[Gaz]

Without exaggerating, I have close to a couple of thousand books. They take up about five bookcases at my mum and dad's and I don't have the space to store them!

I've been thinking of getting a Kindle for various reasons:

If I was able to find PDF or Kindle versions of my books I could store them all on that and then could sell the books, probably make a wee bit profit and free up a LOT of space.

I could use it for my Uni textbooks, as they'll probably cost shy on £40 each this semester anyway.

Does anyone have one? What do you think of it? And are there recommended ways or sites to acquire books?

Thanks for any responses.

[Mr X]

Gaz, on 02 September 2010 - 10:20, said:

Without exaggerating, I have close to a couple of thousand books. They take up about five bookcases at my mum and dad's and I don't have the space to store them!

I've been thinking of getting a Kindle for various reasons:

If I was able to find PDF or Kindle versions of my books I could store them all on that and then could sell the books, probably make a wee bit profit and free up a LOT of space.

I could use it for my Uni textbooks, as they'll probably cost shy on £40 each this semester anyway.

Does anyone have one? What do you think of it? And are there recommended ways or sites to acquire books?

Thanks for any responses.

I dont have a kindle device , but I do have a kindle app for my android phone, I would imagine the actual kindle device works the same way - probably, a bit more advanced to be honest.

I love it. Its really easy to use and stuff syncs with your account perfectly - I pre-orded a book that came out this morning. I fired up my Kindle app and it appeared in my book list, just like that.

Im not sure you'd be able to make much profit on your old books, as you'd probably be paying £2 up to buy the Kindle versions - the only place to buy Kindle books is on Amazons Kindle site. Plus, bear in mind that not everything is available in Kindle format

I would go have a look around the kindle site and see if the books you're looking to replace are available and at what price and, maybe more importantly, if the text books youd be looking for are there and how much - you might find you're not actually saving much buying the text book on Kindle

[forehead7]

I like it. I was shite at English while at school. Loathed reading the books for the various reports and what not required to pass the levels throughout secondary school.

I will get a better idea of how much I like the app once I get through the free books that I've downloaded. Whether my eagerness to read keeps up, I don't know. Certainly I am high on it at the moment.

[doonhamer1967]

forehead7, on 02 September 2010 - 19:25, said:

I like it. I was shite at English while at school. Loathed reading the books for the various reports and what not required to pass the levels throughout secondary school.

I will get a better idea of how much I like the app once I get through the free books that I've downloaded. Whether my eagerness to read keeps up, I don't know. Certainly I am high on it at the moment.

Any updated reviews?

[theentomologist]

its a great device. my only gripe is not having a backlit screen. so you need a light to read.

[Widge]

My mum bought one and uses it on the bus, she really likes it, like people have said the only problem is the lack of backlight, other than that it's great.

[RobRoyGuy]

Mr X, on 02 September 2010 - 11:47, said:

I dont have a kindle device , but I do have a kindle app for my android phone, I would imagine the actual kindle device works the same way - probably, a bit more advanced to be honest.

I love it. Its really easy to use and stuff syncs with your account perfectly - I pre-orded a book that came out this morning. I fired up my Kindle app and it appeared in my book list, just like that.

Im not sure you'd be able to make much profit on your old books, as you'd probably be paying £2 up to buy the Kindle versions - the only place to buy Kindle books is on Amazons Kindle site. Plus, bear in mind that not everything is available in Kindle format

I would go have a look around the kindle site and see if the books you're looking to replace are available and at what price and, maybe more importantly, if the text books youd be looking for are there and how much - you might find you're not actually saving much buying the text book on Kindle

i hav the kindle app too for my htc desire , its really good

[David W]

I got one and although I still prefer a normal book, I like it just as something easy to take on the supporter's bus.

[doulikefish]

ive got one and i think its great,saves me soo much weight when travelling,as would normally have 5 or 6 books when i go away

[weirdcal]

i use the app on my iphone ..

*cough* stanza is another good desktop app, that saves pdf's ect as AZW files ie saves as a kindle book

[Broccoli Dog]

theentomologist, on 02 April 2011 - 11:46, said:

its a great device. my only gripe is not having a backlit screen. so you need a light to read.

that's kinda the point of e-ink

[chico]

One of my workmates has one. It looks the business.

He reads Lee Child book on it.

[alimci]

I've got one and really like it, small enough to carry about and has probably encouraged me to start reading more again. There are lots of free books about both on amazon and elsewhere on the web (some of which are in different formats, but this Calibre is great for conversions). You can also download free samples from amazon to see if you like something or not. I've only once had a problem with mine (a download didn't appear) and I sent in an email asking what I should do - I got phoned 15 minutes later by amazon support who talked me through the whole thing and were very helpful.

[Lordofthewing]

I've had one since Christmas and I've still only downloaded all of the free books I could find on Amazon, and the only minor issue seems to be the amount of typos in some of them, so no real problems so far. Also, the free stuff isn't exactly poor fare (depending on your tastes, of course), and I've still to read through the likes of Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and Dracula, so all in all I'm pretty happy with it so far.

[Broccoli Dog]

http://www.gutenberg.org/

[WILLIEA]

On the strength of the recommendations on this thread I have bought one of these today. I hope you guys are right.

[Tonsilitis]

I have the Kindle app for my ipad and use it quite a lot. Unlike the Amazon Kindle it is backlit and is quite clever in that respect as you set the backlighting to what you are comfortable with once and thereafter it automatically adjusts it to whatever the lighting conditions are. The ipad is obviously much more expensive but can do so much more than a Kindle - its not just an electronic book device.

