Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

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sunnyday
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Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by sunnyday »

I have a friend who's a senior and an avid reader. She would like to read a lot of the NYT best sellers but is on tight budget so can't afford buying all of them new. She's also not able to get to the library very easily. I've thought about getting her a Kindle so she could download books from her library. However, I think she may prefer paper books over a Kindle. When you checkout books from a library, are they downloaded to your Kindle or do you need wifi to read them?

Another option would be to buy her a bunch of paper books. Are there certain websites (like alibris, amazon) where you can buy used recently released books for cheap?
lazyday
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by lazyday »

I've read that some seniors prefer kindle because of font size customization. You can make it big, very big, extremely big.
The paperwhite is reported to have better contrast, easier on the eyes.

Some libraries let you use your kindle remotely, without going to the library. You of course need to get a card, which probably means going to the library.

My favorite used book website is bookfinder.com
It might miss some ebay copies, but seems fairly thorough in general.
For many books, shipping is the biggest cost. Can help if manage to order multiple from same company.
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Crystal Ball
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by Crystal Ball »

I have migrated to using my Kindle almost exclusively. I am not able to handle a book without hurting my back and shoulder.
While paperbacks may be lighter in weight, I find them very difficult to hold open for any length of time.

Another advantage for many seniors is the built-in light of the Paperwhite and the fact that you can chose a font and type size on any Kindle.

Most local libraries now have ebooks for checkout. Just explore the library webite to see what is available. There is a lot of variation from one system to the next.

You need an internet connection to check out the books and send them to the Kindle. The books are sent to the Kindle and can be read offline. They will expire automatically on the due date - no worry about overdue fines. Your Amazon library will remember your place and keep any notes you have made. So if you haven't finished a book, you can pick up where you left off when you check it out again.

Amazon also has a page of books on sale (usually under 3 dollars). These aren't usually best sellers and quality varies, but I regularly find things.

Gutenberg and OpenLibrary.com have out of copyright books for free download. Most classics are available.

Crystal
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Pam01
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by Pam01 »

Yes, you can download library books to Kindle via WiFi or 3G (if the Kindle is a 3G). You don't have to go to the library at all. The only caveat is that the library must offer the book in Kindle form. Some books are in Adobe ePub form, and there is a separate app that can be installed on the laptop or tablet to read those books.

Kindle reader is great for reading books over long periods and in bright sunlight without having to deal with glare that one gets from normal electronic devices. As others have stated, the ability to adjust fonts can be a boon for seniors.
Chadnudj
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by Chadnudj »

sunnyday wrote:I have a friend who's a senior and an avid reader. She would like to read a lot of the NYT best sellers but is on tight budget so can't afford buying all of them new. She's also not able to get to the library very easily. I've thought about getting her a Kindle so she could download books from her library. However, I think she may prefer paper books over a Kindle. When you checkout books from a library, are they downloaded to your Kindle or do you need wifi to read them?
I'd definitely put my vote in favor of the Kindle Paperwhite -- easy to use, GREAT readability (adjustable font would be great for a senior), no need for a separate light, and long battery life. My in-laws (who aren't elderly by any means yet, but have vision problems and aren't exactly techies) love their Kindles and take them everywhere.

As for books, you can download books from the library, and typically without even going to the library (the library in Chicago has a great site for it). As someone else noted, be sure you're getting it in Kindle format, however (I can limit my online search to only books in Kindle format, for instance). Once you download it to the Kindle, it's on the Kindle until the library loan ends (normally around 21-30 days? It may vary by library) -- you don't need to be constantly connected to WiFi or the internet to keep reading. (I have a wireless only Kindle, which is cheaper and probably a better option than the 3G capable one for a senior citizen who is not getting around much, and spend most of my time reading on the bus, where there is no WiFi).

Keep in mind, though, that popular books can normally have long wait lists for downloading....one of the best things I found on the Chicago library's ebook site was a feature that allowed me to sort books by limiting it to only those books that were available immediately without a wait list. Given the millions of books out there, your friend may not be able to get the CURRENT NYT best sellers without going on waitlists, but she could and will certainly find PLENTY of interesting Kindle books out there for immediate downloading/borrowing.

