Kindle books versus oldfashioned ones ??

[anivid]

I have a library of a more than adequate size.
It’s mostly non-fiction, but also fiction I know I would want to read more than once – and of course fiction I haven’t even read yet ;-)
As I don’t want my physical library to grow any further, I have pondered about investing in a Kindle reading apparatus for one-time literature - and in that connection I would like to hear what others have experienced with such media.
Are you comfortable with reading from Kindle ?? – are you bringing the Kindle with you as you would do with a pocket book ?? - which problems (if any ;-) have you experienced when using such reading apparatus ?? - are the SF/F books you want to buy usually available for such media ?? – are they cheaper/more expensive than the pocket editions ?? – etc. etc.

[Devil's Advocate]

Well, I don't have a Kindle but I do most of my reading on a Barnes & Noble Nook and the points will be largely the same. (I do buy most of my ebooks from Amazon, though.)

Originally Posted by anivid

Are you comfortable with reading from Kindle ??

Yup. Very.

Originally Posted by anivid

are you bringing the Kindle with you as you would do with a pocket book ??

I rarely go places where I would be required to sit down and read a book, but on the rare occasions that happens -- yes.

Originally Posted by anivid

which problems (if any ;-) have you experienced when using such reading apparatus ??

None that I can think of, to be honest. At least, none with the device itself (see below).

Originally Posted by anivid

are the SF/F books you want to buy usually available for such media ??

Usually, yes. Not always though. I think most recent and new books will be almost certainly available, but you might have issues with older titles. For example, I had wanted Stephen R. Donaldson's The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (the first one) but no one had it as ebook. I ended up buying the paperbacks.

Originally Posted by anivid

– are they cheaper/more expensive than the pocket editions ?? – etc. etc.

Depends, really. Generally speaking, they will be cheaper than hardbacks, but around the same as paperback. Sometimes ebooks will be cheaper, but there are also occasions where you'll find them more expensive than paperback or stiffly discounted hardbacks.

The reason for that is because the large publishers (known now as the Agency 6) have created a situation where they fix the selling price of ebooks, rather than the retailers. Retailers, in other words, cannot discount them like normal. As a result, you will see some situations where a retailer like Amazon.com is selling a discounted hardback for, say, $14.50, and the ebook of the same book would be $14.99.

(I am, of course, talking about relatively new ebooks. Older ones are generally cheaper than the above, though still not always less than paperbacks.)

[anivid]

Thanks a lot ;-)
Further: Can you read in the SUN from your B&N Nook/Kindle ??

As you might know - (or not ;-) for those books, where the copyright has expired (in EUR it's 80 years) Gutenberg has free ebooks for downloading to Kindle etc.
Best

[pyan]

Originally Posted by anivid

Further: Can you read in the SUN from your B&N Nook/Kindle ??

Yes - if fact, you need a light-source to read the Kindle at all, as it's not a back-lit screen - it's called an e-ink display, and looks and behaves much like an ordinary printed page.

[AnyaKimlin]

So far been very happy with it - I have an illness that gives me sore hands and eye problems - it allows me to make the print larger and doesn't hurt to hold like a print book does.

[I, Brian]

I got a Kindle recently and was quite surprised at how easy and natural it is to read from.

So far I've mainly just read a couple of SFF magazines on it, but it manages to recreate the feel of reading from paper, without all the eye strain and attention distracting issues normal tablet PC's and computers normally invoke.

[Vertigo]

I would agree with all of DA's points and indeed all the other posters'. I do pretty much all my reading on my Sony and love it. I also travel a bit and always take it with me.

[steve12553]

My lastest toy has the Android OS and I have both Kindle and Nook for Android. That puts the available books in the millions. Many of the books that are hard to find on ebooks are just plain hard to find. But much of the thrill is the hunt, isn't it?

[chrispenycate]

On y va.

I have a Kindle since Christmas day, and am still learning it. It has latched up on me once (keep the power button pushed for twenty seconds and it resets) and never seems to charge to capacity, but it goes on for a good long time on one charge.

The problem is not in the reading experience – I find the device extremely comfortable and practical – but in Amazon. As my home address is in Switzerland (Suisse Romande) they insist I should be working through Amazon.de, and I don't even speak German. The idea of eLiterature is that it's world wide, but so far I haven't succeeded in buying a single book for it, although I have collected quite a range of free ones.

This could turn out to be a problem in France, sauf si vous lizez en Français.

But it's early days yet, for me.

[Vertigo]

Chrispy, there are ways to get around this problem but they can be a bit of a pain. I don't know the details but you can get some kind of proxies that make the likes of Amazon think you are in America (say) not sure whether Amazon check the registered location of the card though. Try speaking to Devils Advocate as I think he hit similar problems and overcame them.

[Grizzgreen711]

My girlfriend has one and she loves it. I myself tried it and hated it. I like being able to flip through a book. Going back sometimes to double check a chapter or something like that.

Personal preference.

[Vertigo]

Now I've gotten used to it I don't miss the ability to flick through the pages so much. I mostly achieve the same thing using the word search function. I generally search for a name or word that I know pops up in the area I'm interested in and nowhere (or rarely) between there and where I am now. Also the Sony does have a sliding bar that you can use to flick through pages but I find the slow eink refresh makes that a bit of a pain to use.

[Cayal]

Originally Posted by Vertigo

Chrispy, there are ways to get around this problem but they can be a bit of a pain. I don't know the details but you can get some kind of proxies that make the likes of Amazon think you are in America (say) not sure whether Amazon check the registered location of the card though. Try speaking to Devils Advocate as I think he hit similar problems and overcame them.

I think Amazon have gotten around this now.

[psychotick]

Hi,

I don't have an ereader of any sort. I simply down load to my computer, and with a 22 inch wide screen and an armchair to sit in, it's an excelent read. If I needed to have something more portable I'd simply take the laptop. The various readers seem too gadgetty for me.

Cheers, Greg.

[AnyaKimlin]

I am sure you have and I am being that irritating useless person, but have you tried going to Amazon.com ? instead of .co.uk? I have to tick a box assuring it I do want .com, but I use it for sending presents to my in laws.