Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

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lightheir
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Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by lightheir »

Just curious - any Kindle owners go back to regular good ol books?
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corner559
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by corner559 »

No. Having a Kindle is FAR more convenient than lugging around physical books, especially when traveling. I don't ever plan on going back to traditional books.
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Blues
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by Blues »

lightheir wrote:Just curious - any Kindle owners go back to regular good ol books?
I love the convenience of the Kindle and don't see that changing. I've been using it for most all of my reading for a few years.

The only books I prefer in paper format are the reference books I like to peruse and jump around within.
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Tycoon
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by Tycoon »

I find myself drifting back to "regular books". There is just something about turning the pages.
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wilpat
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by wilpat »

The Kindle may be the greatest invention of mankind :wink: . With the ridiculous amount of reading I do (about a book a day) I don't know how I did without it!
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by Iorek »

We do both.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by TomatoTomahto »

I only get paper books when there are many tables and graphs, which I sometimes find difficult on a Kindle. I'm something of a promiscuous reader, and I much prefer my Kindle on the nightstand rather than a pile of books that topples over when I'm trying to get to one 5 down in the stack. If I were to read books consecutively, from beginning to end, it might be a tougher call. I tend to "circle back" on non-fiction books (95% of my reading), and the Kindle is perfect for that.

I also find the new Kindle preferable to a heavy paper book when I fall asleep while reading :oops: It's a bit embarrassing, but I did bonk myself pretty well with a hardcover book once.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by SnapShots »

I don't own a Kindle but buy books for an iPad. I'm a switch hitter. Sometimes using the iPad and other times preferring a book. Traveling in a car sun-glare makes reading the iPad difficult. The Kindle may reduce the sun-glare problem.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by TomatoTomahto »

SnapShots wrote:I don't own a Kindle but buy books for an iPad. I'm a switch hitter. Sometimes using the iPad and other times preferring a book. Traveling in a car sun-glare makes reading the iPad difficult. The Kindle may reduce the sun-glare problem.
I was worried initially about getting the Kindle Paper White because of its built-in light. I find that I can't read most backlit screens without eye fatigue after a few hours. My worries were unfounded; this new Kindle works wonderfully for me in sunlight and dark rooms both.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
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frugaltype
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by frugaltype »

lightheir wrote:Just curious - any Kindle owners go back to regular good ol books?
Yes, although I used kindle for pc, not a regular kindle. I don't like the fact that the books I've paid for become unreadable if I close my Amazon account. It's also bad at keeping books organized; there is no way to sort collections in that software. Better to have them organized on a bookshelf.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by gerrym51 »

I have a kindle fire hd 8.9. Love it.

but the local library has many of the books i read for free-books of favorite authors that cost 10 and up at amazon. i get those from the library.

i do buy some books from amazon is low priced specials or unavailable from library.

i have read many of the free books from amazon. :mrgreen:
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by nisiprius »

I do both. But it's purely a question of availability. I would guess that the split is about half-and-half. A lot of my reading is books obtained from the library network, often via interlibrary loan, as physical volumes. Many are old titles that are not available in Kindle format.

I don't think I am likely to be buying very many new physical volumes. (On the contrary: I am shedding physical volumes if they are pre-1923 and obtainable from Project Gutenberg, on the assumption that I will be able to get them for free forever, and that there will always be some eBook device to make them comfortably readable).

I do not find reading on a Kindle (Fire) to be any less immersive or pleasurable than reading a physical book. I don't find the physical feel or appearance or smell of a book to be terribly important. There's a certain kick out of reading a first edition of a book, i.e. a copy of Typee that was published in Melville's lifetime, but I was usually reading modern editions anyway. I mean, if you're going to grouch about things, offset just ain't the same as letterpress, and paying hardbound prices and getting a glued binding is a rip-off, and proofreading nowadays, it's a scandal, I tell you, a scandal...

Indeed, with my aging eyes, "every book is a large-print book" is already nice and will get nicer with time. I find it extremely annoying that about 1/3 of all books from major publishers will not allow me to choose the typeface, I find it puzzling that type size selections are discontinuous (I always seem to want something in between their widely-spaced choices), but I don't mind reading a slightly-bigger-than-wanted typeface.

Pictures, diagrams, and maps are generally a disaster area and I don't understand why. There doesn't seem to be one publisher in ten that knows how to put a high-resolution image into a Kindle book. And an amazing percentage of the time, they are sideways!

Although I'm reasonably confident that Amazon itself will survive and that they will continue to provide no-cost reading software for non-Kindle devices, I do worry about the DRM.