Also, be sure to check out Amazon's free book sections -- many all-time classics are now in the public domain (i.e. Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) and thus available for free (and permanent) download.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by technovelist »

This page has the top-selling free Kindle books. Many of them are romances but there are others too:
http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Kind ... =UTF8&tf=1
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Watty
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by Watty »

Another option would be to buy her a bunch of paper books. Are there certain websites (like alibris, amazon) where you can buy used recently released books for cheap?
Amazon has a lot of resellers that sell used books, often for little more than the shipping costs. I have bought a number of used books there. Often you can get a hardback for the price of a paperback.

Powells has both new and used books so you might also check there if you are looking for a specific title.

http://www.powells.com/
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walkabout
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by walkabout »

I think the Kindle is a great choice. My wife and I both have Kindles and love them. We mostly use them to read books purchased from Amazon rather than library books or Kindle Owners Lending Library. As others have mentioned, the Paperwhite is the way to go. The backlighting works well and is very easy on the eyes (as compared to a conventional tablet screen which can be tiring to some people). If your friend gets the model that supports 3G, then she does not need access to wifi.

Having said all of that, I would recommend a few steps before jumping in.

1. Check the lists of free Kindle books (I think someone posted a link upthread) to see if there any books your friend would like to read. I don't know how many current bestsellers would be available on free lists like this, if that is the kind of book she is looking for.

2. Check the books available through the Kindle Owners Lending Library. You must have a Prime membership (or be on someone else's Prime account) to take advantage of this. If there are lot of books that your friend would read, a Prime membership might be worth the cost (even the new higher cost). Here is an article that describes how to do this:
http://lifehacker.com/5985336/heres-how ... ur-browser

3. Check the books available from the local library. I guess it goes without saying, verify that the local library even provides ebooks and they it is easy enough for your friend to find and download the books.

The above will give a good idea of the free or cheap books that are available. If your friend can find enough books to be happy, then go ahead and get the Kindle.

If your friend knows anyone else with a Kindle, that person can loan books to your friend, thus providing another source of cheap books.

Depending on how good of a friend this person is to you, you could even register the Kindle to your own Amazon account. The big benefit for your friend is that you could manage the Kindle remotely if it becomes necessary. My wife does this for her mother. They read a lot of the same books, so my wife pushes most books that she orders to her mother's Kindle. Takes some of the work, such as it is, off of her mother.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by BlueEars »

sunnyday wrote:I have a friend who's a senior and an avid reader. She would like to read a lot of the NYT best sellers but is on tight budget so can't afford buying all of them new. She's also not able to get to the library very easily. I've thought about getting her a Kindle so she could download books from her library. However, I think she may prefer paper books over a Kindle. When you checkout books from a library, are they downloaded to your Kindle or do you need wifi to read them?

Another option would be to buy her a bunch of paper books. Are there certain websites (like alibris, amazon) where you can buy used recently released books for cheap?
Ebooks are great in concept but they tend to be costly. Unless one is not too discriminating and buys what is cheap. My experience with libraries is that the popular books are wait listed because the library is allowed only limited copies. So you have to be patient. And yes, you must have wifi to do this from home.

I think the most cost effective choice is used books. Maybe old NYT best seller books have a lot of used inventory hence lower costs. Check out Amazon pricing by 3rd parties.
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frugaltype
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by frugaltype »

I have moved almost entirely from paper books to reading books on my Nook HD+ or laptop. The Nook HD+ 9 inch is currently $179 directly from Barnes & Noble.

There are definite readability advantages. One is that the font can be enlarged. Another is that I can control the contrast on my laptop with the free program f.lux. The Nook HD+ is comfortable without f.lux adjustments.

Kindle books are generally cheaper than paperbacks. The ones I read cost about $5. If your friend is willing to wait a year or two after a book comes out, the price drops. There are also lots of 99 cent books and as others have mentioned, free books.

I found the selection of free ebooks available through my library somewhat disappointing, as publishers have restricted the number of books in those programs.
Last edited by frugaltype on Fri Feb 14, 2014 4:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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wilpat
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by wilpat »

I am an addictive reader! Before I retired I read an average of 4 books a week for over 60 years. Since I retired I read on average 1 book a day.

I use a kindle and could not imagine anything that would make me ever change that!

I use all of the free and cheap books available -- including the library. My library (in Greensboro NC) has a very limited availability of E books, but I still regularly try them.
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sunnyday
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by sunnyday »

Thanks for the replies. How's the Paperwhite for reading in the dark? My wife likes to read at night, but it would be nice to be able to do so with the lights off. I'm close to being sold on the Paperwhite, although it's a bit more $ than I anticipated.

