Before AD, I read a book every two or three days. After AD, I do well to read a book a week. I buy my books, because my favorite authors have signed them for me, and also, the stories are worth re-reading. It is what I spend my entertainment money on. So, over the years, I have added new bookcases. In the den, the guest bedroom, our bedroom, and the hall. I have pared down the books several times to make room for the new ones. I now have NO MORE ROOM. It was almost to the point of buying a new home so that I could have a Library! I don't have the money for that right now!
Then I began researching the Kindle. At first, I thought no. I want to turn the pages, feel the paper, etc. Then the more I read, the more I realized that this was my answer. I could buy books at a reduced price, they would be stored forever so I can re-read them, that whenever I put it down, it saves my place automatically! It has a non-glare surface, and is lightweight. And I can prop it up and be doing other things with my hands (like eating) and not lose the page I'm on! It also has voice on some of the books, so that if you are wanting audio books, you have that option with speakers or headphones and can adjust the speed of the speaker. It also has a little light that attaches like a clothespin to the top for reading in bed. <grin>
I measured out the two sizes, and because of my vision, I wanted the hardbook size rather than the paperbook size. Most will prefer the smaller size because it fits in purses, etc.
They have some books you can download for free, and it only takes 60 seconds! You can also get newspapers, magazines, etc. as well. As I find new things it does, I'll add them here. It will definitely be accompanying me on the cruise!
I am not starting this dicussion to try to sell anyone on a Kindle, Kindle DX (or the new Barnes and Noble one), it is just I have something in my life this week that cheers me up and brings me pleasure. Since that is rare, I wanted to share!
I noticed that someone from this website bought a Kindle through my link on the home page. Was that you, Mary?
Since we moved out of our Massachusetts house, I have nowhere to keep my books. They are overflowing everywhere. I am having a "book swap" luncheon next month with some lady friends. I've thought about a Kindle, but there's something about having the real books that I'm not sure I can give up. Although I may have to - there is just no room for all of my books.
I'm with you, Mary. Before AD, I read 2-3 a week. Now I'm lucky if I do one a week.
Joan, I bought a Kindle through your page. I haven't used it much yet, because I have a lot of books here I haven't read yet. But I've been downloading those free books Mary mentioned. If I come on the cruise I will bring it along. By the way, my psychologist thinks I should come! I still need someone to share a cabin with.
I am a reader, too....always at the library and have more than enough of my own books around here. I might have to put a Kindle on my Christmas Wish List....! Thanks for the info....
My sister gave me a Kindle for my birthday in April and it's been the BEST present for me. Like the others, I thought I wanted the true "reading" experience with feeling the book in my hands, turning pages, etc. but since my dh was diagnosed with FTD I just didn't have the time to go to the bookstore or library. So now I download books, read while dh sleeps or watches TV and I now can read what I want at the rate I want. It has been wonderful for me.
I read on my iPod Touch when I am traveling. There is a Kindle application for iPhone and iPod Touch that allows downloading any Kindle book. It is a smaller screen, but a pocket-sized device and the pages turn easily. My daughter says it is great for reading under the covers after lights out.
I'm interested. Does anybody have any experience with the Barnes & Noble variant or the new Sony?
I guess what I'm waiting for is for somebody to come out with a standardized download so that competition can do its thing with the book prices. It doesn't seem logical that the price per book is still about 75% of the shelf price (this is what I've heard, I haven't checked it out on-line).
The B&N reader is not yet out, or it came out today.
At some point this is going to shake out just the way computers came down to only two operating systems from the five or six there originally were in the mid-80s, or VCRs came down to just one system. I'm probably going to get a Kindle in the early part of next year. I'm going into it the same way I went into my Commodore 64, knowing that over time I'll have to buy an updated reader.
I keep looking at them - all the shelf space they would save is a big draw, the lower price on books is too and the fact that you can download several books and go traveling (or download while traveling) and it takes very little packing space.
Starling comments about them not having a common reader is part of what bothers me. If I go with a Kindle, then I am "stuck" with whatever Amazon has. I like the larger sized one (easier on the eyes for reading) and it holds more books. Of course, it will take somewhere between 50 and 100 books before I break even between the cost and what I will save on books.
Interesting thing about the Kindle. Amazon is using a technology with them that is terrific for reading outside. Several other business are looking at that technology for things like the hand held devices.
That was my impression from what I heard. I do find it interesting that the technology used in the Kindle will be good to use on other things. Of course, that is what is advertised, seeing will be the believing.
