Does owning a Kindle change your reading habits?

Arsemageddon

It's been hinted that I'm getting a kindle or the like for Christmas. Trouble is I'm not sure if I really want one. After I got an ipod I stopped buying CDs and records and as a consequence tend to listen to a lot less new music, The same thing sort of thing happened when I started streaming/downloading films. I always enjoyed rummaging around music shops and looking for films I really wanted to watch, but I don't seem to do it very often these days.

I just want to ask whether any of you have found that your reading/shopping habits have changed since getting an e-reader? Do you still browse around bookshops or do you now only but stuff on line? If it's the latter, do you regret making the change?

fro9etb8j5qsl2

I actually read a lot more since I started using a kindle, I find it more convenient and for some reason, i get through books faster. Not only that but I read a greater variety of stuff that I would have never considered reading if I was still using hard copy books. This is mainly due to the instantly accessible reviews available in the kindle store. Price is also a factor, ebooks are usually a fair bit cheaper than actual books. I was very sceptical myself in the beginning but it didn't take long to sway my judgement!

nompere

It has changed some of my habits.

I keep making, and breaking, resolutions not to buy inexpensive rubbish, based on reviews by what must have been gibbering idiots. A good rule of thumb is not to buy anything that hasn't actually made it into print - and not printed by a vanity publisher. I'm prepared to forego the occasional gem (and I haven't found one yet) in exchange for avoiding rubbish.

I've got mean, as well! Where I wouldn't think twice about paying €14 or €15 for a new book I wanted to read, I now almost resent paying more than €2.00 for anything. I haunt the "daily deal" and the "monthly deals", and I tend to put books I want into my "wish list" and sort it regualrly by price. Pretty much everything popular makes it to the €2.00 or less level within twelve months.

I wouldn't be without it though - and when it developed a fault in the charging socket, Amazon had a brand new one on its way to me within minutes of my calling them. I had it less than 24 hours after the call.

Wyldwood

It hasn't changed my reading habits but I do favour my kindle over a real book because of the convenience of use especially for large books. I'm reading A Suitable Boy at the moment which is about 1500 pages long and would be a cumbersome tome to carry around but the kindle is so light is fantastic.

I read from a wish list made up of recommendations (mostly on this thread) and best sellers lists. My first port of call is always the library and if I can't get it there I check the Kindle store but like nompere I've got mean and will only buy if its below a fiver. There are also so many free classics available on the kindle that you need never be short of reading material. I do still love a browse around a good bookshop however.

Can I recommend that you suggest to Santa that you'd like the Kindle Paperwhite, great for reading in bed.

I still buy hard copies of books by my favourite writers, but now I can download and buy loads of stuff for the kindle. I wouldn't say i've stopped looking for new books, just like I haven't stopped looking for new music with my ipod. I may not buy cds but I buy full albums on itunes and probably more than I would have before

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

cruizer101

Regarding rummaging round book shops, nothing to stop you when you get a kindle. My girlfriend and I both have e-readers and still have look in book shops. There is something nicer about browsing through real books seeing them all on display. Any books I like the sound or look of(despite the proverb I judge and base a lot of my decision on the cover) I can remember if its one or two or take pictures with my phone and then look them up later.

Valmont

The Kindle is just too cost-effective and too convenient. I didn't think I would stop reading paper books to the extent that I have but I can't argue with the prices. I got mine as a gift and it is literally the best present anyone has ever bought for me; I carry it everywhere.

Additionally, there are so many good books, essays, articles, or out-of-print books that you cannot buy except at great expense; with the Kindle all you need to do is download the free (mostly) .EPUB files, convert them in Calibre and drag them onto your Kindle. This is how the Kindle has changed my reading habits; I read more essays, old books, and new works that may have been self-published.

frippy

Valmont wrote: »

Additionally, there are so many good books, essays, articles, or out-of-print books that you cannot buy except at great expense; with the Kindle all you need to do is download the free (mostly) .EPUB files, convert them in Calibre and drag them onto your Kindle. This is how the Kindle has changed my reading habits; I read more essays, old books, and new works that may have been self-published.

Same for me.

Best purchase I have ever made.

