Community Chat

[glmama]

Does anyone else remember that when the idea of online reading first appeared (or ebooks or whatever) that part of the discussion was always about how much less expensive the books could be??? Well, I know that this is not the case with the Kindle. And that most books are only, maybe, $1 or so less expensive than an actual hardcover or p-back book. I DO know that there are many books that are FREE (like some of the classics) AND that by being able to read sample chapters (not just a blurb on the inside jacket or back cover) one would probably make different choices about what they're reading. Bringing less books into their lives and more reading, if you will.

I know for me that I have purchased books that I end up not reading. It just happens. For whatever reason either I cannot get into them or I put them aside and forget that I have them. Embarrassed to admit this, but it's the truth.

[chrystaltree]

I'm an avid reader too, I read about 75 books a year. I often have two going at the same time. A "commuter" book and my "home" book. I loved my Kindle from day 1; there was no adjustment period at all. I started reading and my immediate reaction was "where have you been all my life???". I did miss going to my favorite book stores. For a while I did miss walking up and down the aisles, sampling books, looking for new authors. But I got over that pretty fast! lol Good thing too because those bookstores both went out of business. However, my Kindle reading experiences isn't all champagne and roses. I love the free books, I love borrowing books. I like magazines too and my adjustment to reading magazines on my Kindle has not gone smoothly. I like relaxing with a magazine and flipping from page to page. Magazine reading is very interactive on Kindle, there's a lot of "hidden" content and I often end up somewhere I didn't want to go and I either forget to go back to the article I was reading or I don't know how to get back. I'm technologically challenged. I really don't like the videos and the shopping sites and all that stuff. So, just a week or so ago, I decided that I'm not going to read my magazines on my Kindle. I'm going old school, I'm going to buy and read real magazines. I'll enjoy that much more.

[glmama]

Chrystaltree-Thanks so much for your reply and opinion. Ok. This is the year, ladies! Perhaps for Christmas? Or I'll start talking to the DH early about it.

While I love a magazine (my DH might say that I'm addicted to some), I do agree that online it is a tough one. I like the old-school magazine, with real pages. And content that you're ready for and want to read. I always say to my DH that the internet is like a "rabbit hole"--you can easily get s*cked down and be somewhere else other than where you intended. I'm not talking about racy content, I'm just talking about other content. Stuff you don't want to read or ads or whatever. So I would guess that I would do the same, chrystal!

[shamalamadingdong4]

I bought my Kindle about a year ago and ordered the very cheapest one because I wasn't sure if I would like it. Now it's about all I use. Like other posters said, I can carry around a whole library in a small device. It's light, portable and easy to use. I've been thinking about getting a Paperwhite. I know it's backlit, but are there other advantages to it?

[glmama]

On 8/26/2014 shamalamadingdong4 said: I bought my Kindle about a year ago and ordered the very cheapest one because I wasn't sure if I would like it. Now it's about all I use. Like other posters said, I can carry around a whole library in a small device. It's light, portable and easy to use. I've been thinking about getting a Paperwhite. I know it's backlit, but are there other advantages to it?

Thank you, shama (btw, love your username I hope someone else will chime in about the Paperwhite.

[sunala]

I used to keep a load of library books in the house. My average was 30-35 books, which took up a huge corner of my bedroom. I'm now down to about 10 library books, and the rest are on my Kindle.

No I never thought I'd love the Kindle as much as I do. My library has an ebook system in our county, and there are zillions of books to choose from. If they're not there, you can recommend books, and they will try to get them. I use my husband's library account too, so I get double the books now. On each account you can have 5 books with a 2-week lending period, so that gives me 10 books at a time. These are really good, new books.

I got my Keyboard Kindle exactly two years ago, and my 2-year extended warranty is just running out on September 3. Like shamalamadingdong, I'd also love a Paperwhite, but I'm holding off because I've heard some buzz that a new Paperwhite is coming out. I'm not sure if it's true but I can certainly wait and see.

Shamala I don't know the difference between a Paperwhite and an older Kindle, except for the backlight.

Does anyone know if you get a new Kindle, do you have to manually move every book on your old Kindle to the new, or is there an automatic way to do it? I'm ashamed to say I've got over 500 books on the Kindle that I own (99% of them were free from Amazon). The thought of moving them all doesn't make me happy!

Any help would be appreciated.

[chiclet]

I am 63 and never thought I could get used to a kindle but made the plunge last November and never looked back. I love that you don't need lighting and can adjust the font size. But mostly I can find books from authors I had never heard of before. Before kindle I would try to find books to read from the library and flea markets etc. and it was time consuming and frustrating. Buying books can get costly unless you go to a used book store and still can get costly. Most of the kindle books I have read are free on Amazon. I love it. Also don't have to return books or load up and donate the books that are stacking up and taking space.

