Kindle or Book?

[g5000]

Kindle or Book?

Which one do you prefer and why?

Like many avid book readers of a certain age, I put off buying a Kindle for a long time. I just liked the feel of books and was being stodgy about it.

But also like so many other people, once I did get my hands on a Kindle, I was instantly hooked. Once you go Kindle, you never go back.

There is one downside of a Kindle. If you buy it to play games or use other apps, you won't find nearly as many games/apps as you find in the Google Play store or Apple store. I think this chink in the Kindle's armor may be its downfall. Since Google is amassing a library of billions of e-books, and has a better selection of apps and games, I think the Google Nexus tablet may be the death of the Kindle one day. Ironically, you can buy the Nexus on Amazon.

Books

Cheaper to buy and nearly free at the library.
They decompose and are not made of harmful chemicals.

Kindle books are frequently cheaper than paper books. Plus, you can get an e-book within seconds, without having to leave your chair.

As for free books, there are free e-books online. Zillions of them. For example: Free ebooks - Project Gutenberg. They have several formats, including the Kindle format, on that site.

Also, I can have loads and loads and loads of books on my Kindle and save a whole forest of trees and a lake of toxic ink.

 

[Foxfyre]

Kindle or Book?

Which one do you prefer and why?

Like many avid book readers of a certain age, I put off buying a Kindle for a long time. I just liked the feel of books and was being stodgy about it.

But also like so many other people, once I did get my hands on a Kindle, I was instantly hooked. Once you go Kindle, you never go back.

There is one downside of a Kindle. If you buy it to play games or use other apps, you won't find nearly as many games/apps as you find in the Google Play store or Apple store. I think this chink in the Kindle's armor may be its downfall. Since Google is amassing a library of billions of e-books, and has a better selection of apps and games, I think the Google Nexus tablet may be the death of the Kindle one day. Ironically, you can buy the Nexus on Amazon.

Books

Cheaper to buy and nearly free at the library.
They decompose and are not made of harmful chemicals.

Kindle books are frequently cheaper than paper books. Plus, you can get an e-book within seconds, without having to leave your chair.

As for free books, there are free e-books online. Zillions of them. For example: Free ebooks - Project Gutenberg. They have several formats, including the Kindle format, on that site.

Also, I can have loads and loads and loads of books on my Kindle and save a whole forest of trees and a lake of toxic ink.

And with Amazon Prime you can borrow books without extra charge from Amazon, and with Kindle Buffet there are hundreds and hundreds of absolutely free books. I have two different versions of study Bibles on my Kindle that didn't cost me a penny. Our local library also has e-books to offer on loan.

As others said, Kindle isn't as user friendly if you want to look back at a previous chapter or whatever, and the ambiance of a real book isn't quite there, but for what it is, I have a whole library and filing cabinet at my fingertips on my Kindle and can't imagine not having it now.

(And it's really neat if you finish a book while you're sitting waiting for somebody at the hospital or doctor's office, you can just order up a brand new one--lots and lots for under $3.00 each to be had.)

But I too resisted getting one for a very long time.

 

[g5000]

in a book i can have my fingers in 3 or 4 places so i can reference back to different things quickly.... i cant do that with a kindle.

Yes you can do that in a Kindle. It is very easy.

 

[Esmeralda]

Like many avid book readers of a certain age, I put off buying a Kindle for a long time. I just liked the feel of books and was being stodgy about it.

stodg·y
/ˈstäjē/
adjective
adjective: stodgy; comparative adjective: stodgier; superlative adjective: stodgiest1. dull and uninspired.
"some of the material is rather stodgy and top-heavy with facts"
synonyms: boring, dull, uninteresting, dreary, turgid, tedious, unimaginative, uninspired, unexciting, unoriginal, monotonous, humdrum, prosaic, staid, heavy going; More

So if someone doesn't agree with your way of thinking about this, they are old, dull, boring, and uninspired? Nice.

I work on the computer all the time, have done so for more than 20 years. I often am sent long documents to read. I do not like to read long passages and long documents on the computer, so I print them out. I just don't like it. Period. I have zero interest in reading books that way. That doesn't make me old or stodgy. It simply means I have a different perspective on this issue than you. It is like someone saying to you there is only one type of shoe style to wear and you must wear it because that person is happy with it, even though you do not like that type of shoe, have no interest in wearing it and don't find them comfortble to wear. Would you really think it is okay for someone to say there is something wrong with you, that you are dull, boring, uninspired, etc., just because you don't want to wear the current rage in shoe style?

 

[Pogo]

Kindle or Book?

Which one do you prefer and why?

I assume "Kindle" is used generically... I got a Nook recently to save luggage space on a trip. It did that well but since the trip has been over it doesn't get much use, even with a couple of books on it that I don't have hard copies of.

Reading books by itself would't have been enough to buy it; I was attracted by the passive e-Ink technology that doesn't scream at me with light the way this computer screen does, and by the idea that (they said) I could load Word docs and PDFs on it, which would make it useful in the work environment. They lied about the former, and I can't get the latter to load since the device doesn't show up when I plug it in.

So I'm not convinced -- still staying with the real books, in general at least.

 

[Wry Catcher]

Kindle or Book?

Which one do you prefer and why?

I assume "Kindle" is used generically... I got a Nook recently to save luggage space on a trip. It did that well but since the trip has been over it doesn't get much use, even with a couple of books on it that I don't have hard copies of.

Reading books by itself would't have been enough to buy it; I was attracted by the passive e-Ink technology that doesn't scream at me with light the way this computer screen does, and by the idea that (they said) I could load Word docs and PDFs on it, which would make it useful in the work environment. They lied about the former, and I can't get the latter to load since the device doesn't show up when I plug it in.

So I'm not convinced -- still staying with the real books, in general at least.

While I prefer books, and gave my Nook to my son, there were things I really liked about the Nook. Highlighting words for a definition is helpful, as many contemporary authors want to impress by using their thesaurus; the crosswords and chess apps, and being able when I travel to bring my current read, Time Magazine and update the news when Wi-Fi is available. I will borrow it back when I fly since so much time is spent waiting at terminals.

 

[skye]

I join my voice to all others who prefer paper books.

Paper books are different .... it's spiritual for me.... " it's not just another piece of data to be processed in our digital lives" ...... it's part of my quality of being human and unites me to the past in ways few other things can.

I have a big library at home, I am very proud of it..... sometimes I sit down on my couch and look at it... and every book comes alive, bringing memories....so many biographies ..... It's just a thing of beauty.

Some day I might buy a kindle..... I will not be in a rush to do so though....