I have a Nexus 7 (that I don't use very much) with the Kindle app on it. I'll probably get a library card tomorrow and check my library's selection on overdrive.com --- I think they have a lot of books there. My friend lives in a different town so she can check her library's selection of ebooks too. That's pretty cool how you can checkout (download) the books from your library and they automatically expire. I'm currently an Amazon Prime member but will probably let my subscription expire unless there's a good selection of free ebooks. I'll let her borrow (or give her) the Nexus 7 and assuming she likes it and there's a decent book selection, I may get her a Paperwhite since the screen will be a lot better for reading, correct?

Edit: I just checked the Amazon prime lending club and you can only borrow one book a month through it and it needs to be with a Kindle device so I don't think it's worth it for me.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by lightheir »

Paperwhite is the best device for reading in the dark. It's better than tablets - it can get a low level of light so low that it wont' disturb the person next to you, lower than what tablets can put out. While still being easy to read.

One thing that I was unexpectedly surprised about with the Kindle is the number of surprisingly good <$4.00, or even <$2.00 ebook offerings. There are now endless stocks of $1-$2 indie fiction in all genres, and if you go with the well reviewed ones, you can get a lot of surprisingly good ones in there. I'll be honest and say that yes, I definitely DO notice that the publishing house non-indie books are better written, better proofread, and overall just better, but I wouldn't say it's necessarily worth the 6x price ($11 vs $1.99 is pretty typical) difference, especially for casual fun entertainment reading.

If you are committed though to reading NYT bestsellers though, I think you'll find it cheaper (by far) to use the local library than the Paperwhite. But make sure you check out the Kindle "deals of the day" and "deals of the month". Some really good books in there; right now, Kahneman's "Thinking Fast and Slow", which is a highly reviewed nonfiction book, is a mere few dollars on Kindle format.

I've actually re-bought 2 books in Kindle ebook form because I hated the large paper form factor. Andrew solomon's nonfiction "Far from the Tree" is a block of a book and a royal pain to carry, but a joy to read on kindle.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by nisiprius »

sunnyday wrote:I have a friend who's a senior and an avid reader. She would like to read a lot of the NYT best sellers but is on tight budget so can't afford buying all of them new. She's also not able to get to the library very easily. I've thought about getting her a Kindle so she could download books from her library. However, I think she may prefer paper books over a Kindle. When you checkout books from a library, are they downloaded to your Kindle or do you need wifi to read them?

Another option would be to buy her a bunch of paper books. Are there certain websites (like alibris, amazon) where you can buy used recently released books for cheap?
  • They are downloaded. The books, being electronic, have an expiration date and a self-destruct mechanism.
  • You do not need to have wi-fi active when you are reading them.
  • I have library cards with two libraries that participate. One of them allows a 3-week loan, the other only 2 weeks.
  • It is not possible to renew a loan. But,
  • If there are plenty of available copies (no people waiting for it on hold), you may be able to borrow the same title again immediately after returning it.
  • If it is not a popular book that people are putting holds on, it may be possible to borrow the same title again shortly after returning the book.
  • The range of titles available is not too bad, and I have been able to "borrow" many reasonably recent books in which I first chose the book myself, then looked to see if it was available. (As opposed to browsing what they have to see whether there's anything I might like).
  • I currently have out on loan, and am reading, the latest Sara Paretsky, Critical Mass. I had to wait about a week after placing a hold before it was available. I also have Nate Silver's The Signal and the Noise.
  • The range of titles is, however, distinctly limited and far, far narrower than the print collection even in my local public library. Many current bestsellers are available; but the popular titles will often say something like "186 holds placed on 65 available copies," and you may have to wait weeks. You are emailed when it is available. And,
  • Many current bestsellers are NOT available.
  • During the checkout process, you actually are redirected to Amazon, via a screen that looks exactly as if you were purchasing a book except that the button says "borrow library books."
  • That means you get all the paraphernalia Amazon offers, reader reviews.
  • It also means that, unlike the situation at a physical library, your books loans are not private. Amazon knows them, and will use them to suggest other titles.
  • Amazon is obnoxiously pushy about trying to sell you the book when the loan expires.
All in all, it's a pretty good deal but I do not feel it lives up to the concept of "borrowing library books with your Kindle."

