Reading on a Kindle

Permabear

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Shryke

For me nothing will ever replace a proper paper copy of something. That's coming from someone who downloads most films or tv shows.
As far as I'm concerned books belong in print, even cheap print.

And ya, I feel fairly strongly protective of books in print over digital e-book formats. I like the smell and the feel and the experience.
If I'm reading it off the web or some similar digibook network then its not the same, its cheap and ****. The best thing I can say is I'll probably die before some crap like that takes over. Long live print!

calex71

Lately all my books , well the last 10 or so have been audio books. I liken a kindle to reading a pdf from a pc screen almost like a book but something is missing. I guess at least with Kindle you have to hold it.

For me personally after having listened to 200+ hours of audio, it depends on the person reading sometimes but ............ I found my cynicism of the medium to have been unfounded to say the least. Audiobook ftw as far as i'm concerned.

Of course i love paper when sat at home and audio takes longer to get through than reading by sight. But for on the go ? Audio every time!!!!!! and even at home there is an argument for audio being better, the eye is lazy, and naturally doesn't read every letter or word, it recognises patterns , which in turn leads to skimming (this is a personal thing not a generalisation) with audio for me I am forced to hear everything. for me paper 1st , audio = , kindle if it was the only medium available, but being able to go for a walk in the evening and be told a story for an hour is just cake and eating it, while counter acting calories

cyning

I'm a bit odd: of like the last ten books I downloaded I bought 5 of them: I read the e version while in work (on my phone :rolleyes:) and the "real" version for at home and the bookshelf. I'm mad for a Kindle at the moment: think I'll succumb before much longer! I would never want to go entirely electronic: nothing beats a book You cant replicate taking out that dog eared copy of your favourite book and re reading it. Or reading it so much the binding falls apart as with some of my favourites! Or that new book smell that you get.

E books though are convenient: if I want to go on holiday most of my luggage was taken up with books: now I'll have more space for shoes

Callan57

calex71 wrote: »

Lately all my books , well the last 10 or so have been audio books. I liken a kindle to reading a pdf from a pc screen almost like a book but something is missing. I guess at least with Kindle you have to hold it.

For me personally after having listened to 200+ hours of audio, it depends on the person reading sometimes but ............ I found my cynicism of the medium to have been unfounded to say the least. Audiobook ftw as far as i'm concerned.

Of course i love paper when sat at home and audio takes longer to get through than reading by sight. But for on the go ? Audio every time!!!!!! and even at home there is an argument for audio being better, the eye is lazy, and naturally doesn't read every letter or word, it recognises patterns , which in turn leads to skimming (this is a personal thing not a generalisation) with audio for me I am forced to hear everything. for me paper 1st , audio = , kindle if it was the only medium available, but being able to go for a walk in the evening and be told a story for an hour is just cake and eating it, while counter acting calories

Like you I use audio books on my MP3 when out walking ... problem I find is that my attention keeps being distracted & I have to replay whole chapters a few times - hardly ever happens when I'm reading.

Valmont

A few days ago I walked into a small and musty bookshop here in York where I'm now living and picked up a 1947 copy of Moments of Time by W. J. Strachan. As I tentatively cracked it open, the perfume that emanated from this small tome, on the shelf for God knows how long, made me realise in an instant that no matter how excellently practical and trendy a kindle is, I'm not willing to ever forgo the physical pleasures of reading. Whether it's proudly admiring my dog eared and almost destroyed copy of Lolita or the beautiful artwork on the covers of my Narnia collection, having an actual book is too intrinsic to the whole reading experience for me to switch; although it is the sort of thing my parents would buy me for Christmas so who knows:pac:

calex71

Callan57 wrote: »

Like you I use audio books on my MP3 when out walking ... problem I find is that my attention keeps being distracted & I have to replay whole chapters a few times - hardly ever happens when I'm reading.

Really? Have to say I totally zoned out to them as I walked around marlay park this summer etc, at home I've found I could only read late in the evening with xbox , tv , people etc. fitted my lifestyle perfectly I guess.

