a book on my computer screen, and I agree that I won’t — but if you end up getting a Kindle, I think that you can just transfer them, so it’s good advice to someone who hopes to get one — start stocking up!!
I have a Kindle that I got as a Christmas gift. I love all the free books available. But I feel guilty because I have so many “real” books that need to be read.
I am happy with my balance now, Linda. Don’t feel guilty — just enjoy books in both God-given forms!!
I have a Nook Color and I love it. Personally I prefer the Nook Color because of the color feature and the touchscreen. I’ve had an iPhone for several years so I’m use to a touchscreen and didn’t want a keyboard taking up valuable real estate on my ereader. And yes, the screen is shiny, but they do make anti-reflective screen covers that you can add so you can read in the sun.
I also have the Kindle and iBooks Apps on my iPhone and they are great for when I have unexpected reading time while I’m out. I don’t always carry my Nook with me so having the readers on my iPhone is great.
I didn’t know it was a touchscreen, but it was funny when I first got my Kindle I kept trying to touch it and nothing happened. . . . !
I really want a Kindle. I’ve been researching about all kinds of e-readers, but Kindle really looks like it would suit me just fine. Now I’m just weighing the pros and cons.
Jennifer–
I don’t know how the others price out in comparison since Kindle came out with the Wifi only (no 3G) version, but the price seems unbeatable!
Lauren just got a Nook, so I’m hoping she’ll write a post soon.
I think the price is really unbeatable. I’m definitely going to go with the 3G when I get it. (I will get it.)
I’d love to read Lauren’s thoughts about the Nook. I’ve looked at both, but I’m still really liking the Kindle.