Let's see. I am currently reading, simultaneous, two thrillers: the new William Lashner, The Accounting, on my Kindle, and an old Manning Coles, "Green Hazard," as a physical book, from the library, printed in 1946. The last book purchase was a physical book, Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss, in preparation for a visit from my grandson.
Last edited by nisiprius on Sun Jun 23, 2013 10:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by bertilak »

My Kindle is abandoned. It sits on a shelf begging to be recharged.

I found the lousy page formatting quite irritating.

Much of what I got for Kindle looked like this:
  • Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed
    do eiusmod
    tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim
    ad minim veniam,
    quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex
    ea commodo
    consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate
    velit esse cillum
    dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat
    cupidatat non
    proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est
    laborum.
I could mess with font sizes but that was a pain and it never came out right anyway.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by nisiprius »

What sources were you using? I don't want to get too far into technical fixes, but... if it's Project Gutenberg, for example, you definitely want to download the html, not the txt. And most PG titles are available for free through the Kindle bookstore.

I agree, though, the Kindle ecosystem is not very good about format conversion, even if you mail it to yourself via their document service, and text files with hard line breaks don't work.

Poetry and plays are often messed up, too.

And when you pay full price from a name publisher, they really are not giving fair value on the formatting. I have the impression they just let somebody push the button and never even skim through the finished result.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by Blues »

Project Gutenberg offers (many) books in Kindle (mobi etc) format...as do ManyBooks.net, feedbooks.com, smashwords.com and others.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by chaz »

Iorek wrote:We do both.
Us too. DW has a kindle. I have the kindle app on my iPad. But at home, I like a paper book.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by Sidney »

Use both. I will try our local library first before I buy something on my Kindle. I have not had formatting issues except some weirdness when I upload and convert a PDF file. But it is minor nuisance and beats printing large PDF files.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by eucalyptus »

Books only, preferably hardcover.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by chaz »

Sidney wrote:Use both. I will try our local library first before I buy something on my Kindle. I have not had formatting issues except some weirdness when I upload and convert a PDF file. But it is minor nuisance and beats printing large PDF files.
Amazon has a lot of free books for the kindle.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by lhl12 »

I prefer physical books for things that are more reference-oriented, where I might want to skim a lot or jump around from chapter to chapter. For novels, or anything else that I would typically read in full, sequentially, I use the Kindle app on my iPad.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by bertilak »

nisiprius wrote:What sources were you using?
If that was directed to me, the only source I ever used was Amazon. It's their baby and if that's the best they can do, forget it!

Oddly, my wive loves the Kindle and the formatting simply does not bother her. To me it's like a pebble in my shoe I can't get rid of w/o getting rid of the shoe (Kindle) itself.

It's too bad my wive likes it since it seems there is another $5-$9 charge on my AMEX every three days! I'm waiting for the thrill to wear off.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by Blues »

Sidney wrote:Use both. I will try our local library first before I buy something on my Kindle. I have not had formatting issues except some weirdness when I upload and convert a PDF file. But it is minor nuisance and beats printing large PDF files.
PDFs are problematic to convert to any other format. Sometimes .txt is better, other times mobi or another Kindle format will work. It's a crap shoot often with less than fully satisfactory results. Thankfully, PDF files are only a small fraction of the books I read (and collect).
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by FafnerMorell »

When buying books, if the Kindle price is significantly less (say, > $5), I'll go Kindle. Or if I'm in a rush and don't want to wait the 2 days for delivery. On the other hand, if I'm looking for a long-term reference (a book I can refer to while reading yet another book), then I'll go physical copy. Or if I plan for someone else to also have access to it.

Another debate is library vs. buy. Our local library tends to rely on a county-wide computerized borrowing system - which is great if you know the details of the book you want. But it's less conducive to just wandering through the aisles, picking up a title that sounds interesting and paging through it to see if it is indeed of interest.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by Sidney »

Blues wrote:
Sidney wrote:Use both. I will try our local library first before I buy something on my Kindle. I have not had formatting issues except some weirdness when I upload and convert a PDF file. But it is minor nuisance and beats printing large PDF files.
PDFs are problematic to convert to any other format. Sometimes .txt is better, other times mobi or another Kindle format will work. It's a crap shoot often with less than fully satisfactory results. Thankfully, PDF files are only a small fraction of the books I read (and collect).
I wouldn't try to convert anything as large as a book. But longer articles from online sources and a few other things that come in straight text on PDF seem to convert to Kindle format pretty easily. Amazon converts them automatically for me at no cost.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by Rainier »

I love my Kindle Paperwhite and I'm never going back to paper books, at least for now.

For me, the kindle is much faster than paper and so much more convenient on many levels.

