Advice pls re e-books, Kindles etc

Wow you guys! This is great! So much good advice and ways to do things! I have printed out this whole thread so I can sit and read it all over again and have it to make notes for when I head up to the Big City to look at this new technology and decide whether I can do this or not.

Thanks to all of you I am now armed with ammo. LOL Also its good to know a person can Download some stuff for free. Buffalocreek, thanks for that advice!

I appreciate you all, Great info! I am going to be laid up for awhile following surgery and I do want to be prepared with hopefully a Kindle or E reader of some type to use(gist certificate for Christmas you see ). You guys have made this possible with your good advice. I was laughing over some of the posts talking about stuff I know NOTHING about! Like Wi Fi? What? I don't even have a cell phone as there is no signal out here in the boonies. So, my level of "expertise" on all this is limited to my old PC, a "new" phone system that is not attached to the base with a cord, and Smoke Signals when the electricity goes out! LOL

Also, thanks to those of you who posted about the paperback exchange option. I hadn't a clue something like this was available. I usually take the ones I am not going to re-read and turn them in at the used bookstore in town when I do drive in to civilization.

Re the Downloading from the Library? So, I would join our local Library for this option? Its quite a small place here in our little town but with internet going strong now I guess they interact with many other sites around the country?

Appreciate it everyone!l! You made my week! Happy 2012! LQ

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Okay, couple of quick notes. Call and ask your phone company if you have high speed internet available at your home through them or if they provide high speed service anywhere close to you (libraries/colleges/businesses). Call your local library and see if they have a WiFi connection. If they do and if they have eBooks available for loan that they will be connected to a statewide system, at least that is how it works in in KY. I log onto the Library Download website, request my county library, use my card # and am given a search option to find and borrow books. You would need to get a library card to check out books.

A WiFi connection is a wireless connection, meaning the link is simply 'in the air' you do not have to hook into a phone connection to use it as long as you have a device that will accept a WiFi link ... iPhone, eReader, laptop computer. This is how the people that go around carrying a laptop can sit in a coffee shop, book shop or library that has a WiFi connection and work on their laptop computers. You push a button, the laptop connects to the public WiFi available at that location and you're on the Internet.

Edited to add: Found an interesting link for a lending service for Kindle books, which I didn't know about. I know you can lend some (not all) Kindle books you own 1 time by sending it to their Kindle. There is no way to actually do this through Amazon but there is now a website up that looks a little similar to PaperBackSwap only for Kindle books. BookLending.com

Whole different ball of wax. It's a lot easier on the eyes reading the e-ink on the Kindle as oppossed to the backlit screen of a monitor. Also a little easier carrying the Kindle around and to bed to read

Watch your format capabilities! There are many different formats that ebooks are published in. You want a reader that can handle all the different formats.

I am not a fan of the Kindle because of this. It handles almost nothing but its own propretary format. Personally, I have a Sony. It handles virtually every format in existance.

Color displays and back lighting eat up batteries. Simple black and white e-ink displays can go for days on end without recharging. Color displays and backlighting, mere hours.

How does the 'borrowing from a library' work? Obviously, you download your chosen book from their website, but do you need to 'return' it? Does it expire and dissappear from your reader?

I don't understand all the processes either, but wonder if this new technology might get my 10yo non-reader more interested in reading!

Great information here! Thanks

Chances are your local library participates in ebook lending and they can be very helpful. Don't think it's going to help (by itself) with getting the average 10 year old to read more though.

I was slow to warm up to this e-book thing, but when I bought my latest "smart phone" it came with a few books pre-loaded. Did not think much of it at the time until I happened to get caught betwixt and between with nothing to do and nothing to do it with so I pulled my phone out and started exploring some of the features I'd never paid much attention to before. Came across the book reader (Google's) and the copy of "Pride & Prejudice" that was in it. My wife has always loved that book and the (very) long mini-series that was made of it so I decided to give it a try. Danged if I didn't get hooked on it. An entire large novel in the palm of my hand that I can read in any position and it always remembers my place for me. I've since finished that one, Jules Verne's "Around the World in Eighty Days", and am nearly finished with Haggard's "King Solomon's Mines."

Yes, they are all nineteenth century classics and most importantly they are all FREE. Those are the books I'm focusing on. All three major readers have a large number of free titles that can be downloaded though at the moment I'm still looking for a good version of the King James Bible.