CeannRua

I read a lot more now with the Kindle and finally finished A Suitable Boy about a decade after buying the paperback. I'm reading a lot more out of copyright stuff as well. The Kindle is great for travelling; you don't have to bring that 'just in case' book. It's great as well when you don't live near a decent bookshop. I listen to audiobooks driving a bit as well so use Audible and plug the Kindle into the car speakers. Much less fiddly than cds. I've given up browsing in bookshops though. Miss this but I probably choose better books after reading around them online.

greenbicycle

I love my kindle, i really didnt want one and was against this new technology that was going to rob me of the look and feel and smell of a good book but then santa brought one to me three years ago and i havent year ed after a real book since. I do sometimes buy a hard back copy of books i love and consider books for life however.

Like someone else on this thread having the kindle has made me buy way more books because they are so cheap but it has also made me a bit careless and i just click away buying book after book with little thorough consideration for what I am actually buying, i have acquired an attitude of "sure if i dont like it i will just stop reading it and move on to the next book" and i have done that countless times. But i have also gone back to books more easily too, probably because they are more accessible.

Lastly, i know have far more room in my house, i always found it hard to get rid of books i had read and finished with, even ones i didn't like. Now its just not an issue, i keep all books but they don't take up any space.

Kindles are brilliant, don't think about how it will change you just let it happen....

Mars Bar

For me it did. I read less than I did.

If I was to get a kindle again, I'd get one that isn't a tablet like the Fire I have now. The internet is way too distracting.
It's backlit so I now read in the dark. I turn the backlight down fairly low and I just drift off to sleep as I read. No tossing and turning to turn off the beside lamp or anything. I don't mind that coz I'm getting more sleep.

I couldn't live without my Paperwhite. It's convenient, cost-effective, much easier on the eyes than a tablet, you can acquire a book you're interested in within 2 minutes, you can read in bed with the light off, you can fit thousands of books in your pocket, you don't use your baggage allowance on filling a suitcase with books for a holiday, classics that weigh a ton in paper weigh nothing but grams, you can sync across devices (I keep one in my bag and one by the bed) so you're always on the same page, Amazon customer service is fantastic if you've any issues, and what you spend on the device you save in a few months on book prices if you're an avid reader.

And I was slow to convert, I actually hated the idea of a Kindle. Because of the Kindle I read more than ever.

The one and only downside is it doesn't smell like a book, but I got over that!

rainemac

I don't think owning a kindle has changed my reading habits that much, I'll get a burst of using the kindle for reading a few books and then not use it for 6 months but would have been reading paperbacks. I love love love browsing books shops so a kindle could never change that but I would also order books online, so I still use a variety of methods to get my hands on books, The best thing about a kindle is say on a bank holiday weekend / at christmas time, and you hear about a book you really want and want to start it right away, theres no hanging around, or when you finish the first book of a series at 10pm and want to keep reading into the 2nd book, its just a click or 2 and you have it.

echo beach

The best advice I got on the subject was, 'if you love books stick with them but if you love reading get an e-reader.'
I love books so I still browse in bookshops and buy far too many but I also love reading and wouldn't be without my kindle. Most of my reading on the kindle (usually non-fiction, hard to get books and free or dirt cheap ones) is in addition to my normal paper book reading, not instead of it.

ixoy

I read more. It's cheaper and it's far more convenient so it also means I can rotate books around and not just read one book at the same time.
It's also introduced me to new authors who didn't start down the traditional publishing route (and a number of whom have gotten great success from having the Kindle as a platform from which to display their talent).
The downside initially was buying books that were just cheap but not ones I wanted (this was also due to being stuck at first with a pretty limited selection on Amazon US before they let us use the far greater range of the UK store). I've stopped that now and am happily purchasing titles at lower prices and getting them even quicker than I would have otherwise.

scriba

I have to say I was unsure of how I'd take to a Kindle before I got bought one earlier this year. It's definitely changed my reading habits, probably for the better. I find I'm much more likely to bring it in a bag than I would a book. I end up reading everywhere with it.

I normally try to keep a maximum of two to three books on it, to keep my reading somewhat focused. Before the Kindle, I used to like switching my reading two or three books (like a fiction, non-fiction and maybe an old favourite), so that hasn't changed.

