Just For Fun e-readers

[NervousNellie]

I can't imagine affording one, but I have been lusting after them ever since I was introduced to my mom's Kindle 1 while visiting her last year.

Anyway, I am just curious, just for fun (give me a target for my lust), if there is an e-reader that you think would be particularly good for an M. Div. student.

Edited January 29, 2010 by NervousNellie

[LateAntique]

I am a bit of an old man at heart, but I hate the idea of those Kindle e-reader things. There's something wonderful about going to the library, sitting at your desk, and reading a book. I like being able to feel the book too. I hate reading on the computer and I can't imagine I'd like reading on one of those new-fangled e-readers. Now get off my lawn, Matlock's on and I've got some soup ready!

[NervousNellie]

I am a bit of an old man at heart, but I hate the idea of those Kindle e-reader things. There's something wonderful about going to the library, sitting at your desk, and reading a book. I like being able to feel the book too. I hate reading on the computer and I can't imagine I'd like reading on one of those new-fangled e-readers. Now get off my lawn, Matlock's on and I've got some soup ready!

Believe me, I like the idea of real-paper books as much as the next guy or gal. I just wrote to a friend the other day that I wanted to move into the library. Beyond the feel, I really like the smell of books, even when they are old and musty. Everytime I open a book, I notice I take a deep breath and inhale the smell.

I am sure I will still be reading plenty of paper-books for years to come. Heck, many books are still not available on the readers. That said, for numerous reasons, I love the idea of an e-reader to have in addition to my paper-book collection.

Anyone? Anyone?

[tarski]

I like books too, but tons (probably most) of my reading is journal articles, so I have been lusting over e-readers as well. No definite plans though, so no suggesions yet .

[johndiligent]

The only reason I lust over a Kindle is for pdf's. The sheer amount of PDF reading I have to do in the run of a day has convinced me that there would be nothing more beautiful than laying back and reading my PDF articles on a Kindle. I haven't investigated the prospect with a great deal of voracity, mostly because I don't have the money for one, but I think about it in a Wouldn't It Be Lovely kind of way.

As it stands, any article deserving of more than a cursory skim gets printed off. In addition to not being particularly economical for me, since my printer is some kind of insatiable ink-swallowing blackhole, it also causes me to lose considerable cred as an environmental advocate. That said, I LOVE being able to make angry notes and slashes and underlines and MARGIN NOTES OF EXCITED EMPHASIS when reading and I'm not sure if the Kindle is really geared for that kind of text mark-up.

Ideally, what I'd like is a Kindle designed by academics for academics. Barring that, an iPad.

[iWILLgetin]

I love the idea of the kindle and other such devices, but I would not get one for the following reasons:

I love the smell of a new book

I love opening a new book and feeling the wonderful resistance of the binding

I am guilty of writing notes all through my books, in my opinion increasing their value on my shelf

Walking up and down the aisles of the library looking for just the right book is so therapeutic to a tired mind

My library has an excellent cafe and sitting down with a book or assignment at one of the ginormous tables with a hot chocolate or macchiato is heavenly

Page turning is fun

and I absolutely LOVE when the FedEx guy comes with a new book for me

[Roll Right]

Yeah, I need to hold on to a book. Smell it, feel the binding, the paper...its almost like a living thing. It really comes to life when you read it.

On that note, I just got a netbook, and love it. Damn its handy! Spss computations and research work anywhere I want. Damn this thing is tiny!

[Pamphilia]

I am considering saving up for a Kindle so that when I travel I won't have to schlep ten books with me as I do now, and to cut down on printing costs for articles. My main reservations are:

1. I appreciate the physical and tactile experience of reading a book, and I am sure that it helps me retain the information therein and to learn better--which is why if I were to purchase a Kindle, it would be my secondary method of reading for sure.

2. Writing notes and underlining is crucial for me (I know you can take notes on the Kindle, but it's not exactly the same, and I wouldn't be able to do the weird underlining/circling/drawing that I do in my own secret note-taking language)

3. I hate reading off a screen and I think reading on my computer and phone too often is ruining my eyes (I have heard that the e-ink used on a Kindle is really nice on the eyes and it's not backlit like an LCD screen, though I haven't seen it in real life)

For all of you who like the smell of books, I offer you the following, which always pops into my mind when I consider e-readers:

"Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower or a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell musty and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer is...it has no texture, no context. It's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then the getting of knowledge should be tangible. It should be...smelly." (quoth Giles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

[kahlan_amnell]

I have a Kindle, and I really like it. However, I mostly use it more for fun reading rather than academic reading. That is because most academic books in my discipline (History) are not available on the Kindle. The fact that out of copyright classic books are often free or 99 cents is really great though, it was quite useful when I was taking a class on William and Henry James. Also I was able to get a couple writing guides required for my dissertation writing class on Kindle.

I would like to get the latest Kindle DX (the one with the large screen) since it has built in PDF compatibility, and seems to have a large enough screen that it should work well. My first generation Kindle doesn't do PDFs very well, and it's battery doesn't hold a charge very long if I'm not using it. (Its battery lasts longer if I use it regularly. If I charge it then don't use it for a few days, it's like I never charged it at all.)

[BMCGirl10]

I have a Kindle 2 and I mostly use it for pleasure reading like kahlan_amnell ( I love Legend of the Seeker / Goodkind btw!). I love my Kindle to pieces! The selection through the Kindle is much larger and slightly cheaper than the Nook. I've heard that the iPad will have an iBookstore but the selection comes nowhere near Amazon's reach. So I think I'll keep my Kindle for now. Plus the iPad, if you get it with the same wireless capabilities to download materials that the Kindle has, is $600 bucks! Three times the price of the Kindle. If you get the iPad with the keyboard attachment then you might as well just buy a Macbook since it comes to the same price.