I cannot find a negative thing about a kindle except that maybe libraries may become extinct some day.

[lovescats]

On 8/29/2014 sunala said:

Shamala I don't know the difference between a Paperwhite and an older Kindle, except for the backlight.

Does anyone know if you get a new Kindle, do you have to manually move every book on your old Kindle to the new, or is there an automatic way to do it? I'm ashamed to say I've got over 500 books on the Kindle that I own (99% of them were free from Amazon). The thought of moving them all doesn't make me happy!

Any help would be appreciated.

Sunala you don't have to move all the books manually if you get a paperwhite on the home screen it will show cloud / device . If you start reading a book on the cloud ( which would be on the cloud or your other kindle ) it will download the book to the paperwhite. On my paperwhite if I select on device its says 289 and for on cloud over 500. It shows all the titles of each. I think a keyboard paperwhite would be the ideal kindle.

I always feel people are missing something when they say they were given a kindle for a gift and never use it or give it away.

To Tsukiko (post 67) that's how I feel about my keyboard kindle even though I read mostly on the paperwhite now. Also I have the small kindle fire and while I like it I wouldn't buy it again because I bought an Ipad mini on sale for 199.00 and I think it is a lot better. I don't read on the ipad but I have the kindle, nook, and audible apps. The fire is just too tied to amazon. Plus now for the ipad you can get the chrome browser.

[smoky22]

On 8/29/2014 sunala said:

No I never thought I'd love the Kindle as much as I do. My library has an ebook system in our county, and there are zillions of books to choose from. If they're not there, you can recommend books, and they will try to get them. I use my husband's library account too, so I get double the books now. On each account you can have 5 books with a 2-week lending period, so that gives me 10 books at a time. These are really good, new books.

Does anyone know if you get a new Kindle, do you have to manually move every book on your old Kindle to the new, or is there an automatic way to do it? I'm ashamed to say I've got over 500 books on the Kindle that I own (99% of them were free from Amazon). The thought of moving them all doesn't make me happy!

Any help would be appreciated.

Sunny, as lovescats mentioned, all your Kindle books are on the Kindle Cloud and you can bring them down to your physical device(s) whenever you want.

I wanted to address your comment about how long you can keep books from your e-library. I was surprised when you said you could only keep them for two weeks. I think there might be an option for "Settings" on your e-library site and you can change the lending period. On my site I can choose from 1, 2, or 3 weeks. I'm sure all libraries are different, but maybe this is an option you've never noticed. I keep learning new things all the time.

[sunala]

On 8/30/2014 smokymtngal said:

On 8/29/2014 sunala said:

No I never thought I'd love the Kindle as much as I do. My library has an ebook system in our county, and there are zillions of books to choose from. If they're not there, you can recommend books, and they will try to get them. I use my husband's library account too, so I get double the books now. On each account you can have 5 books with a 2-week lending period, so that gives me 10 books at a time. These are really good, new books.

Does anyone know if you get a new Kindle, do you have to manually move every book on your old Kindle to the new, or is there an automatic way to do it? I'm ashamed to say I've got over 500 books on the Kindle that I own (99% of them were free from Amazon). The thought of moving them all doesn't make me happy!

Any help would be appreciated.

Sunny, as lovescats mentioned, all your Kindle books are on the Kindle Cloud and you can bring them down to your physical device(s) whenever you want.

I wanted to address your comment about how long you can keep books from your e-library. I was surprised when you said you could only keep them for two weeks. I think there might be an option for "Settings" on your e-library site and you can change the lending period. On my site I can choose from 1, 2, or 3 weeks. I'm sure all libraries are different, but maybe this is an option you've never noticed. I keep learning new things all the time.

smokymtngal, even thought I've had the Kindle Keyboard for 2 years, I still run into problems. My Kindle doesn't say cloud, but it does say "Archived items." I'm "assuming" that's the same thing. I know I can look on Amazon and see every book my Kindle holds, but I'm still not sure about the "cloud."

My library does have a choice of length of borrowing time. It's either one week or two weeks. Two weeks is the longest. It's fine, believe me. I've got ten books just from the library and I stagger them. Sometimes if the time is running out and I still want to read it, I have the option to renew it one time, as long as nobody is waiting for it. If they are, then I go on the waitlist.

I also have over 500 books that I've accumulated in the two years I own the Kindle. As I posted, 99% of them were free from the various free Kindle book websites, and a few I paid a few dollars for. There is no way I'll ever come close to reading all of them, but once I try it and I don't like it, I delete it. I don't even know if I am allowed to lend them to another person's Kindle, or give them away. Like I said, there's so much I still don't understand.

I'd still want the Paperwhite because of the light, but there's really nothing wrong with mine right now. If a sale comes up, or if a new model of the Paperwhite comes out, I'd consider it.

So many books, so little time!