Until recently, I've been totally unqualified to enter this debate, having never owned or even used a Kindle.
However, my Christmas present from my boyfriend this year was one of Amazon's finest e-readers - largely because he's fed up of me trying to cram our hold bag full of books every time we fly back out to Egypt.
I'm not going to lie, I've always been a sceptic, largely because I love books so much. Seriously, everything about books is awesome (except maybe their weight when you're limited to 20kg) - their smell, how they look on the shelf, the way a page feels when you turn it, I could go on.
That said, I can fully appreciate the practicality of a Kindle, especially when you travel or live overseas (like we do). They are amazingly portable and I decided I'd put mine to good use just as soon as possible.
Firstly, it was really easy to set up/charge/register - I was impressed by how little time I had to charge the battery for and it lasted me for almost a month - in which time I managed to get through three and a half books.
I went to visit friends in Manchester for a week and, with my Kindle in tow, had plenty of reading material for the train journey, not to mention a much lighter bag! I've also been amazed by how many free publications there are, so far I've mostly gone for some classics that I've been meaning to read for ages, but I'm sure I'll add more modern titles as time goes on.
But then we reach the point at which the Kindle stops being amazing - the price of books. Now, I know authors deserve to get their money for what they've written, I'm not disputing that, but £5 seems a lot to pay when I'm not going to have anything to physically show for it.
This is where I think their cheap 'Kindle book of the day' deals are going to come in really handy - but, let's be honest - it will probably restrict the publications I buy for my e-reader.
The bottom line is, if I want to read a book, I'm going to buy the actual book, unless it seems like a good deal. This is where I come unstuck, rather than fully embracing this highly useful piece of technology, I'll continue to fill my shelves with titles, for no better reason really than that I love having books to look at and to pick up whenever I want - or to lend.
Lending books is another problem I have with the Kindle, actually. They've added a function where you can share your books with other Kindle users, but usually only for around 2 weeks - so if you're friend isn't going to read it straight away, you're a bit screwed. It also doesn't help if you've got a monster title like War and Peace, for instance, as you're unlikely to have the time to power through it that quickly.
Although, I suppose that flags another plus point on the Kindle front - if you have a massive book, you can take it wherever you go without having to worry about its size being an obstacle.
Despite my misgivings, I've been very impressed with the Kindle and have come to love it in its own way - there's something satisfying about setting off on a long journey knowing you've got dozens of books to read and that they all fit on to one, handy device. In my current situation, it's certainly a bonus - especially if you end up with a diverted flight like I did in January and spend 9 hours sitting in Athens airport where there's very little to do except read a good book!
Is the Kindle going to replace books in my life? No, I just like owning books too much to be totally honest. Is it going to be a very useful addition to my life and fuel my reading? Most definitely.
Would I recommend it to anyone? Well, if you travel/commute and enjoy reading, I definitely think it's worth the investment and there are some great free sites out there if you want to download books without paying - like Project Gutenberg. It's always worth keeping an eye on the Amazon deals too, as you never know what you might find!
However, my Christmas present from my boyfriend this year was one of Amazon's finest e-readers - largely because he's fed up of me trying to cram our hold bag full of books every time we fly back out to Egypt.
I'm not going to lie, I've always been a sceptic, largely because I love books so much. Seriously, everything about books is awesome (except maybe their weight when you're limited to 20kg) - their smell, how they look on the shelf, the way a page feels when you turn it, I could go on.
That said, I can fully appreciate the practicality of a Kindle, especially when you travel or live overseas (like we do). They are amazingly portable and I decided I'd put mine to good use just as soon as possible.
Firstly, it was really easy to set up/charge/register - I was impressed by how little time I had to charge the battery for and it lasted me for almost a month - in which time I managed to get through three and a half books.
I went to visit friends in Manchester for a week and, with my Kindle in tow, had plenty of reading material for the train journey, not to mention a much lighter bag! I've also been amazed by how many free publications there are, so far I've mostly gone for some classics that I've been meaning to read for ages, but I'm sure I'll add more modern titles as time goes on.
