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Thread: Features - QOTW: What do you think of e-book readers?

  1. #17
    Mostly Me Lucio's Avatar
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    Re: Features - QOTW: What do you think of e-book readers?

    I don't own a dedicated eReader as my smartphone's app has been sufficient for my need for books on thw go. I'll admit to prefering having electronic copies of my books due to space constraints but then I've happily owned digital goods for most of my adult life.

    Yes, real books do look better, and have a presence but it's that very presence which not only inflates the cost but also means eventually having to decide between keeping the book and passing it on to get new books. With a digital file, the storage is simplified for me.

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    Re: Features - QOTW: What do you think of e-book readers?

    Hmm, good question. I've got a Kindle (the one before the "paperwhite" one) in a personalized KleverCase (so it actually looks like a copy of The Odyssey) and got 90 or so titles on it - most of which were (ahem) transferred from the old Palm eReader format via Calibre, (a requirement because Barnes&Noble - who bought eReader - stopped offering those books to non-US residents). The reason I have so many books is that I'm one of those kinds of people who will happily read a good book more than once.

    On the other hand I've also got a large library of paperbacks - there's something about a "real" book that still appeals to me - although access via the Kindle is a heck of a lot more convenient for novels.

    Someone I know made the point that the Kindle app is a good place to put books you wouldn't necessarily want lying around for the kids to see whether that be the One Direction autobiography or Fifty Shades of Grey (I own neither btw) since you can password protect on most devices.

    One place where I'm less than impressed with e-book readers is for reference works. Yes, O'Reilly does some cracking deals, but the electronic format is less "accessible" than a paper version to me - although a desktop reader is perhaps better than the portable version in this case. My Perl reference etc is still a dog-eared paperback with lots of Postits!

    In short, there's a place for both as far as I'm concerned.

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    Re: Features - QOTW: What do you think of e-book readers?

    Loving my Kindle Paperwhite. Space saver and excellent battery life. Never run out of literature when away from home which was an occasional problem.

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    Re: Features - QOTW: What do you think of e-book readers?

    I see their uses, but I don't & wouldn't have one; mostly for the reasons already mentioned, such as not being to flip back (which I often do even with novels etc), the types of book it can't replace (large format art/illustrated books for example), love of physical books (there goes owning a first edition, or keeping a collection together, & all the associative stuff that goes with books, where you bought it etc) & general dislike of the homogenising of something where the mix of dirt cheap & valuable, as Saracen says, is a part of its appeal for me.
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    Re: Features - QOTW: What do you think of e-book readers?

    I am a heavy reader and go through 5-7 books a week (retired). Half and half fiction and non-fiction. Fiction books I read mostly on the Paperwhite 2 (just finished Pines last night for instance on the Amazon reader). The Paperwhite 2 is the best e-reader out of the 5 or 6 that I have owned and is highly recommended. For non-fiction, I depend mostly on the library for books with lots of illustrations or photos as the e-reader is useless for that kind of material. I get a ton of e-books by nefarious means so I have a ton of reading material available to me. If I have a choice between a paperback and a e-book, e-book is always the right choice. Hardcovers from the library are a little more iffy, Big, heavy books are a pain (literally) and I will use the e-book reader for anything over 150 pages. I can easily see going all digital once the displays can handle in e-ink photos and illustrations with high enough resolution to be readable. Textbooks and Magazines can only be read on my 27 inch IPS monitor unfortunately. Eventually, they too will be digital when a high enough resolution screen is fitted to a 13 inch tablet.

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    Re: Features - QOTW: What do you think of e-book readers?

    I love my books, and I love seeing what others are reading. A bookcase in someones living room or hall is always a point of interest for me, and always a good conversation point. However for day to day general reading, commuting and holidays, my kindle goes with me everywhere. Love it lots.

    I do need a new one tho, took the last one to a book signing....
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    Re: Features - QOTW: What do you think of e-book readers?

    happy for mine, i nicked my missus, and she had to go buy me one since she could not get to hers

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    Re: Features - QOTW: What do you think of e-book readers?

    I was wary of them until I picked up my brother old kindle. Had to say I was mighty impressed with it and was very natural. Don't really have the need for one myself but if I was going to go on a reading spree away from home, I would certainly consider getting one.
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    Re: Features - QOTW: What do you think of e-book readers?