[modernity]

I have a Kindle 2 and I mostly use it for pleasure reading like kahlan_amnell ( I love Legend of the Seeker / Goodkind btw!). I love my Kindle to pieces! The selection through the Kindle is much larger and slightly cheaper than the Nook. I've heard that the iPad will have an iBookstore but the selection comes nowhere near Amazon's reach. So I think I'll keep my Kindle for now. Plus the iPad, if you get it with the same wireless capabilities to download materials that the Kindle has, is $600 bucks! Three times the price of the Kindle. If you get the iPad with the keyboard attachment then you might as well just buy a Macbook since it comes to the same price.

I just came in to squeal about LotS/Goodkind a little. I too would love to have a Kindle, but don't have one currently. I get so jealous at the airport when everyone is reading from them. If Kindle has a good interaction with PDFs I think it might be worth purchasing, as I am also tired of printing oodles of pages.

[NervousNellie]

Well, I had to go searching for my post (originally posted in Religion because I was looking for feedback specifically about book availability and e-readers in regard to my discipline), but I am glad I have tracked it down!

I really like hearing everyone's thoughts.

I admit it's been a while since I've been in academics, but I am not sure what the problem is about reading PDFs. I've never had trouble reading PDFs on my computer (??). Someone enlighten me.

You know, it is interesting to hear how much people like their Kindles. The Kindle2 seemed to get some really negative reviews from Amazon buyers, but the feedback here is more encouraging. When I started this thread, I was just learning about the Nook. I like that the Nook sought to address some of the issues with the Kindle, but it didn't seem to pull it off as well as it could have and some are recommending that prospective purchasers hold out for a later generation Nook. Still, even the negative Nook reviews don't come off nearly as badly as the negative Kindle reviews.

Tell me about selection. How can someone really compare the selection from one to another. Many of the books that I'd be most interested in are of the kind that are slowly being uploaded to Google books. Actually, the fact that I've been using Google books quite a bit to find old, out of print books was part of what prompted my lust of the e-readers.

Also, what about cost? Do book costs really go down some with e-readers in comparison to buying hard copies?

Yes, yes, I still relate very much to everyone's love of real BOOKS. I get it. My very first reaction to the e-readers was one of repulsion too. It wasn't until watching my BOOK-loving mom with hers that I got into the idea. She really seems to strike a good balance of experiences in her reading.

Edited February 1, 2010 by NervousNellie

[kahlan_amnell]

...

I admit it's been a while since I've been in academics, but I am not sure what the problem is about reading PDFs. I've never had trouble reading PDFs on my computer (??). Someone enlighten me.

....

Tell me about selection. How can someone really compare the selection from one to another. Many of the books that I'd be most interested in are of the kind that are slowly being uploaded to Google books. Actually, the fact that I've been using Google books quite a bit to find old, out of print books was part of what prompted my lust of the e-readers.

Also, what about cost? Do book costs really go down some with e-readers in comparison to buying hard copies?

Yes, yes, I still relate very much to everyone's love of real BOOKS. I get it. My very first reaction to the e-readers was one of repulsion too. It wasn't until watching my BOOK-loving mom with hers that I got into the idea. She really seems to strike a good balance of experiences in her reading.

Glowing screens start to hurt your eyes after a while reading on them. In addition, PDF pages vary in size. If you can't get one page of the document to fit on your monitor, the scrolling necessary to read each page gets excessive and annoying, particularly if it is an article written in columns. It goes something like this:

Scoll down to read a column.

Scroll up to read the next one.

Repeat for fifteen to fifty pages.

Do it again for the next article, and the one after that.

Note the increasing pain, or at least tiredness, in your wrist.

At least that is how it goes for me, some people might have better luck. PDF reading on the computer has gotten better since I got a Mac with a very large screen. I can make most PDF pages fit, so at least there is less scrolling.

Anyway, about the Kindle:

There is a good selection of fiction, they are working on getting more academic monographs up, but there aren't that many yet. If the stuff you need is on Google Books, there is a program to convert Google Book files to Kindle format. So you can get those books for free, convert them, and read them on a Kindle. Someone in my department told me about this program, I'll ask him where he found it and post about that here. He said it was a free program.

Yes, it really does lower the cost. Most Kindle books currently do not cost more than $9.99, which is much lower than the cost of new release hardbacks. The savings are sometimes less on books that are available in paperback. However, there are so many books available for free or 99 cents that you'll get a lot of books for very little money if you are willing to try relatively new authors, or like reading classic books.

I really was not impressed with the Nook when I tried it out in my college bookstore recently. The menus were quite difficult to navigate, you had to push the forward and back buttons really hard to get them to work (opposite problem from original Kindles, where it is too easy to press those buttons when you are first using it) and the screen was not that impressive. The color touch screen just looked out of place, and didn't add any fuctionality to the device. It will add unnecessary glare to it though, making it less easy on the eyes than the Kindle.

[kahlan_amnell]

I have a Kindle 2 and I mostly use it for pleasure reading like kahlan_amnell ( I love Legend of the Seeker / Goodkind btw!).

I just came in to squeal about LotS/Goodkind a little.

I think I chose a good user name.

Glad to meet other Goodkind fans. I haven't seen the TV show, but I greatly enjoyed all of the books. Maybe when I have some free time I'll get around to watching the DVDs of the TV show.