Some evil people in this forum pointed out the Amazon daily Kindle deal, and BookBub, and I have subscribed to both and am well and truly hooked. They each send me emails, which typically involve choices of four to eight books at prices of, most typically, $1.99. A lot are, you know, thrillers by unknown authors and indie publishers, always described as "perfect for fans of." A lot are completely legit individual titles from the backlists of fairly big-name authors--for example, Faye Kellerman's The Ritual Bath. I am afraid I end up buying one or two a week.

I find reading on a Kindle Fire (tablet) to be perfectly comfortable. As others have noted, the fact that the screen is lit and that you can set different type sizes makes it quite nice for older eyes.

I've had a Kindle for two years and it is pretty clear that both my wife and I are each doing most of our reading on the Kindles.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by lightheir »

Is there really a 'de-facto' expiration date on purchased ebooks? (Not just the theoretical one of technological obsolescence - real but a different issue, imo.)
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sunnyday
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by sunnyday »

Good to know about the indie titles and the email deals for ~$2 a book. My friend has an english degree so is much more particular about well written books than I am, but I bet she could find a lot of the cheaper books that she's happy with.

If my friend and wife are part of a book club and both reading the same book, is it possible to share the book back and forth amongst two different devices? Or if they share a device is it possible to have separate bookmarks?

I'll do a Google search, but I'm also curious about the benefits of the Paperwhite over the Kindle e ink. The backlight seems like a big plus. I'm guessing there are others that make the almost 2x price worthwhile.
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Kenkat
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by Kenkat »

It's been mentioned by several posts above but I will repeat that there is a shortage of popular books at most libraries and so you have to be patient and wait for holds to become available. Sometimes you will have 2-3 books all hit at once and since you've only got 21 days, you can't get thru them all and then have to go back to the end on the hold list and start the wait all over. I've honestly had better luck getting the hard copy versions of the most popular titles but electronic books are nice if you can plan ahead and be flexible.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by nisiprius »

lightheir wrote:Is there really a 'de-facto' expiration date on purchased ebooks? (Not just the theoretical one of technological obsolescence - real but a different issue, imo.)
Well, see, the system of analogies between eBooks and books is a bad one. Intentionally so.

Most eBooks do not have expiration dates. That is to say, when you buy books from Amazon they don't mention any expiration date and I assume they do not have one. But the technology allows for it, and it is used for library "loans." Amazon certainly has the capability of selling time-limited books--renting them, as it were--they just don't choose to do it--at present.

There are other rather nasty capabilities. Amazon has the capability of instructing your Kindle, remotely, to delete a book. They can do this even if you have purchased it. That is to say, they are able to do it if they want to. It might or might not be legal for them to do it, and it might or might not be their policy to do it, but they are able to do it, and, at least once, they have done it. In this case, it involved some books by George Orwell, which are out of copyright in some countries but not in the United States, and, as Amazon told it to the New York Times, "the books were added to the Kindle store by a company that did not have rights to them, using a self-service function."

And, this is a biggy. Traditional print books have always been subject to "right of first sale." That is, once you've bought it, it's yours and you can do what you like with it. You can resell it. You can be a public library and buy one copy and lend it out for twenty people to read. Emphatically not so for eBooks. The electronic world has allowed publishers to start from zero and carve out a completely new set of rules that bypass a lot of traditional rights and protections that print book owners have.
Last edited by nisiprius on Fri Feb 14, 2014 8:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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nisiprius
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by nisiprius »

Speaking of deals: William J. Bernstein recommends a $1 Kindle book here, and right now Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow is $2.99.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by Pam01 »

sunnyday wrote:If my friend and wife are part of a book club and both reading the same book, is it possible to share the book back and forth amongst two different devices? Or if they share a device is it possible to have separate bookmarks?
If two Kindle readers are registered with the same Amazon account, you can turn off Whispersync. This allows your wife and your friend to have separate bookmarks and read the same book at different pace.