    Didn't really catch on for me but then again I don't do much reading nowadays My wife loves hers though. Can't cope without out. Had to go out an buy one straight away when her 1st gen Kindle died!
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    Re: Features - QOTW: What do you think of e-book readers?

    Loved my Kobo Touch till the screen died. Not gotten around to replacing it since, but will do when funds allow as it is much better than my tablet for reading on. Better battery life, no issue with sunligt etc.
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  11. #27
    Senior Member kopite's Avatar
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    Re: Features - QOTW: What do you think of e-book readers?

    I bought one for an ex a few years ago. We split up before I gave it to her so I kept it for myself.

    Prior to that I thought they where pointless, I love owning a physical book so why would I want a cold piece of tech to replace the feeling of pages.

    I used it on a holiday and since then am on my third kindle(my mum 'borrowed' the original when she went on holiday and then I wanted a paperwhite so gave my second to father in law.)

    I now tend to have a physical book on the go at home and use the kindle to read books when I'm out or its late at night and the missus is asleep.

    I use the kindle as well for text books (I have the programming python book which is 1632 pages and is big enough to beat an elephant to death!) So being able to carry all the text books I need on the device instead of lugging around a tree's worth of paper is great

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    Re: Features - QOTW: What do you think of e-book readers?

    I've got a £69 Kindle (although it's the previous model and cost me £99) and I tend to read most of my books on it now- especially the doorstop sci fi and fantasy that it's to much effort to lug about. With the wifi turned off, it goes forever between charges and gives my eyes a break from computer/tablet screens. Used to have a Sony PRS-300 a loooooooooong time ago but the library size eventually led me to Amazon.

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    Re: Features - QOTW: What do you think of e-book readers?

    Pro for me is number of books on the device. It's especially handy when going on holiday etc, as previously mentioned. What I also find handy is that if I'm reading a book on the train on my Nexus, when I get home I can pick up my kindle and it'll sync to the same page as I finished on.

    One major con for me is that I like a Terry Pratchett book, and TP likes a footnote. Having to click on the footnote link to be taken to the page of footnotes, then navigate back to where you were is a PITA. So for most books, I would go Kindle, for TP and those with footnotes, actual book every time.

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    Re: Features - QOTW: What do you think of e-book readers?

    Quote Originally Posted by Smudger View Post
    One major con for me is that I like a Terry Pratchett book, and TP likes a footnote. Having to click on the footnote link to be taken to the page of footnotes, then navigate back to where you were is a PITA. So for most books, I would go Kindle, for TP and those with footnotes, actual book every time.
    The latest software on the paperwhites deals with the footnote issue, when you click on one it comes up in a popup now, it makes his books far more kindle-friendly now.

    While I am happy to use the kindle app on my phone or tablet at times, I much prefer reading on an actual kindle as it has just the right balance of size and weight to make it ideal for reading a lot.

    I am always slightly bemused at people who worry more about the container rather than the content when it comes to novels with their paper fetishism, I am paying for the words not how they are delivered to me.

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    Re: Features - QOTW: What do you think of e-book readers?

    I would rather have a proper book, especially when ebooks are the same price or more expensive than a physical book. You can pick up a book, as good as new from a charity shop for around a quid, sometimes even less.

    The ad for the Kindle Paperwhite on the tv really gets me. Up to 8 weeks battery life. What a load of crap. When i get into a book that I really enjoy I spend more than half an hour a day reading it!!

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    Re: Features - QOTW: What do you think of e-book readers?

    Quote Originally Posted by Crowl View Post
    The latest software on the paperwhites deals with the footnote issue, when you click on one it comes up in a popup now, it makes his books far more kindle-friendly now.

    While I am happy to use the kindle app on my phone or tablet at times, I much prefer reading on an actual kindle as it has just the right balance of size and weight to make it ideal for reading a lot.

    I am always slightly bemused at people who worry more about the container rather than the content when it comes to novels with their paper fetishism, I am paying for the words not how they are delivered to me.
    Ah right, my Touch doesn't have that function. I'd have thought the Kindle App would have though...

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