Also have a pal reading the same as I was listening to there for a time, and there were bits that I actually picked up on that she asked wtf that wasn't in the book or how did I miss that lol.

Still that said the smell and feel of books old or new can't be replaced by sound or gadgets .

Cannibal Ox

I find it uncomfortable to read on any kind of screen when I need to really engage with what I'm reading. I do find it easy to read a forum or a blog, and I've gotten comfortable reading newspapers online, but I don't like reading (or even writing) something when I have to really engage with it on any kind of screen. In work and at college I always have a piece of paper and a pen beside me, and if it's possible, I print things out that I need to read.

I don't mean that you aren't thinking or engaging with a text when you read on a kindle or computer, but for me, personally, I find it far more intuitive to have a physical object/presence before me that I can write on, scribble, doodle, highlight, stick postits to, and generally effect. Maybe if I could scribble and stick things on to a screen in the same way I would find it more intuitive, but for the moment I'd rather have a piece of paper in front of me that I can write all over if I want to.

HibernianRunner

Bought the kindle2 back in January and it has surpassed my expectations. Its a joy to read on. Have not bought a single physical book since, all my purchases have been ebooks. Granted its not great for textbooks and those with lots of pics, diagrams etc. but for straight forward reading its fantastic.
The convenience of carrying around hundreds of books on one small device and freeing up space just can't be beat IMO.

Alan.

The Mad Hatter

Free classics is the reason I'll be doing a lot of reading on my iPad, but what you've described is precisely why I can't imagine myself ever paying for an ebook. The look, touch and smell (easily forgotten or laughed off, but smell is the most powerful sensual trigger for memory) of a book - especially a new book - can't be recreated in a digital medium. I'm happy enough to switch to digital for music and films, but I won't be doing so, at least not completely, for books.

Permabear

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Eoin

donegalfella wrote: »

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I'm not the least bit precious about having to touch or feel a book, or anything like that. I don't have space at home for many books, and I travel a lot with work. An eReader is perfect for my needs.

The Mad Hatter wrote:

Free classics is the reason I'll be doing a lot of reading on my iPad

Keep in mind that the iPad is not a proper eReader. It's just a computer screen that can display eBooks; it's a totally different experience to a device with eInk. Similarly people shouldn't compare reading a PDF on a computer screen to reading an eBook.

The Mad Hatter

eoin wrote: »

Keep in mind that the iPad is not a proper eReader. It's just a computer screen that can display eBooks; it's a totally different experience to a device with eInk. Similarly people shouldn't compare reading a PDF on a computer screen to reading an eBook.

Yes, but I certainly won't be buying a separate device exclusively for ebooks as, for reasons listed above, I won't be buying ebooks.

Permabear

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alex73

Callan57 wrote: »

Like you I use audio books on my MP3 when out walking ... problem I find is that my attention keeps being distracted & I have to replay whole chapters a few times - hardly ever happens when I'm reading.

I listen to Audio books all the time.. Especially when I am walking. Not big fan of Kindle, I think the ipad will lead the market..

E-reader will be good for schools. But I love the real book, at least certain reference books.

Eoin

donegalfella wrote:

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Yeah, I think some people are. But obviously it's not for everyone. I don't agree with the parallel between MP3s and eBooks, as I don't agree that there's an inherent lack of quality in the material when it's delivered by another medium.

All that said, I don't read any "high brow" literature where annotations might be necessary or where there might be some sort of emotional attachment to the material.

If I had unlimited space for books and travelling wasn't part of the consideration, I still think I would probably use an eReader.

Valmont

I hear the kids in fifty years: "We saw some old guy today and he was reading a book!"

Unless the paper and printing unions can block the uptake of e-readers for school children or something like that.

Eliot Rosewater

I think there will always be demand for printed work. It's hard to defend the book format because ones support of it (or at least my support of it) is mostly emotional. The reading of a book is an experience that goes beyond merely looking through the text: smell, sight and touch all combine in a mysteriously comforting and assuring way.

