posted on January 11, 2008 03:05:25 PM new
I'm a bit on the fence about the Kindle (Amazon's electronic book reader).
I'm somewhat tempted to wait for Version 2, but it's intriguing.
Maybe I should get one for my 11 year old. 2 years ago while on vacation, we had to get my wife's secretary to FedEx us an emergency batch of books; there were none available where we were, and he had already blown through thousands of pages we had taken along. I don't know when he did it, because he was swimming most of the day, and we enforce a pretty early to bed time, but somehow he did it. Maybe he's like his Dad, and wakes up in the middle of the night and sneaks in a chapter or two
posted on January 11, 2008 03:08:08 PM new
PS In any case, I'll wait until they're in stock. $399 is enough; eBay has them for $799 BIN. Not happening at that price.
posted on January 11, 2008 03:19:00 PM new
Sorry, I don't have one and will never buy one. But that shouldn't affect your decision.
A book is so much more than words on a page. I treasure the look and heft of my favorites. For my Dickens and Jane Austen books, I have reading copies as well as shelf copies. The reading copies can stand being taken on a train or getting a little wet. (Someone I know likes to read in the Jacuzzi.)
My sister-in-law received a reader (Sony, I think) for Christmas, preloaded with books. She hates it. They weren't the books she would have chosen, and the thing is difficult to use.
I think it's great your son loves to read. Take it from a childhood reading addict: It's just a short journey from there to collecting books. If he reads it on a Kindle the first time, he still might want the actual book in hand at some point. I'm going back and buying all the books I read when I was his age. (Which reminds me: There ought to be a website where you can describe the plot of a book or short story and get a list of possible matches.)
posted on January 11, 2008 03:24:59 PM new
Books are made of paper. You hold them in your hand and relish the turning of every page and smell of the pulp, glue and dust.
posted on January 11, 2008 03:31:56 PM new
We are creatures of habits.
Say some day these kids grow up with the reader,they dont know what is a paper book?
and why would anyone wants to hold on to some papers and read them?
Having said that,I just ordered 4 volumes set of Arikara Indians,4 volumes of Edgar Caycee and The People of the Great North-art and civilisation of Siberia!
*
Lets all stop whining !
posted on January 11, 2008 03:38:16 PM new
Fluffy mentions buying books from times past. I do that too. The first edition of The Wayward Bus just seems classier than the new ones.
A bit OT... My son was married a few months ago. In with their gift I tucked a like-new 1965 edition Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, the one I had used all the years they were growing up. He was delighted! His comment was that that book had raised them.
I bought myself a *new* copy too. I still use the old scroungy dirty one, though. The nice one is on the shelf. The old one has my notes in it...
Lucy
P.S. Wayward Bus is just the right length for a plane trip from SLO to Denver.
Although MOST books I want to read come out in MobiPocket format, NOT ALL do -- the balance usually are covered by PalmReader...
The problem with SONY (and the same applies to the KINDLE) is that they are trying to not only make moola off the HARDWARE, but also the BOOKS, and they will fall far short...Just like GEMSTAR did, costing RCA (& TV GUIDE) a bundle...
From bitter experience, I can just about guarantee that folks, after about 6 months of ownership, are gonna get really steamed once they realize just how limited their book choices truly are, with either of these proprietary constrained devices!
As an eBook FANATIC, I wouldn't pay more than $125 for either...
Hell, the TOP-OF-THE-LINE Franklin eBookman goes for only $175 (sales all the time) and not only can ya READ on it, just like my PDA, you can also listen to AUDIBLE.COM audiobooks!
Ralphie confidently predicts a 50% PRICE DROP within 1 year for BOTH these boondoggles...
posted on January 11, 2008 03:53:23 PM new
Thank you for your opinions.
I understand the value of a paper book, and furthermore understand the feeling that I want to OWN a book and see it on my bookshelf. I would save myself a lot of money if I would just go to our excellent local library instead of buying books. Profe's smell of "pulp, glue and dust" I can do without. I would miss giving my books to friends after I'm done with them (the books, that is, not the friends).
OTOH, it sure would be nice to order a book and be ready to read in under one minute. It would also be nice to be able to change the font size (and maybe not use my reading glasses). It would also be nice not to have stacks of books by the bed (I always seem to be working on many at one time). I would also save money over the long run, IF I switched to that form of reading.
posted on January 11, 2008 04:01:16 PM new
I want one, but am reluctant to purchase the initial version of any tech product. With Amazon behind it, it will likely become the defacto standard, and plenty of titles will be provided.
I have heard discussions on talk shows, etc., and even here, where people assume it means going totally electronic or totally paper. I consider it a supplement. There are books I would be happy with on Kindle, and others where I would like the bound book on my shelf. Selling point for me is the ability to take a "library" of books with me on a trip, instead of settling for a piece of crap at airport because it is a paperback.
posted on January 11, 2008 05:29:48 PM new
Truthfully, I don't know that much about the electronic book readers like the Kindle. If you buy a book that way, can you pass it on to someone else?
Claude, is your son into science fiction yet? If so, I have a vintage paperback copy of Alfred Bester's _The Stars My Destination_ I'd love to send him. I've had it for years but it just surfaced the other day. Great cover art.
posted on January 11, 2008 05:39:31 PM new
Are the photos better?
say if you are a dealer and need a book for reference?
does it have a search function?
*
Lets all stop whining !
posted on January 11, 2008 05:40:53 PM new
I didn't think the kindle had very good reviews I read somewhere.
I read a LOT - I won't even admit how many books I read last year. Somehow I picked up speed reading along the way so thank goodness for my public library. I've even said when I die instead of flowers just donate a book to the public library.
I tried an ebook once - couldn't get into it and then my computer crashed and there went the book.