I don't have a glare on my Kindle. I'm enjoying reading Michael Connelly latest book, "9 Dragons" which is very good. I'm stopping after work at Barnes and Noble to pick up the latest J.D. Robb (since I share my entire set of these books with friends and have a $25 gift card, I'm getting the real book!), I'll investigate the B&N version and report back later tonight! <grin>
I don't think the B&N version is out yet but I was researching it and you can "loan" your books to another B&N e-book reader for 14 days. You can't read it while you have it loaned out but you always get it back and can loan it to other friends with the same reader.
I went to Barnes and Noble on the way home from work and you are correct, Debs. The "Nook" won't be out until around 11/30 at the store, but they are taking pre-orders online. They did have a "paper" sample, and it looks good, and you will be able to loan books and if you use up your storage, you can get a USB and add more. It is the same price as the Kindle 2 and the same size, for those wanting the paperbook size. I can see more advantages to the Nook, if you loan books and your friends get one too. I just tend to wait for a while after a product comes out so that the "bugs" have been "healed" before I buy. I do love mine, and enjoy the bigger size, but that is just me!
I got a Kindle for CHristmas and I love it. Wasn't ready to buy yet but I was buying an Amazon gift card for a SIL who was getting one for Christmas from her kids and happened to mention it to my DIL over the phone. And that was all it took. I have one purchased book on it and one free book so far. I'll still buy and read paper books too (especally to be able to trade with friends) but this is a great space-saving option and I love to read it on the metro (subway) and on trains, in waiting rooms etc.
Must look into the little light that Mary mentioned earlier on this thread.
Mary, You like J.D. Robb? I've read all of her books. I never buy the book, I just wait for my daughter, who is a bigger reader than me, to buy it then she gives it to me and I give it to my sister who gives it back to me and then back to my daughter. That way my daughter has to store it.
Now I wish I could find a Roark for me. I wouldn't mind her kitchen either. If I'm wishing, I'll just take her whole house.
I LOVE my Kindle - am on my second one - dropped the first one in the bath tub while I was taking a bubble bath. It does read you the books if you wish and I use that feature to listen to fairy tales before I go to sleep. I like Beauty and the Beast and the Velveteen Rabbit best.I find that I am reading much more than I did before, don't know how the Kindle makes that difference for me, but it does.
We went to the doctor yesterday - I had my Kindle in the top of my carry bag. When the man came to park our car - my AD spouse handed him my kindle instead of the spare key I had given him to give to the man - of course, the man didn't know what to think, but I got it back.
I resisted the idea at first, but then I read that it has adjustable fonts and a built in dictionary, so you can look up a word right on it, easy as can be. It's on my birthday wish list for sure. My father can't get out to the library, and he is an avid reader, so my sister and I are considering buying him one and teaching him how to use it. Although I'm not sure at 91 years old, he will be too keen on learning it.
Joyce, if Roarke has a twin brother, you can have him......I get Roarke, and Summerset, and the autochef, and ........<grin> (Yes, the whole house and all of those cars that can fly ABOVE the traffic would be good too!) We have good taste!!! I bought the books and then I have three people who read them and return them to me. I've read them all twice now.....
I've downloaded several books that are FREE to my Kindle, as well as the latest books by my favorite authors: Julie Garwood, Jude Deveraux, Jayne Ann Krenz, Michael Crichton, and others.
I showed my friend how to download free to your computer if you have a Kindle, so that should your battery run low, or you have your computer handy but not your Kindle, you can keep reading. He didn't know about that feature.
He showed my his new Sony walkman and all the music he organized and placed on it and how easy it is to operate and get the music you want instead of random selections of what you have downloaded. It's cool too.....He chose it over the I Pod for the features he wanted. I haven't decided what I want as yet......
I see that all of Edith Wharton is free, except there is a small charge for downloading to Europe. Next time I'm in the States I'll have to remember to download lots. For some reason my wireless connnection isn't working (I've got the helpdesk staff on it) but I found it's also quite easy and quick to download books via the computer and USB cable.
A Kindle is still on my "wish" list. I keep looking at it and have for over a year now. One other item with it. You can read Kindle books on your Blackberry too. I will be needing a new cell phone soon so it looks like my choice might be a Blackberry. I am not interested in reading books on the PC after working on one all day but the Kindle or Blackberry depending on where I am - that is well worth considering.
As I think I've said, I use the iTouch - which has a free kindle app so I read books there. I read Edith Wharton and Henry Adams on the computer or on the Palm Pilot I had awhile back. They're both great. Right now I'm deep into George Eliot's Middlemarch, which I enjoy a lot, although I never liked anything else by Eliot! These are all free.. I find I just don't go up to bed without my itouch.