The pricing on the books is starting to bother me. There is definetly some price fixing among the publishers. Charging more than the paper version is nuts. But the convenience of the kindle is worth it.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by Blues »

Sidney wrote:
Blues wrote:
Sidney wrote:Use both. I will try our local library first before I buy something on my Kindle. I have not had formatting issues except some weirdness when I upload and convert a PDF file. But it is minor nuisance and beats printing large PDF files.
PDFs are problematic to convert to any other format. Sometimes .txt is better, other times mobi or another Kindle format will work. It's a crap shoot often with less than fully satisfactory results. Thankfully, PDF files are only a small fraction of the books I read (and collect).
I wouldn't try to convert anything as large as a book. But longer articles from online sources and a few other things that come in straight text on PDF seem to convert to Kindle format pretty easily. Amazon converts them automatically for me at no cost.
Sidney, it takes a minute or two to convert using Calibre. Couldn't be a simpler process imho.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by Sidney »

Amazon converts it in minutes as well - then it is ready to download to my Kindle. All I need to do is email them with the file attached.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by Blues »

Sidney wrote:Amazon converts it in minutes as well - then it is ready to download to my Kindle. All I need to do is email them with the file attached.
I forgot about the amazon conversion. Been so long since I've used their service for that. I just like having Calibre for the conversions and for all the features it provides in maintaining our library.
Last edited by Blues on Sun Jun 23, 2013 12:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

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Message deleted.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by katsmeow »

No.

I did, however, transition from using my actual Kindle (one of the early ones) to doing most of my reading on my iPad using Kindle software or occasionally on my phone.

In fact, I actually replaced as many of my existing books as possible with Kindle format books. I've been recently re-reading some books - both hardback and paperback - that are not in any electronic format and it reminds me why reading physical books is just a pain. It is just so much easier to read on the iPad. I am getting to a point that unless I really have an extreme interest in a book I will not buy it if it doesn't come in electronic format. I do think some prices are too high and will limit buying those books. SOme of them will come down over time so I just check back periodically on price.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by jridger2011 »

I don't have a Kindle but use the app on my tablet. I bought an academic book for a course and found it a bit annoying to have to swipe or use bookmarks to backtrack to the diagram. It was much easier to just hold the book and look in two places. However, it is kind of difficult to carry an actual textbook all over the place and read it one handed while commuting.

I think some books are just better in paper format, such as textbooks (also for resale value). For novels, short stories, I think e-books are a great way to travel light.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by RootyToot »

The Kindle Fire was a gift. I would not have purchased. However, I do enjoy the Kindle especially when traveling
I use both the Kindle and regular books -- all through the library. (I downloaded books from my local library when I was traveling in Vietnam and Laos. Amazing.)
80% (at least) of my reading is regular books.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by SnapShots »

katsmeow wrote:No.

I did, however, transition from using my actual Kindle (one of the early ones) to doing most of my reading on my iPad using Kindle software or occasionally on my phone.

In fact, I actually replaced as many of my existing books as possible with Kindle format books. I've been recently re-reading some books - both hardback and paperback - that are not in any electronic format and it reminds me why reading physical books is just a pain. It is just so much easier to read on the iPad. I am getting to a point that unless I really have an extreme interest in a book I will not buy it if it doesn't come in electronic format. I do think some prices are too high and will limit buying those books. SOme of them will come down over time so I just check back periodically on price.
Reading anything but a quick email or the highlights of a news breaking story is all I can tolerate to read on a phone. However, my grandkids will watch a MOVIE!!! on an iPhone, while they have a theater size television at home. :confused
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by zotty »

lightheir wrote:Just curious - any Kindle owners go back to regular good ol books?
I love my kindle for novels. Technical books are better on an iPad or old school.

I usually hunt at 1/2 price books before kindling. It's significantly less expensive.

I have enjoyed free books on kindle too. Some awesome classics are available.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by nisiprius »

I forgot to mention: it's curious that the Kindle software is so lame in so many ways. One that really annoyed me just within the last couple of days is that you cannot simulate the experience of having two books open, next to each other, at once. Another mystery is why text searches within the book are so very, very slow--and why are are no "advanced" GREP-like options.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by stemikger »

lightheir wrote:Just curious - any Kindle owners go back to regular good ol books?
I do both. I buy books for my Kindle because they are cheaper and easier for my commute. However, at home I prefer a real old fashioned book. I don't think I will ever prefer a virtual book over the real thing.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

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nisiprius wrote: And when you pay full price from a name publisher, they really are not giving fair value on the formatting. I have the impression they just let somebody push the button and never even skim through the finished result.
What is with that? How much would it cost to have a book actually proofread? With so many people out of work, they could probably pay someone $20 a book and have it done.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