In short, I love it.

lazeedaisy

I love my kindle, am on my second, since getting a gift of one years ago. I remember thinking how I did not need one,

I love it, love the act that you could be browsing for books and buy them immediately.

I have recently gone part time in work and have lots of time on my hands and have since joined my local library. They don't do e books, but I juggle between audio books, kindle books and paper books for the hell of it.

We both own kindles and have always been big readers, I get a kick out of the discussion forums on kindle daily for free books, I now read outside my zone by reading free books and love the challenges of it,

The pricing structures can be weird, occasionally you will nearly pay as much for a printed version, but mostly reading is cheaper.

I used to commute for hours every day and where the kindle came into itself was when you finished one book, you could start another without lugging them around,

You will rise to the challenge ad enjoy it,

lazeedaisy

My kindle currently has 800 books on it,

After reading above it seems overkill, but they don't weigh anymore

Mars Bar

I'd love my Kindle more if there was the option to categorise books in folders

echo beach

An interesting article discussing the differences in how people read on paper or from e-readers.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/53d3096a-f792-11e3-90fa-00144feabdc0.html

Outkast_IRE

Mars Bar wrote: »

I'd love my Kindle more if there was the option to categorise books in folders

There sort of is you can create collections, name them and place whatever books you want in that folder, that way on the homepage on the screen it displays folders/collections first then books that arent in collections

Mars Bar

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

There sort of is you can create collections, name them and place whatever books you want in that folder, that way on the homepage on the screen it displays folders/collections first then books that arent in collections

On the Kindle Fire?

Outkast_IRE

Mars Bar wrote: »

On the Kindle Fire?

Getting a kindle fire for christmas, but from the quick look i had at my one i didnt see any obvious option for it, i was talking about the kindle e-readers.

dudara

I don't have a Kindle, but used to have a Barnes & Noble nook, which I rooted and installed the Kindle app. I then received an iPad mini for Christmas last year and again installed the Kindle app.

I definitely read more, and I love the fact that I can get issues of specialist magazines using the Newsstand app. I still buy physical books too, but only ones that I want to keep forever. All the "filler" books that I had creaking on the shelves are now read on Kindle.

The iPad is in my handbag every day and I read anywhere I can. Plus I love the fact that I can have a book in two minutes, if I so want.

Strangely, I can organise books into collections on both the Kindle app on my tablet and on my Paperwhite, but not on my Kindle Fire.

I'd advise anyone thinking of buying a Fire to consider another Android tablet instead; the Fire is just a shopfront for Amazon with many limitations and the Kindle android app is superior to the experience on the Fire as you can organise properly. For reading alone the Paperwhite is vastly superior to any tablet.

Mars Bar

Candie wrote: »

Strangely, I can organise books into collections on both the Kindle app on my tablet and on my Paperwhite, but not on my Kindle Fire.

I'd advise anyone thinking of buying a Fire to consider another Android tablet instead; the Fire is just a shopfront for Amazon with many limitations and the Kindle android app is superior to the experience on the Fire as you can organise properly. For reading alone the Paperwhite is vastly superior to any tablet.

I agree with this. I wouldn't get a fire again. I'd get a paperwhite or go all out on a really good tablet and install the app. I do love my Kindle though.

OakeyDokey

I was skeptical at first but I do love my Kindle. I am on my second one after receiving the Paperwhite version for my birthday it's awesome and I can read with the lamp off

It has made me read more to be honest, I love the integration with Goodreads.com I use that a lot as well. I have discovered more authors from having one. When you way up how cost effective and the general convenience of it it then it makes so much sense.

I still have my library card for when I want the old paper book experience

gutenberg

I have one and I love it. Like others I was sceptical at first, but I have been converted over the past year or so. I just have one of the bog-standard e-readers (not a Paperwhite or the Fire), but I find it easy to read on and it doesn't strain my eyes at all. Where it really shines is when going on holiday, or any situation where bringing a lot of books is impractical. On holidays, I could read almost a book a day, depending on the kind of holiday it is & how long the books are, and having all of them on one small device is amazing. I usually do a big shop beforehand and download them all once, but it's nice knowing I can also hook it up to wi-fi and have more books at my disposal that way. Having moved house three times in the last 4 years (life of a postgraduate student!), it's also great not to have to cart tons of fiction books around each time I move, or give them away to charity. I do still feel tempted to buy physical copies, but I can usually resist!