A lot of series - well, some anyway, have the first book free to download, then you buy others!
I am contemplating buying a Kindle and wondered if anyone likes it. Barnes and Noble now has the Nook, and I am researching which is better. I was also told that the 1st generation Kindle was better, but am wondering about it. I did download the kindle for pc application and already have several books on it, but I find that having a laptop on my chest to read not only is a bit difficult, but the heat generated is certainly not good for global warming. Do the Kindle owners and users care to comment about their experiences? I am trying to find a used one, since they are a bit expensive. I am also thinking of changing phones to a Blackberry so that I can use that for reading...but I worry about the battery life... I would probably have to carry a generator around to recharge every few hours...
Phranque, it seems to me Mary has a Kindle and is wildly enthusiastic about it. I have and iTouch on which I've read several books and enjoy its very small size, which makes it easier to manipulate into a readable position when cats are jockeying for position on my lap or chest.
For anyone who is interested in purchasing the Kindle from Amazon, here is the link that will credit this website with the sale -http://astore.amazon.com/wwwthealzheim-20/detail/B0015T963C
Phranque, I have both the original Kindle and the Kindle 2. The original Kindle allowed for an SD card so you could store your books on the card - a feature I liked very much. With the original Kindle the back would fall off rather frequently. With the Kindle 2, you do not have the SD card option but the back stays on. It took a bit of adjusting to the features of Kindle 2 vs. Kindle but I have now adjusted. I like both very much. Would not have purchased Kindle 2 but DH threw the phone to me to answer and of course it hit the Kindle screen and damaged the Kindle. It was still under warranty but was not covered for something dropping on it. Decided since it would cost $180.00 to repair, I bought a new one.
Phranque, I have the Kindle 2 (I guess, since I just bought it and it doesn't have any place for an SD card) and am really enjoying it. Don't know anything about the other reading devices out there so can't comment on them. I generally keep the wireless feature turned off which extends the battery life. Don't know that I would like the slightly smaller screen of a blackberry.
Phranque, I have the Kindle DX, which is the larger one. The regular Kindle and Nook are the same size (closer to a paperback) where mine is closer to a hardback book in screen size, but almost paper thin. It has no SD card, but Amazon stores all of your books, plus they are also on your computer if you wish as well. I LOVE my Kindle. I am reading more, my hands and arms don't have to hold those really thick books and they love me for having a Kindle. I talk about it so much, five of my friends have bought one, and (most bought the smaller version) they love them too. There is no glare, you download a book in 60 seconds; you can get magazine and newspapers as well.
I also bought a "sleeve" for a small laptop to keep it in, along with the "night light" I bought and the cord for re-charging. That way it all stays together. I got a hard cover for it, just to make certain it was protected from damage when I am not using it. I read without the cover on it. But that is just me.
My birthday is DECEMBER 17th. I think a Kindle would be a great birthday present for me. I'd also like to have a new 17" flatscreen monitor for my desktop computer. Since my birthday is so close to Christmas, that's really all I want. Except, if anyone thinks of it, I'd like to have a flatscreen HDTV for my bedroom (would take up less room)......and maybe some cash and cashiers checks (or money orders.....Western Union wire funds okay, too) stuffed in my stocking for some tuition I need!! OH! and I want a hard cover for my Kindle 'cause I would go lots of places with it...Camoflage colors, please. And a light for it. And a charger. And a little pony....grey. (just kidding....sarcasm!!) :-)
I have been seriously thinking of adding a Ferret to my indoor menagerie......but, all things considered, maybe I just need to get myself one of those Kindles. No training required. Or food.
Yes, I put the link up above about 10 posts above yours, but here it is so you don't have to go searching for it - http://astore.amazon.com/wwwthealzheim-20/detail/B0015T963C
Or you can go to the home page - www.thealzheimerspouse.com - look on the RIGHT side for the Kindle picture link. It is right below the link for the book - The Leisure Seeker.
The Apple iPad just came out - not much more expensive than a Kindle but a lot more versatile. However,there are apparently all kinds of jokes being made about its name (and an old MadTV skit to prove it) The buzz is that Apple doesn't have any WOMEN advising them!
I looked at the IPad, and while it is in color, and has a touch screen, and it is a very neat toy, I'll wait.....I love my Kindle and the fact that pushing my thumb changes the pages. I might get an IPad in a year or two.....I'll let them get the bugs out first! <grin>
I'm probably being very dense here, but I still can't find a way to order Kindle books via http://astore.amazon.com/wwwthealzheim-20/detail/B0015T963C If I type in "Kindle books" and hit Go, it just comes up with paper books.