But then we reach the point at which the Kindle stops being amazing - the price of books. Now, I know authors deserve to get their money for what they've written, I'm not disputing that, but £5 seems a lot to pay when I'm not going to have anything to physically show for it.
This is where I think their cheap 'Kindle book of the day' deals are going to come in really handy - but, let's be honest - it will probably restrict the publications I buy for my e-reader.
The bottom line is, if I want to read a book, I'm going to buy the actual book, unless it seems like a good deal. This is where I come unstuck, rather than fully embracing this highly useful piece of technology, I'll continue to fill my shelves with titles, for no better reason really than that I love having books to look at and to pick up whenever I want - or to lend.
Lending books is another problem I have with the Kindle, actually. They've added a function where you can share your books with other Kindle users, but usually only for around 2 weeks - so if you're friend isn't going to read it straight away, you're a bit screwed. It also doesn't help if you've got a monster title like War and Peace, for instance, as you're unlikely to have the time to power through it that quickly.
Although, I suppose that flags another plus point on the Kindle front - if you have a massive book, you can take it wherever you go without having to worry about its size being an obstacle.
Despite my misgivings, I've been very impressed with the Kindle and have come to love it in its own way - there's something satisfying about setting off on a long journey knowing you've got dozens of books to read and that they all fit on to one, handy device. In my current situation, it's certainly a bonus - especially if you end up with a diverted flight like I did in January and spend 9 hours sitting in Athens airport where there's very little to do except read a good book!
Is the Kindle going to replace books in my life? No, I just like owning books too much to be totally honest. Is it going to be a very useful addition to my life and fuel my reading? Most definitely.
Would I recommend it to anyone? Well, if you travel/commute and enjoy reading, I definitely think it's worth the investment and there are some great free sites out there if you want to download books without paying - like Project Gutenberg. It's always worth keeping an eye on the Amazon deals too, as you never know what you might find!
Good blog. I followed the link from our mutual friend The Very Hungry Baker's link.
ReplyDeleteI was bought a Kindle for my birthday last year. I'd resisted the idea for ages as well - I don't like proprietary brands that force you into only buying their own format (see also iTunes/Apple), I like open source, portable content, and modifiable kit. I also had a big fall out with Amazon when they ditched the Royal Mail in favour of other postal couriers instead of showing solidarity with the striking postal workers a while ago. But when we went to look at e-Readers, the Kindle won out on its user interface and the quality of the display. Generally speaking I love my Kindle for all the same reasons you do. The things I don't like are the way I can't borrow e-Books from the library to read on it, I can't buy (or be bought) Kindle books as gifts, and the lending thing is pointless in most cases - talk about pressure!
The best thing about my Kindle is its portability for when I'm travelling. We're off to Japan again soon, and I've got a bag full of books on my Kindle ready for the 14 hour flight.
Thanks for the feedback - I have to agree the Kindle is invaluable when you're travelling. If I'd had one of these when I went backpacking a few years ago, it would have made my long flights and bus rides a lot more interesting!
DeleteI went through exactly what you describe in your blog post, and then I slowly became an e-book only reader. Well, almost. So it might still happen to you.
ReplyDeleteWhat won me over was Whispersync. I take the time to read on my Kindle, but like to pick it up on my phone or a tablet every now and then. I like how Kindle tracks my position in the book, as well as let me keep notes that are accessible from all sorts of devices, including my web browser. For me, that means not losing notes, in addition to not having to worry about book access, ever.
And so recently, when someone recommended a book to me, I let it go. There wasn't an e-book available. The only books I'd be willing to buy physically are the ones with special/good design.
Time will tell whether I will reach the e-book only stage! I think my problem is that I'm a bit of a hoarder and I'm not sure I'll manage to beat that out of myself - even with a Kindle!
DeleteI have to admit I passed on a couple of e-books recently because the Kindle versions were more expensive than the actual books - that seemed backwards to me - so I have to admit I bought the books instead... although as I'm in Egypt and they're in the UK, I'll be waiting a few months to get my hands on them!