In terms of reading habits, I don't know if that has fundamentally changed. I would perhaps tackle longer books via the Kindle, whereas I would perhaps be put off with the physical volume, even just for portability reasons. For example, I read Eleanor Catton's The Luminaries via Kindle, and while I knew it was a long book, having seen the actual book in shops, I couldn't believe how big it was! I would probably only have read it when I was at home, whereas with the Kindle, I brought it with me everywhere and thus stayed interested and finished it much quicker.

apieceofcake

Am thinking of getting a Kindle/e-reader at some stage, but the fact that you're looking at a screen is kinda off-putting.

I work at a computer all day, so the last thing I want to do when I come home is to turn on another device for reading.

Reading is what I do to relax and it doesn't sound very relaxing to be honest.

However, the ease of access to new authors and new books immediately is very appealing.

gutenberg

apieceofcake wrote: »

Am thinking of getting a Kindle/e-reader at some stage, but the fact that you're looking at a screen is kinda off-putting.

I work at a computer all day, so the last thing I want to do when I come home is to turn on another device for reading.

Reading is what I do to relax and it doesn't sound very relaxing to be honest.

However, the ease of access to new authors and new books immediately is very appealing.

With mine, it doesn't feel like a screen. As I said in my earlier posts, I have one of the non-fancy ones, so it's not backlit, so no strain on the eyes. I also work at a computer a lot, and I also read a lot (I'm a student as I said), but I don't find the Kindle off-putting for 'relaxation' reading.

ivytwine

I tend to rotate between the Kindle and physical books. I'm sad to say the only sufferer in my reading rotation has been the library, especially since I moved up to Dublin. The fact that the library isn't near me and I have two weeks to get the books back leads to the library being the one to suffer. I'd rather buy something for a couple of dollars (as an aside, does anyone else find that the price being in dollars lead them to thinking "wow that's so cheap?!")

I still buy physical books (WAY too much!) but they tend to be things I want to keep now. I'd use the Kindle for something throwaway which I probably won't read again.

The weight thing is a massive plus too, ever since I got it I'd always use it for travelling.

It was a present for me too and I was a bit unsure about it at first, but I'm a convert!

Jimmy Iovine

I got a Kindle from my Dad and a cd from his friend with 1,300 books on it. I spent a good two hours deleting ones that I'll never read (Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, etc.) and organising them into collections of authors. I've a lot more work ahead to get rid of the rest that I don't want.

I literally just started reading a paper copy of "For Whom The Bell Tolls" and I think I'll continue with it. When I finish, I'll go on with the Kindle. I'm excited.

boobar

I love my Kindle, I've had it for 3 years.

I got the first one with the keyboard. Great for travelling and very handy to fit in a coat pocket.

I browse online now rather than in a bookstore. I still occasionally read paper books that I borrow from the library.

I would say that I read a lot more now because if my Kindle. I'd be lost without it.

Ferriter

I love the small physical library that has evolved over the years. It's rather haphazard. They are books that meant something to me as a teenager - dreadful Stephen King and great Stephen King. Angst ridden student phase - from Marx through Friedman. Tackled many of the 'difficult books' at that stage as well. The young mind is a fountain. It reads; not sure it's fully understood. Kafka, much of Joyce, and all of Kant are authors who remain beyond me. I must learn to accept my limitations.

Amazon is great for hearing or reading about a book, before deciding to buy it. It's very spontaneous. I like my wee Kindle collection. You can't read the Kindle in the bath though. Or put it on a shelf with a bookmark. Or make it really tangible.

I think Bezos first tackled an industry that will last far longer than the other industries he has tackled. The feel of a good book good. Cracking back the page before you read. That is beyond technology. It appeals to a deeper nature.

Rabo Karabekian

It hasn't really changed my habits, although I am only a recent convert, so we'll see what happens.

