I’ve had my basic-model Kindle for around a year now, and damn, I miss books.
I don’t hate the Kindle - I appreciate the convenience - but I’ve recently found myself feeling envious when I see someone reading a real book. Or when I see a bookshelf full of books (even on TV or in a movie).
And just now, I followed a Doper link to a book recommendation and once I saw the cover I knew that owning the Kindle version would not be as satisfying as owning the book version.
And…the paperback edition (good enough for me) is $2 cheaper thank the Kindle version.
So, have any of you abandoned, or semi-abandoned, your e-reader?
mmm
I have an early addition Kindle that a neighbor couple gave me when they bought a newer one. It is loaded with literally hundreds of books, many of which are better than the paper books I have lying around, and I just can’t arse myself to read 'em. I’ve tried, but searching/navigating is a hassle, the ability to flip quickly back and forth between passages is lost, and I just don’t get that pleasant sensation of reading a book when I use it. It’s strange, the words are there right where they’re suppossed to be, but the experience just isn’t the same. So the Kindle sits at the bottom of my nightstand collecting dust, though I do keep it plugged in and charged so it’ll be ready to go should I finally decide I want to read that Julia Child bio, or The Big Sleep, or The Great Gatsby, or any of the other great books that are loaded into it, and it’s been like that for a year and a half now. For whatever reason, I just can’t seem to get into reading on the Kindle.
We’re big readers, bought a color Nook, and it gathers dust (largely).
OTOH, I would love to have my college textbooks on the Nook, so I can make notes and annotate to my hearts content. That feature would have been very handy in college (well, combined with a keyboard, I guess - I hate typing on a screen.)
I actually took a while (over a year) to start using my Kindle regularly, but that’s mostly because I wasn’t reading that much. Now I love it. It’s not the only thing I read from, (still read print books, legacy format electronic books on old PDAs, Kindle format books on a smartphone because it’s more smaller than the Kindle etcetera,) but it’s definitely a big part of my reading life.
Figuring out how to manage the library on the Kindle is a big part of it. Focusing on the fact that there are oh-so-many books loaded was counterproductive to me - it’s a little hard to browse through them and find what I want. I need to figure out what I want to be reading beforehand, and usually load them up into a collection called a1, that I know I can always find quickly. Once I’ve finished with a book, I remove them from a1. It may sound weird, but that works for me.
I have a Sony Reader WiFi and I love it. I can download books wirelessly from my local library. The selection is sometimes odd and I think it’s weird I sometimes have to wait so long for new books (they only get so many electronic copies to check out) but it’s so lightweight and convenient. The display is lovely and I’ve loaded it up with some of my favorite books, so I always have something dependable to read in a pinch. Fits in my purse and the battery lasts a month.
As others have said, why limit yourself to one or the other? My kindle is for putting in my purse so I can read my book club book when I’m getting my hair done. It’s for convenience, and I have, currently, about 200 books on my kindle.
But I have about 1,000 regular books in my house, too, and I still buy them.
Don’t understand your concern at all.
Buying fast food doesn’t mean you’re not ever allowed to cook in your kitchen. Listening to piano music on your iPod doesn’t mean you’re now forbidden to PLAY the piano. Buying a ready-made item of clothing doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to sew something for yourself. Having a phone doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to see people in person…oh, wait… maybe it does.
I wouldn’t say “given up” exactly, but I don’t use it nearly as much I thought I would.
When I am at home, my Kindle often sits under the nightstand with dead batteries. I do prefer regular books, especially when there are so many cheap used books out there.
On the road things are different. Right now I am in a little town 150 miles from Rio de Janeiro, and I am totally dependent on my Kindle. How else could I have dozens of good books in my hand, and be able to shop for more.
It is amazing that here out in the sticks in Brazil the Amazon Kindle storefront still works like a charm, for free and no wifi needed.
I never “took it up”. Our Nook stays at home as community property, unless we’;re al travelling. I still mainlyu read paper books.
I do notice that my wife and daughter use it mainly for games (I don’t think they’ve read any books on it yet). I do, too, I admit – I’m a Sudoku addict. But I’ve read one Jules Verne book and much of the Clark Ashton Smith book on the Nook. And I have my own book and articles on the thing.
I’ve been trying to buy more e-books but I definitely find that I still prefer ‘real’ books by a fairly sizable margin. It seems convenient to have an entire library at your fingertips but there’s something about the e-book experience that I just don’t like
I guess I have the opposite experience. I kind of have to force myself to read paper books because everything I read is basically on my Kindle (especially convenient for reading on the train).
One area in which the ebook format shines (more or less literally) for me is reading at night. With a new baby, I’ve spent quite a bit of time up late at night, rocking her to sleep, or listening to her scream. With the iPad, I can get a lot of reading done at the same time. It’s been a lifesaver.
Turning the “pages” on my kindle is easier than turning paper pages when I’m walking on the treadmill, as it just requires one finger poke. Also, I can enlarge the print temporarily, which is handy.
I’d use mine more if prices came down. Newly published e-books are cheaper than paper, but I mostly read older books. I can’t justify paying $10-$12 for an older e-book when I can get the paper version for less than $5.
If I get tired of free Project Gutenberg books, I can see myself sort of giving up on my Sony Reader, but it hasn’t happened yet. My local library has some ebooks available for loan, but browsing through the collection is a nightmare every time I’ve tried it, and almost every time I’ve searched for a specific book it hasn’t been available in ebook format.
I am going to have to try this. I have never been able to read while on my elliptical and I don’t like audiobooks as well. I think if I could read while I’m on it, it would help me get back on track with exercising.
I can think of only two paper books I’ve read since I’ve gotten my Nook. It’s very convenient for me and I love how much easier it is to read in bed, or while eating.