There's also the practical considerations, as donegalfella mentioned. I don't annotate much (it's a habit growing on me) but it's still wonderful to be able to highlight a certain passage or sentence, or to note down some observation or interpretation you have in your mind at that time.

Having a library is wonderful too, though that's also an emotional thing tied in with the joy of owning the physical medium. I face my bookshelf from my bed, and in the morning I often throw my eyes over it and think of all that it contains. I love to take down some random book and flick though it, grabbing the underlined quotes with my eyes.

In short, I can never abandon books. I hope the future generations will still be able to glimpse the pleasure that they bestow upon their owners.

Plowman

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kylith

I've read a couple of books on an ipad and I found it pretty easy to do, no eye strain or anything. However I agree that books are definitely better as physical entities. There's nothing like turning a page and finding an old photo that you used as a bookmark last time you read it, or some sand from your beach holiday. Since it's not my ipad I'm not allowed to bring it to the beach or read it in the bath

Permabear

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Plowman

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Eliot Rosewater

donegalfella wrote: »

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Better all move to open-source.

Plowman wrote: »

I could always lend you a physical copy, though. Bet you can't do that with a Kindle.

Even worse, Amazon can delete ebooks from your Kindle, the equivalent of breaking into your house and taking the physical copy from you. Guardian link.

Permabear

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Valmont

Speaking of open-source, I just began my experiment with LaTex in preparation for my dissertation in a few months. I'm liking what I see so far.

The Sparrow

I think it will be very interesting to see how the ebook industry grows. At the moment the competition is really between the Kindle and the Sony Readers/ Barnes & Noble Nook and a host of small companies hoping to get on the gravy train at the beginning. I don't include the Ipad as it is not an ereader. From the research I have done the Nook and the Kindle seem like the best option and for the first time ebook readers are genuinely affordable for most people.

But the flipside of that is that the majority of readers (at least in my experience) have yet to open up to the possibility of using an ereader. However, as they become increasingly widespread I think that lots of readers will get past the stock reaction that they prefer real paper and buy a Kindle.

I would love to have one and I will buy one as soon as I can get the money. For the first time, I believe that ereaders have started reaching their obvious potential at an affordable price.

I just read paperbacks for the most part and I've never made a note on anything other than a textbook so I don't see the upside of not switching to an ereader.

I think the words are the most important thing and the physical book is just a medium for delivering them. I'm pretty confident that Guttenberg would have used a Kindle if he had the choice!

The ability to have hundreds of books on one small device is obviously a big plus but so is the ability to buy a book in an instant and be reading it 30 secs later without the need to look for it in a bookshop or wait for it to be delivered by post. In fact it probably makes it too easy and I can see myself making too many impulse purchases.

chenguin

I have to say I am conflicted about ebooks and ereaders. On one hand I love the idea of having all my book collection in one small handy device. Having the ability to there and then decide what I want to read without having to have taken my whole bookshelf with me. No shipping delay when buying a book.
On the other hand the problem is the actually reading part. Like others I can fine it difficult to fully engage with a page of text on a screen. When I do read off a screen I am very easily distracted by all around me where as with a book I could sit for hours reading with out realising it. This is the problem and as far as I am concerned it out weighs all the benefits because for me reading is about engaging in the book.
But perhaps it is just a matter of getting used to something new.

Eoin

It's really not the same as reading from a computer screen.

Permabear

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Eoin

Yeah, I think they've a bit of work to do yet on the usability side of it.

kylith

donegalfella wrote: »

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The screen glare on the iPad's not great, alright.

Funnily enough I find turning pages on the iPad, and I assume it's more or less the same on any ereader, a complete pain. Because I tend to be eating, drinking or smoking while I read I hold my book in my left hand (I mostly read on my lunch break). Many years of doing this means that I have learned to turn pages single handedly. Tapping, swiping or clicking on the right side of an e-reader means that I have to stop whatever my other hand is doing ever couple of minutes to turn the page. Trying to do it with my left hand means I have put the reader down or it starts flipping back pages.