On the positive, it's great for travelling and for getting out of copyright books for free. Negatives (for me) is the cost of buying any books still in copyright (I use the library a lot, so pretty much all hard physical books are free), it's very annoying if you forget to charge and it runs out (might not be an issue for someone who uses it more, though) and compatibility issues.

I use it when it suits and it's grand, but I still read and prefer a physical book.

cookiecakes

I resisted getting one for years but had to give in last Christmas. We bought a house last year and there just seems to be books everywhere! I'll still buy physical books I really want like the recent Amy Poehler one but for stuff I'm not sure about, I'll put them on my kindle. I've already read more so far this year than I had at the same point last year and I just can't get over how cheap everything is for it! I was never really a library user so I'm used to handing over 15 or 20 euro for a new hardcover. Am so happy I finally gave in!

writerful

Jumping on the kindle bandwagon when they were first launched has changed my reading habits. I read a lot more books not to mention revisiting all those classics that are freely available as well as pushing long articles to my device which I may have given up less than half way through because of the strain of reading such articles on a computer screen.

Vernonymous

It changed my reading habits. I more books compare before in buying a hardcopy

FaulknersFav

I bought one a month ago. About two years ago I was given a present of one but balked at the idea of using a "gadget" to replace my favourite things in the world and returned. I recently joined a book-club and decided to invest as it would be a convenient means of fulfilling the book-club obligations. I am loving it so far. The ease of access to materials that would otherwise be only readable to me on a computer screen is great. For instance collections of essays that are out of print are easily obtained in pdf. But I'm doing a PhD and spend enough awful hours glaring at this godawful screen that to do read them on a computer when I want to relax is a paradox I wish to avoid. I bought the basic kindle and the screen is great. It's most definitely more gentle on the eyes then a monitor. It will never replace books as the main source of my reading, I love the feel of and feeling I get from a new copy of something too much, but I'm definitely happy with the purchase.

crybaby

Getting a Kindle has made me read a lot more due to the easiness of getting books either free online or paying through amazon.

It is without a doubt the best present I have ever gotten - incredible battery life, still intact after being thrown around by a 2 year old and doesn't have any bothers with connecting to wi-fi.

Donal55

I have a kindle which I'm perfectly happy with for reading books, however as an avid magazine reader,the paper kind, I'm contemplating buying a Kindle Fire 8 for reading them from now on.

I use the Zinio/library app plus Issuu every now and again on my phone and I'm quite happy with it, however the font and pages are too small and I need something better.

Is the Kindle Fire the way to go or should I invest in a tablet?
Thanks.

Wyldwood

Donal55 wrote: »

I have a kindle which I'm perfectly happy with for reading books, however as an avid magazine reader,the paper kind, I'm contemplating buying a Kindle Fire 8 for reading them from now on.

I use the Zinio/library app plus Issuu every now and again on my phone and I'm quite happy with it, however the font and pages are too small and I need something better.

Is the Kindle Fire the way to go or should I invest in a tablet?
Thanks.

I have a Kindle Paperwhite but, as I'm a huge library user, also bought a Fire last year to use for the library online services, both magazines (Zinio) and ebooks. It's perfect for that and as it has blue light shading this makes reading easier on the eyes especially at night. However, if you also want to do a lot of internet searching maybe a tablet might be better as the Silk browser on the Fire, while adequate, is basic. Unlike the Kindle neither the tablet nor the Fire is great for reading in sunlight though.

Donal55

Wyldwood wrote: »

I have a Kindle Paperwhite but, as I'm a huge library user, also bought a Fire last year to use for the library online services, both magazines (Zinio) and ebooks. It's perfect for that and as it has blue light shading this makes reading easier on the eyes especially at night. However, if you also want to do a lot of internet searching maybe a tablet might be better as the Silk browser on the Fire, while adequate, is basic. Unlike the Kindle neither the tablet nor the Fire is great for reading in sunlight though.

Thanks for that. I think I'll go with the Kindle fire, between the 'phone and the laptop I've enough devices for browsing the internet.
I think its time I did more reading.😀

Spanish Eyes

I wouldn't be without it for anyone. It has increased my reading completely. I can have a few books on the go at the same time in the one place. I can read in blazing sunshine when on hols. I go a bit mad on Amazon though. Buy one, buy the lot!