If they are using separate Amazon accounts, then I believe one can loan the book to the other, but only if the publisher of that book has enabled loaning feature. I have not tried this feature myself, but I suspect that for the period of the loan, the book will not be downloadable by the person loaning out the book. That is, the book can only be downloaded to one account's registered Kindle(s).
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by lightheir »

nisiprius wrote:
lightheir wrote:Is there really a 'de-facto' expiration date on purchased ebooks? (Not just the theoretical one of technological obsolescence - real but a different issue, imo.)
Well, see, the system of analogies between eBooks and books is a bad one. Intentionally so.

Most eBooks do not have expiration dates. That is to say, when you buy books from Amazon they don't mention any expiration date and I assume they do not have one. But the technology allows for it, and it is used for library "loans." Amazon certainly has the capability of selling time-limited books--renting them, as it were--they just don't choose to do it--at present.

There are other rather nasty capabilities. Amazon has the capability of instructing your Kindle, remotely, to delete a book. They can do this even if you have purchased it. That is to say, they are able to do it if they want to. It might or might not be legal for them to do it, and it might or might not be their policy to do it, but they are able to do it, and, at least once, they have done it. In this case, it involved some books by George Orwell, which are out of copyright in some countries but not in the United States, and, as Amazon told it to the New York Times, "the books were added to the Kindle store by a company that did not have rights to them, using a self-service function."

And, this is a biggy. Traditional print books have always been subject to "right of first sale." That is, once you've bought it, it's yours and you can do what you like with it. You can resell it. You can be a public library and buy one copy and lend it out for twenty people to read. Emphatically not so for eBooks. The electronic world has allowed publishers to start from zero and carve out a completely new set of rules that bypass a lot of traditional rights and protections that print book owners have.
I'm ok with the rules thus far. In fact, I will confidently say that I have MUCH better access to my book collection now that it's electronic, than when they were print. Having availability on phone, laptop, computer, tablet, whatever, is awesome, and having it at all times is doubly awesome. It's so good I felt no real qualms of jettisoning almost my entire real book collection. I do see your point though - it is very possible that when rules changes in the future (which they invariably will), the equation won't be so good for the consumer.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by Pam01 »

sunnyday wrote:I'll do a Google search, but I'm also curious about the benefits of the Paperwhite over the Kindle e ink. The backlight seems like a big plus. I'm guessing there are others that make the almost 2x price worthwhile.
Amazon has a comparison table of Paperwhite and the plain reader (scroll down for the table). From that, it sounds like Paperwhite has a better resolution and double the battery life than the plain reader. The backlight is the biggest feature though.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by CyberBob »

sunnyday wrote:She's also not able to get to the library very easily.
Check if your library has a books by mail program. Many do for elderly patrons or shut-ins who can't otherwise get to the library. If the library proper doesn't have a books by mail program, often the 'friends of the library' type groups do, allowing requests by phone and delivery by mail.

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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by lazyday »

Pam01 wrote:Amazon has a comparison table of Paperwhite and the plain reader (scroll down for the table). From that, it sounds like Paperwhite has a better resolution and double the battery life than the plain reader. The backlight is the biggest feature though.
Don't forget the higher contrast, which can make a big difference for readability.

Higher resolution can also help readability. Smoother letters.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by lazyday »

Crystal Ball wrote:Gutenberg and OpenLibrary.com have out of copyright books for free download. Most classics are available.
Might be just the thing for an English major.

Amazon has a page describing how to get Gutenberg books onto the kindle.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by mhalley »

While you won't get current nyt best sellers, check out
https://www.bookbub.com/landers/index2. ... 7Aod3x0AEg
You put in what types of books you like (23 different catagories, from cooking to erotic fiction), and get a daily email of cheap or free ebooks. Mulitple platforms, great for the voracious (but cheap) readers.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by rj49 »

For a technologically-challenged senior, I'd actually recommend a used Kindle Keyboard 3G, which you can get on Amazon for $60-80 now. It's simple, easy to use, and after trying out a Paperwhite, I prefer the Keyboard's contrast and readability. I use a $10 IKEA LED reading light, and if I need to read in bed I use a tablet.

Apart from the advantages of having physical keys and physical turn buttons (no screen smudges), it's also has free 3G web browsing, so a senior without home wifi could check email, news sites, and shop for books, both ebooks and cheap used books online. It's also great for travel and for those without a smart phone data plan--I even used its free Wikipedia function on a trip to Europe, to find information about sites I was visiting.

There are also used covers for the Keyboard with a built-in light.