With a bit a looking around in the Android Marketplace I discovered apps that allow me to read Barnes & Noble's "Nook" and Amazon's "Kindle" books as well as the Google Book Reader that came pre-loaded.

This thing is great. Now no matter where I'm at I've got a book to read in those odd moments of the day happen from time to time. If I open one and discover I don't like it then it's no big deal to delete it and download another. Since they are pretty much all text even the biggest novels take little time to download.

One small caveat here. For important works of non-fiction I still want those in hard copy. Entertainment reading is one thing, working books are quite another.

Quote:

Originally Posted by foxtrapper Color displays and back lighting eat up batteries. Simple black and white e-ink displays can go for days on end without recharging.

This is one reason I went with the least expensive Kindle. My eyesight isn't good and the backlighting and digitizing of a computer monitor limits the time I can use a computer monitor. I don't have the problem with an actual book or an e-ink eBook reader.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BusyBees2 How does the 'borrowing from a library' work? Obviously, you download your chosen book from their website, but do you need to 'return' it? Does it expire and dissappear from your reader?

I don't know if all libraries use the same system or not. With my local library, I went through what they call the 'Overdrive' system on their website which links me to the eBook/audio downloads available via Internet. I sign in by specifying the name of my library from a list, which is apparently a list of all the libraries in the state that use this system, then enter with the number of my library card. This gives me the list of books available for download ... or if they are checked out, I can put them on a hold list just as you do with printed books at the library. When you download to a Kindle, the booklink takes you to Amazon and you get a button that says "download library book", click and the book downloads. You can (on this system) specify a 7, 14 or 21 day checkout period and there is a limit on the number of books you can have checked out at one time (10). With some books you can return before the due date, delete from Kindle, go to your Amazon Kindle management page and delete from the book list there and it disappears on your library checkout list. Some books you can't do this with (not sure why) and those simply disappear from your Kindle the day the loan expires.

Kids being SO gadget minded these days, I'd think you might have better luck with an eBook reader rather than 'real books' ...

Generally speaking, not very well yet. To allow you to download an electric copy of a book, the library pulls a paper copy off the shelf and holds it while your electronic copy is out.

I know on my reader the ebook disapears after the check-in time. I do not know if all readers do this. Certainly it is possible to defeat this. Just as one can photocopy a paper book.

Eventually this will improve, but at the current time, we as a nation have not figured out how to handle and regulate ebook lending.

You're telling me! I live in a 252 sq-ft house with a family of five. Very little bookshelf space! I literally have bookshelves hanging from the ceiling across the middle of our bedroom to get more bookshelf space.

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We have Kindle Fires adn love them. You can read lots of free books from amazon, play mp3 music while doing so, and download apps for weather to sports scores. Library books are downloaded and returned after the time period.

I got a Kindle for Christmas last year and an Ipad this year. I love the Ipad, but not for reading books, though I can access my Kindle books on it. I didn't read as much as usual in 2011, but still read 83 books -- only 8 of them on the Kindle. I love libraries and I love books. I love the feel, look and smell of them. I find the Kindle cold - I claim it actually affects the story! If you are a book lover, buying an e-reader might be a waste of money for you. I have just such a one on my coffee table.

Having said all of that, I have borrowed a few e-books from the library. We have a small library and they don't have a lot of e-books. There is a waiting list for e-books. Once I have "checked" out an e-book, I manage that checkout on my Amazon Kindle account. Amazon also lets you "lend" some e-books that you purchase. The loan is for 2 weeks and then the book becomes inaccessible.

I usually embrace new technology, but in this case I will keep my real books.

I absolutely love my Kindle! My daughter got my the Kindle with 3G and WiFi for Christmas a year ago. Best gift I have ever received. Mine has a keyboard, which makes some things easier, but even though we have WiFi at home, I find that browsing for books is much easier on my desktop computer. Just a personal preference. I also have a cover for it, which makes it feel like a real book. The cover has a light, which makes reading in the dark very easy. I sat out in my yard in the sun last summer and read without any problem.

Cost wise, since they've come out with the Kindle with extras, as my first one, I would probably go with that. Main thing that you will see is advertising as your screen saver.