Pluses for any electronic book device are

1) ease of access in the sense of not having to physically go into a book shop to get a new book. That's not to say that I don't just love browsing through a book shop but the the nearest decent one is in Glasgow 32 miles away. I don't count W H Smith as a decent book shop!!
2) no storage problems
3) Books are a bit cheaper than paper copies

Minuses

1) I probably prefer the actual experience of reading a real book
2) Your battery can run out at inopportune times
3) I wonder if there is any possibility of damaging your eyes using these devices

This post has been edited by Tonsilitis: 26 June 2011 - 22:56

[flyingscot]

Tonsilitis, on 26 June 2011 - 22:55, said:

I have the Kindle app for my ipad and use it quite a lot. Unlike the Amazon Kindle it is backlit and is quite clever in that respect as you set the backlighting to what you are comfortable with once and thereafter it automatically adjusts it to whatever the lighting conditions are. The ipad is obviously much more expensive but can do so much more than a Kindle - its not just an electronic book device.

Pluses for any electronic book device are

1) ease of access in the sense of not having to physically go into a book shop to get a new book. That's not to say that I don't just love browsing through a book shop but the the nearest decent one is in Glasgow 32 miles away. I don't count W H Smith as a decent book shop!!
2) no storage problems
3) Books are a bit cheaper than paper copies

Minuses

1) I probably prefer the actual experience of reading a real book
2) Your battery can run out at inopportune times
3) I wonder if there is any possibility of damaging your eyes using these devices

With e-ink unlikely, but I'd imagine the iPad would have the chance of eye strain being backlit.

Plus you can read kindle on the beach or sunlounger- iPads, phones and laptops are a struggle and battery runs out on them much quicker.

[Mr X]

flyingscot, on 27 June 2011 - 01:36, said:

With e-ink unlikely, but I'd imagine the iPad would have the chance of eye strain being backlit.

Plus you can read kindle on the beach or sunlounger- iPads, phones and laptops are a struggle and battery runs out on them much quicker.

Yeah, I have the Kindle app too, but I only really read at night and sometimes first thing in the morning. If I was a bigger reader, I would definitely buy an actual Kindle, for the battery life and the e-ink screen.

[Mybitchunderprotest]

I popped along to the library again last week and by simply producing a membership card I was able to walk out with 4 books for no charge, I could have taken more but doubt I'd get through them in the allocated time although I could simply have renewed the loan.

In the past I've even been able to get a new book from them by asking them to order it in for me.

These book things can be read anywhere at all, don't require to be re-charged and by the process of switching on a light I can even read in bed when it's dark.

Because I have borrowed the book and return it when finished I don't have the storage problem the OP had although he could take a leaf from Tiny Tempahs hit song "pass out" and move his excess belongings to his "aunt's house"

Books and libraries are definitely the way forward for me.

[Tonsilitis]

flyingscot, on 27 June 2011 - 01:36, said:

With e-ink unlikely, but I'd imagine the iPad would have the chance of eye strain being backlit.

Plus you can read kindle on the beach or sunlounger- iPads, phones and laptops are a struggle and battery runs out on them much quicker.

To be honest you would not buy an iPad just to read books on it and if that is all you want, a Kindle is probably the way to go. Basically though, you are not comparing apples with apples. (Did you see what I did there? )

Essentially, I would not take any electronic device down the beach for the same reasons you should avoid sex on the beach but I have had no real problem reading the iPad screen outdoors.

[Mr X]

Mybitchunderprotest, on 27 June 2011 - 09:17, said:

I popped along to the library again last week and by simply producing a membership card I was able to walk out with 4 books for no charge, I could have taken more but doubt I'd get through them in the allocated time although I could simply have renewed the loan.

In the past I've even been able to get a new book from them by asking them to order it in for me.

These book things can be read anywhere at all, don't require to be re-charged and by the process of switching on a light I can even read in bed when it's dark.

Because I have borrowed the book and return it when finished I don't have the storage problem the OP had although he could take a leaf from Tiny Tempahs hit song "pass out" and move his excess belongings to his "aunt's house"

Books and libraries are definitely the way forward for me.

The bulkiness of your books counts against you

Tonsilitis, on 27 June 2011 - 14:44, said:

To be honest you would not buy an iPad just to read books on it and if that is all you want, a Kindle is probably the way to go. Basically though, you are not comparing apples with apples. (Did you see what I did there? )

Essentially, I would not take any electronic device down the beach for the same reasons you should avoid sex on the beach but I have had no real problem reading the iPad screen outdoors.

So why did you mention the iPad in a thread about Kindles?

This post has been edited by Mr X: 27 June 2011 - 15:04

[Tonsilitis]

Mr X, on 27 June 2011 - 15:04, said:

The bulkiness of your books counts against you


So why did you mention the iPad in a thread about Kindles?

Because it has a Kindle app

[WILLIEA]

So far so good. Easy to read and not being backlit isn't a problem.
Being able to have so many books on one slim device is a real bonus. If you've ever had to move boxes of books you will know what I mean.

[Gaz]

Mybitchunderprotest, on 27 June 2011 - 09:17, said:

I popped along to the library again last week and by simply producing a membership card I was able to walk out with 4 books for no charge, I could have taken more but doubt I'd get through them in the allocated time although I could simply have renewed the loan.

In the past I've even been able to get a new book from them by asking them to order it in for me.

These book things can be read anywhere at all, don't require to be re-charged and by the process of switching on a light I can even read in bed when it's dark.

Because I have borrowed the book and return it when finished I don't have the storage problem the OP had although he could take a leaf from Tiny Tempahs hit song "pass out" and move his excess belongings to his "aunt's house"

Books and libraries are definitely the way forward for me.

I'm not having to read books other people have flicked through whilst doing a shite.