Apart from Overdrive, some libraries have 3M book lending, which I found has a greater variety and more availability. I think it requires using their app on a tablet, though. For those with a tablet, your library might use Zinio, which allows you to read all sorts of magazines for free. Another option for free books is to buy a cheap Nook device and visit their stores for an hour of free reading on just about any ebook per day--a good way to get out of the house and get a cup of coffee in their stores.

I really dislike the Kindle lending library. It's poorly-organized, full of self-published junk, with a few best-sellers as teasers, and as with everything else about Prime, it's designed to get you to buy more stuff and content.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by jackholloway »

Personally, I always strip the DRM from books I buy from amazon using a simple DRM stripper, and then use Calibre to convert them to epub for my current favored reader. I may then put the resulting decrypted ebook back on my kindle for reading as well.

I figure if I have all of my ebooks in several formats, then I have a better chance of them working, and of Amazon not having an easy way to mess with them.

My reading of the DMCA is that this falls under fair use, but IANAL, and this is not legal advice.

(Moderator note: quoting the DMCA directly, it says
No person shall manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide, or otherwise traffic in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof, that

(A) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of circumventing a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title;
I would thus be careful about linking to, providing, or encouraging anyone to provide DRM removal software. I have, though, given a fair amount of money to the EFF over the years in hopes that they can do something about the grey area of not being able to manufacture, etc, DRM removal software, but individuals having the fair-use right to use it for archival purposes.

Postscript: I should not have to say this, but providing the resulting ebooks would be plain and simple copyright infringement, and that is darn cheap to enforce. It is also deprives authors of compensation for their work, and is overall uncool.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by frugaltype »

sunnyday wrote: Edit: I just checked the Amazon prime lending club and you can only borrow one book a month through it and it needs to be with a Kindle device so I don't think it's worth it for me.
The one book a month is a real drawback, but I wonder what they mean by a Kindle device. There is a builtin app so that my Nook HD+ reads Kindle books and downloads them seamlessly from Amazon.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by frugaltype »

lightheir wrote:Is there really a 'de-facto' expiration date on purchased ebooks? (Not just the theoretical one of technological obsolescence - real but a different issue, imo.)
As noted by another poster, although there is theoretically no expiration date on purchased ebooks, Amazon has pulled back ebooks in the past. That's why I have free calibre installed with the plugin that strips off the DRM stuff. I don't know whether this is legal, but I figure it is ethically okay since I am not handing the books off to anyone else.

I just download the books to kindle or the nook reader and then dump the files into calibre and read them from there.

Both kindle and calibre would have to be affected before I'd lose my books, and I have the calibre library backed up, so I could always read it offline.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by nostalgic »

I have a Kindle Paperwhite and I love it. The quality of the screen is high whether you are in a pitch-dark airplane cabin or on a sunny beach, and the Kindle book price is consistently less expensive than paperbacks. It would be difficult for me to go back to hauling physical books around with me on my frequent travels.

I've never been concerned about losing access to a book since once I've read a book it is extremely unlikely I will look at it again. From the time I buy it to the time its read is usually less than a month.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by frugaltype »

nostalgic wrote: I've never been concerned about losing access to a book since once I've read a book it is extremely unlikely I will look at it again. From the time I buy it to the time its read is usually less than a month.
The books I keep are the ones I enjoy reading more than once. If I'm not going to read it again, the paper ones get donated to the library and the ebooks get the not worth rereading tag. I have probably several hundred books I enjoy re-reading from time to time.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by nisiprius »

lazyday wrote:
Crystal Ball wrote:Gutenberg and OpenLibrary.com have out of copyright books for free download. Most classics are available.
Might be just the thing for an English major.

Amazon has a page describing how to get Gutenberg books onto the kindle.
As nearly as I can tell, almost all of the Project Gutenberg books are easily obtained without any kind of file transfer, because they are available in the Amazon Kindle "bookstore." A way to find them is to do your search, e.g. for "Samuel Butler," and then choose "Refine," "Sort by," "Price: Low to high." The PG texts will look more or less like this: a "generic" cover including the tiny words "a public domain book," and the tipoff, "This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers."

(The "covers" vary in color. I've been scratching my head for a while to figure out if the color means anything. I don't think it does).

The "community of volunteers" is Project Gutenberg. It isn't named, probably because PG has some odd and very strict rules--you may use their texts without attribution in any way you like, but if you mention them at all they require you to include some six pages of legalese.