My library has free downloads on audio books online. That's just not the same either
If I had an 11 year old that loved to read I'd let them spend any amount of money on what they wanted to read. So many kids don't read.
Funny - my DH has just read 3 books in the last month. That's more than he's ever read in the 10 years we've been together.
posted on January 11, 2008 06:21:37 PM new
Damariscotta, not only can you take a library with you on a trip, but you can decide what to read when you get there (depending on where you're going, of course). It's all based on a built-in cell phone; no PC required.
Fluffy, yes, he's really into science fiction and fantasy (if I didn't trust my wife implicitly, I'd ask for a DNA test ). I'm sure he'd be delighted with the book, especially after I explain the provenance
hwahwa, photos are B&W only, and I'm not sure if they convert them all. I don't think I'd use it for a photo book. It does have a search function, but I don't know if it's rudimentary or full-featured. It does have a built-in dictionary, so you can simply highlight a word you're not familiar with and get the definition.
Glassgrl, "If I had an 11 year old that loved to read I'd let them spend any amount of money on what they wanted to read. So many kids don't read." I've often heard that children will pick up on the example of the people around them. For a while I wondered what had happened to my youngest (turning 10 in a couple of weeks). She has always been a great reader in terms of skill, but just recently became a pleasure reader. The 2 older kids are avid readers, but the 11-year old (Tyler) is a machine. My parents never allowed me to read at a meal (which isn't draconian, but it bugged me), so I set my alarm for 5:00 AM and would eat my cornflakes with a book. Tyler's like that. I don't begrudge him the money it costs to keep him stocked up, but when the family goes to Barnes and Noble every two weeks, even with our discount card it can be a shocking number. We agree that, as problems go, it's a good problem to have.
posted on January 11, 2008 06:40:57 PM new
Back then books were expensive and library was far away,we came home from school and the only form of entertainment/relaxation was the newspaper,2 printed in the morning and 1 in the afternoon.
We did not have a TV set,just a radio!
*
Lets all stop whining !
posted on January 11, 2008 06:54:45 PM new
PLEASE...please...
BEFORE spending $400 on a Kindle, REALLY learn about eBooks & the various FORMATS & very real limitations that ensue...
I had a reader that cost $350 (RCA/GEMSTAR the color model) that had a GORGEOUS large color screen, along with built in ETHERNET MODEM...Year later, RCA was DUMPING them for $100 each...6 months later, GEMSTAR closed down the eBook division...
Both the SONY & the KINDLE exclude ALL secure formats EXCEPT for the ONE sold in their stores...PUBLISHERS are psychotic about which SECURE FORMATS they will allow their books to be released in!
If they allowed you to install the MOBIPOCKETR READER and the PALM READER on these devices (on my PDA, I have both + MICROSOFT READER + AUDIBLE), then they would be...KEWL!
posted on January 11, 2008 07:07:12 PM new
Tomwii,
I saw a mention of a Mobi conversion from PDF to a format readable on the Kindle. Apparently, you can either install the software on the Kindle, or email Amazon a PDF document, and for $0.10 they'll convert it for you.
So, in addition to books, you could have your various owner's manuals (assuming they're available in PDF) and other documents stored on the Kindle.
In any case, since Amazon hasn't caught up with orders, I will sleep on it.
posted on January 11, 2008 07:11:25 PM new
hwahwa, we didn't have a TV either until I was a teenager. We were relatively poor (in a financial sense, anyway), but my father worked in NYC, and would often bring a book home as a present. We also had a wonderful but small library, and the librarian after a while figured out that it was okay for me to take out "age-inappropriate" books.
Man oh man, how much more complicated my 4 children's lives are.
Almost ALL non-encrypted books in any format will be able to be loaded into the KINDLE -- Fictionwise.com offers this NOW...for NO EXTRA CHARGE...
Great, huh?
Most of the UNENCRYPTED books are books you wouldn't buy in a million years, unless you have a sudden yen for "Alice in Wonderland" or "War of the Worlds" or (mainly) SF & FANTASY novels that will never even get into paperback editions?
Anything you probably might be interested in, will be ONLY offered in ENCRYPTED versions...
BTW: Amazon keeps YACKING about the WONDERFUL back-order status of the KINDLE -- My goodness, it's so popular they just can't keep up with the demand? A la WEE??
Yeah, but then read the "COMMENTS" from new owners...
And...
Just to give you an idea of the FORMAT WARS going on in the world of eBooks:
1) NONE of the HARRY POTTER books are available in ANY format, anywhere!
2) STEPHEN KING books are sometimes released in MOBI...sometimes in PALM...and sometimes...NEVER! The GUNSLINGER SERIES is split between PALM & MOBI!!!
...and, "The Stand" even after all these years, has not yet been released in ANY format!!
And SONY & AMAZON are stepping into this GIANT mess????
"AiCarrumba!"
BTW: MOBIPOCKET READER may be FRENCH, but I sure do LOVE that FORMAT -- of all the ones out there, it is the MOST user-friendly!
OTOH: Microsoft really BOTCHED the job with their so-called "Reader" -- it truly...SUCKS!
posted on January 11, 2008 10:31:02 PM new
I love books, too. I was never one for libraries or for lending books to friends. Books that I cherish I want to read over and over again. I went through a period where I searched and bought my favorite childhood books on eBay. I can see several advantages of the Kindle, although not for me at this time. What a god-send for folks with failing eyesight! Edited to add: one of the losses I had in my my divorce was of an obscure cookbook my ex took. Four years later , I finally found it on eBay for $4. I also found a cookbook that my grandmother was the editor of.
[ edited by pixiamom on Jan 11, 2008 10:37 PM ]
"childrens do learn"