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nisiprius wrote:I forgot to mention: it's curious that the Kindle software is so lame in so many ways.
+1
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by TomatoTomahto »

frugaltype wrote:
nisiprius wrote: And when you pay full price from a name publisher, they really are not giving fair value on the formatting. I have the impression they just let somebody push the button and never even skim through the finished result.
What is with that? How much would it cost to have a book actually proofread? With so many people out of work, they could probably pay someone $20 a book and have it done.
I find that books (Kindle and paper) read as though someone got paid $20 to proofread them. That, sorry to say, also includes the New York Times in recent years.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by arthurdawg »

I do both. Generally I read more on the kindle (a touch) but also swap to iPad and to the iPhone depending on where I am at, by using the kindle app. The phone is good for 10-15 minutes while waiting on the kids. The nice thing is that each of the three devices can pick up where the other left off as long as they can communicate with Amazon. I do find the e-ink much less straining than the LED displays, but felt that the iPad 3's retina display has helped greatly (compared to the pixelated screen of the original iPad).

I still have plenty of real books around though! Far more of each than I can actually read.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by mlipps »

If I had to choose between my Kindle, iPhone, and laptop, I might choose my Kindle. Although I actually do a lot of reading thru the app on my phone, in line or waiting for the bus for example. My favorite thing about my kindle, an older model without the touchscreen, is that it fits just so in a quart sized Ziploc. It's perfect for baths.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by caseynshan »

Kindle / iPad. Kindle app used about 5% at home, paper is 95% (mainly because of limited supply of kindle books from library)
This does reverse when traveling
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by vveat »

I use both, but definitely prefer physical books for something I know I'll re-read (this includes novels from favorite authors). Much easier to find a specific spot for rereading in a physical book. Also, I often buy used, which is not possible obviously on Kindle.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by bungalow10 »

My Kindle Paperwhite is one device I will immediately replace if anything were to happen to it. It is superior to the Fire or the Touch for reading (although I was pretty attached to my Kindle Touch). The Paperwhite is just amazing.... beautiful screen, light weight, nice UI (although the Touch recently received an update to the same UI as the Paperwhite)

I won't go back to paper books. For me it was too much hassle. Buying them or getting them to/from the library took too much time (busy mom) and I wasn't reading much because I'd finish a book and need to find another one to read or make a library trip. When I bought books they would pile up quickly and I rarely want to read a book twice (if I do it is years later and I'd rather procur a new copy than store a book that long). With the Kindle I can buy or check out a library book in bed. I can easily take five books on vacation with me in one small device, and if none of them interest me I can order a new one from Amazon on the spot. I have my entire library at my fingertips.

I rarely buy full-price books. I get most of my books from the library, occasionally as Daily Deals, and sometimes gifts.

eta: and my favorite feature that I didn't know I'd like is Whispersync. Amazing :)
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by ruralavalon »

I bought a Kindle e-reader about 3 years ago soon after they came out, and just before retiring. I was surprised how much I liked it, and surprised that I didn't miss paper books. I don't believe I've bought a physical book since then.

Using the Kindle e-reader is cheaper and more convenient.

I'm tinking about also buyng a Kindle Fire HD for small size and very mobile computer-type uses, as opposed to reading books.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by fareastwarriors »

I have a Kindle but I still buy hardcover books only. I like the touch of paper. =)
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by TimDex »

I've used a kindle for several years and like it better than physical books. However, for military histories and the like with lots of maps, a regular book from the library is much better. Maps and photos in kindle format just aren't handled right. I think publishers are designing for regular books and not for kindles. Hopefully, that will change.

I've tried reading on an ipad and it's okay, but the heavier weight bothers me. I do have a problem with the quality of kindle manufacture, but my evidence may be anecdotal. I read heavily, and have burned through three of them and am on my fourth. The new paperwhite is very nice. Hope it lasts. (To be fair, amazon has replaced one of the kindles free.)

tim
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gkaplan
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by gkaplan »

I read a lot of nonfiction. From what I have been told, e-books do not do a good job with charts, maps, genealogical trees, indexes, footnotes, end notes, bibliographies, and so on.
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by wesleymouch »

I use the Kindle app for the ipad and have not bought a physical book since.
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sperry8
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Re: Anybody who bought a Kindle go back to regular books?

Post by sperry8 »

corner559 wrote:No. Having a Kindle is FAR more convenient than lugging around physical books, especially when traveling. I don't ever plan on going back to traditional books.
Agreed. The kindle is fantastic, battery lasts forever and it's super lightweight. And it saves trees! Why would I ever buy a book? Those days are as gone as getting up off the sofa to go change the channel.
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