Image

Warning: low-cost editions of famous public domain works are often PG texts which someone has enhanced in some way. Sometimes the additions are worthwhile--sometimes PG texts are fine for reading straight through but don't have a working table of contents. Low cost collections of "the works of " so-and-so are usually just collections of whatever works happen to be available in Project Gutenberg. They may be a worthwhile purchase but they are not usually skillfully or knowledgeably edited collections, the way a traditional print "works of" would be.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by sunnyday »

Great info, I'm glad I posted. There are so many free and cheap options that the Kindle will probably pay for itself. I read that the new Paperwhite is rumored to be released in Q2 of 2014. I'll probably get my friend the $69 Kindle and then get my wife the Paperwhite when the new one comes out. As far as book options, so far I have:


Local Library
OverDrive.com (via local library)

Amazon Free Options:
Amazon Free popular classics - http://www.amazon.com/s/?node=2245146011
Amazon Free Best Sellers - http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Kind ... =UTF8&tf=1
Amazon Lending Library - must be prime member, max 1 book per month

If can’t obtain books through Amazon free options, also check:
Gutenberg.org
OpenLibrary.com
manybooks.net
https://archive.org/details/americana

Cheap books (daily emails)
https://www.bookbub.com
Amazon Daily Kindle Deal
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by nisiprius »

Warning: by all accounts the Amazon e-ink based readers are very well liked, particularly the Paperwhite, and have long battery life and good readability in sunlight. But... my wife and I bought (the original) Kindle Fire (and I fell on the ice, didn't hurt myself but hurt my Kindle and have just replaced it with a $189-on-sale Kindle Fire HD 8.9")... anyway, we have the "tablet" style Kindles.

I find them to be completely usable as eBook readers, and bright enough for most situations. Certainly most indoor situations.

Although battery life is not good, and the "offbrand Android" nature and "Amazon's own app store" nature pose problems, I am very much afraid that I am totally addicted to many of the free and low-cost apps. It is very nice to be able to browse the web. In my "favorites" I see AP news, Feedly (news feed aggregator), Acuweather, Scrabble, Words With Friends, Points Plus Diary, 7 Little Words (very cool and easy word puzzle which my wife and I both like). I've quite enjoyed a number of the Big Fish hidden-pictures-and-adventure-games, costing four or five bucks apiece. Many games have a "download a 'lite' version for free and upgrade to the full version" feature.

In other words... if you go the Kindle route, I'm afraid you do need to think about the "e-ink versus full table" decision.

For a senior, it's probably best not to complicate things and stick to the "single function e-reader" concept.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by sunnyday »

nisiprius wrote:Warning: by all accounts the Amazon e-ink based readers are very well liked, particularly the Paperwhite, and have long battery life and good readability in sunlight. But... my wife and I bought (the original) Kindle Fire (and I fell on the ice, didn't hurt myself but hurt my Kindle and have just replaced it with a $189-on-sale Kindle Fire HD 8.9")... anyway, we have the "tablet" style Kindles.

I find them to be completely usable as eBook readers, and bright enough for most situations. Certainly most indoor situations.

Although battery life is not good, and the "offbrand Android" nature and "Amazon's own app store" nature pose problems, I am very much afraid that I am totally addicted to many of the free and low-cost apps. It is very nice to be able to browse the web. In my "favorites" I see AP news, Feedly (news feed aggregator), Acuweather, Scrabble, Words With Friends, Points Plus Diary, 7 Little Words (very cool and easy word puzzle which my wife and I both like). I've quite enjoyed a number of the Big Fish hidden-pictures-and-adventure-games, costing four or five bucks apiece. Many games have a "download a 'lite' version for free and upgrade to the full version" feature.

In other words... if you go the Kindle route, I'm afraid you do need to think about the "e-ink versus full table" decision.

For a senior, it's probably best not to complicate things and stick to the "single function e-reader" concept.
I agree. My senior friend is more of a reader than web surfer so I think the e-reader is better for her -- she also doesn't have wifi in her place and I hear the screen is easier to read too. I'll be interested to compare screens.