To buy books through Amazon, and get free books, you do have to put in an account number. Once you get use to browsing for books, you will find the ways to find free books there. However, on my facebook, I get daily updates from https://www.facebook.com/PixelofInk, https://www.facebook.com/digireaderlounge, and https://www.facebook.com/EreaderNewsToday. I could easily download 10 to 15 free books a day.

The free books are not the current bestsellers, they are most often new authors, and I have found many many very good books out there.

I am dying to upgrade to the Kindle Fire, mainly because I hear such good things about it, and I've been wanting a Tablet. I'm hesitating, because of the cost, and I so enjoy the Kindle I have for reading. I'm not sure if the Fire will be as easy to read out in the sun, or in the dark. I also have somebody who wants to buy my Kindle, which defrays the cost.

It does take some adjusting to get used to hitting a button to turn the page. It's not as easy to flip back through the pages when you go, hmm, I have to go back to that and refresh my memory. There are ways to bookmark sections to make it easier, but I dont always know that I may want to go back to that.

On Amazon, most e-books costs less than the paperbacks. I can't vouch for new bestsellers out, because I read to much to have ever been able to afford the bestsellers anyway, except for an occasion, otherwise I wait until they are down on the list.

I have not borrowed from the library, only because by the time the libraries got up and running, I was finding so many free books, that I haven't seen the need to figure out how to borrow from the library. I do know though, that when you borrow, you are given so many days, then the book is just not available anymore.

My Kindle was my best friend a few weeks ago when my mom was in the hospital. I also have a couple of games downloaded, so when books couldn't hold my attention while I was worrying, I could play some games.

Even with my cover, my Kindle fit right into my purse. I carry a medium sized purse, not one of those huge old purses. lol

I have had the Nook color for over a year and love it. I really like the free upgrades so my ereader is now just as funcitional as their new version. I still have shelves full of hardcover and paperback books and still purchase hard copies of books, but I love to read my Nook also especially on long drives as it is so portable. I can also check my email and go online while on the road.

Just spent two dollars and downloaded fifteen Allan Quatermain stories (19th century adventure stories). I've already finished three novels and am half-way through a fourth all on my smart-phone. For fiction work this is becoming my favorite way to read. We are perpetually in a bind for bookshelf space at home so this is a way for everyone to keep all the entertainment reading they want without having to find space to keep it.

As I said before important works we still buy in hard copy though I can see having a hard and an e-copy of stuff.

Don't forget http://www.gutenberg.org/ as a source of free books as well.

When you have to go from flat storage to storing your books in drawers, you know you have to do something about the number of books you get. I like the Nook Touch as an ereader. The sculpting and buttons allow easier one-handing it while reading. Micro SD slot is nice as well.

Michael

Just remember that the Fire is a bit larger and may not be quite so handy, especially for one-handed reading in bed for any length of time. Battery life is also much shorter.

If I were someone thinking about getting a Kindle for reading I would just get the $75 basic model,and don't worry about the advertising on the screensavers it is not intrusive and doesn't appear while you're reading. Then if I wanted a device to do other things I'd get an ipad or something.

I haven't made the jump to a Kindle/Nook... it would be nice to have the thousands of books I own all digitized and available to carry with me everywhere. However, if I did get a Nook (wouldn't dream of getting a Kindle, as it refuses to host external media [usb or sd cards]) I'd keep all of my hard copies. Toooo many things could happen to the digital copies (think: EMP?).... and where would I be then? Besides, it'd cost probably in the high 5 figures (or more) to replace everything at a new price. Probably have a thousand books I've gotten for free, or less than a buck a piece.

Limited storage space? Come on folks, this is why we have homes... it's the reason I have a home right now... I accumulated a trailer load of books after leaving college, and had to find a 'home' for them. Had them in storage for a decade, till I noticed mice droppings and a few ragged edged books. Stimulated me to build a proper home... for the books!

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I agree on the cost of replacing what I have in physical books now and I don't plan to do that. I also will continue to buy some of the older books that I want that aren't available in eBook form or can be bought as used paperbacks for little more than the shipping costs and the eBook is $8 to $12.

However, with that said, as far as losing the digital copies to EMP or something, I suspect the chances are not any worse than my personal experience with physical books ... I've lost all of my books twice in my life to fires and had a friend lose hers to a flood.