As far as my wife, we currently have a Nexus 7 which we've read a couple books on using the Kindle App. If I get her a Paperwhite, the main reason would be for night reading. The screen on the Nexus 7 seems too bright to read at night. I'm not sure if that justifies spending $120, but we'll see.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by protagonist »

nisiprius wrote:Warning: by all accounts the Amazon e-ink based readers are very well liked, particularly the Paperwhite, and have long battery life and good readability in sunlight. But... my wife and I bought (the original) Kindle Fire (and I fell on the ice, didn't hurt myself but hurt my Kindle and have just replaced it with a $189-on-sale Kindle Fire HD 8.9")... anyway, we have the "tablet" style Kindles.

I find them to be completely usable as eBook readers, and bright enough for most situations. Certainly most indoor situations.

Although battery life is not good, and the "offbrand Android" nature and "Amazon's own app store" nature pose problems, I am very much afraid that I am totally addicted to many of the free and low-cost apps. It is very nice to be able to browse the web. In my "favorites" I see AP news, Feedly (news feed aggregator), Acuweather, Scrabble, Words With Friends, Points Plus Diary, 7 Little Words (very cool and easy word puzzle which my wife and I both like). I've quite enjoyed a number of the Big Fish hidden-pictures-and-adventure-games, costing four or five bucks apiece. Many games have a "download a 'lite' version for free and upgrade to the full version" feature.

In other words... if you go the Kindle route, I'm afraid you do need to think about the "e-ink versus full table" decision.

For a senior, it's probably best not to complicate things and stick to the "single function e-reader" concept.
I own both a tablet and an e-reader. I believe that the dedicated reader is better for reading, especially if pocket-sized. No glare, way better battery life, dirt cheap, light weight. It pays for itself quickly in the price of ebooks vs paperbacks, and, as mentioned by many, the adjustable font is worth its weight in gold for those who need reading glasses. The apps on tablets are fantastic but most people have them on their smartphones anyway, so I consider tablets largely redundant technology. If you don't have a smartphone a small tablet might be more useful to you, but I think the best bang for the money is an ultrabook and a name brand e-reader (Kindle, Nook). Even if you do have a tablet, you might want to buy a dedicated e-reader for reasons described above. I do find the rapidly increasing control of flow of information by Amazon (and Google) alarming and seriously disturbing, but that is the only really serious downside I can see to e-readers. I would probably boycott them for that reason alone if I thought I would make a difference, but this is a tide that cannot be stopped.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by placeholder »

CyberBob wrote:Check if your library has a books by mail program. Many do for elderly patrons or shut-ins who can't otherwise get to the library. If the library proper doesn't have a books by mail program, often the 'friends of the library' type groups do, allowing requests by phone and delivery by mail.
My library has "homebound services" for people in the OP's friend's situation where they mail the books with a return mailer.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by frugaltype »

nisiprius wrote: For a senior, it's probably best not to complicate things and stick to the "single function e-reader" concept.
Yes, we're so feeble-minded. Our IQ drops fifty points once we hit 65. By the time we're 75, we can barely speak.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by chaz »

Good option: buy her a bunch of paperback books.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by lazyday »

sunnyday wrote:I'll be interested to compare screens.
Several reviews online have the opinion that e-ink is much easier on the eyes. And each time a new Kindle with better contrast becomes available, people have said it is even easier to read.

Everyone is different though. For some, LCD screens are good enough, and some people love their ipads.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by nisiprius »

frugaltype wrote:
nisiprius wrote: For a senior, it's probably best not to complicate things and stick to the "single function e-reader" concept.
Yes, we're so feeble-minded. Our IQ drops fifty points once we hit 65. By the time we're 75, we can barely speak.
Sorry, because I'm a senior myself I didn't think how that might sound. Speaking personally, I find that I can handle complexity but that it no longer gives me pleasure to handle complexity simply for the sake of complexity. And I also find that I strongly prefer well-designed gadgets to poorly-designed gadgets and that by and large, single-function gadgets are better designed than multi-function gadgets.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by sunnyday »

A quick update: my friend LOVES her kindle. It was probably one of the best gifts I've ever given. She's cruising through a couple books a week and our libraries have an ample supply on overdrive.
Thanks for all the feedback and recommendations.
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Re: Cheap reading for a senior - Kindle or regular books?

Post by ataloss »

does she have wifi at home? I am wondering how she loads the books on to the kindle. Thinking of a senior who has no home wifi for whom driving to the library (or McDonalds/Starbucks) would be a burden.
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