eReaders & eBooks

[Racheya]

What do people here think of eReaders and eBooks? At first I was very sceptical about how useful it really would be something like that, there's nothing wrong with good old fashioned books and you don't need a £100 device to do it. But, after reading up on the Kindle and stuff - I've decided to get one for Christmas.

 

I was just wondering though, if anyone here has an eReader and if they do, is it worth it? Or if you don't have one then why not?

[Sy_Accursed]

I think its personal taste etc.

 

Personally I can't stand them; but I find it difficult to read alot of text on a screen. Like if we get assigned an essay extract to read and its given via the uni website I have to print it.

[Siobhana]

I have a Sony PRS 300 myself, and I love it!!! At first I thought it would be really tiny and I originally wanted the PRS 600, but I'm now very glad I went for the smaller one. It is big enough to be comfortable to read from, but it's still small enough so I can stuff it in my purse, and even my coat pocket. Other issues were that it doesn't have an option to add more memory, but honestly, I am nowhere near filling it after a year of heavy usage. I also originally wanted the touch-screen so I could take notes in the books, but a friend of mine tested it at Schiphol and aparently the touch-screen addsa a separate layer that makes the screen slightly worse to read.

 

The battery life on it is really good, and it charges pretty fast. The only really bad thing is the SW it comes with to upload books. Ignore it, and simply drag/drop in your regular file-view and you've saved yourself a world of pain. Also, I wouldn't recommend it if you plan on using it for a lot of technical reading (schoolboks etc). The screen is simply to small for that, but for every-day leisure reading it's an absolute gem. And it also means that as long as I have access to a computer and a USB cable I'll never more run out of books while travelling.

[Sir_Squab]

I've yet to try one out, but personally I'm just not interested; I like real books where I can turn the pages and I like the smell of them. Yes, the smell.

 

And holy crap. I just remember some story I read for high school English.... set in the future, and one part of it these two kids explore their Grandpas attack. They're amazed by these books that don't change what they say when you turn the page; and point out how impractical it is that they only hold one story, whereas the "books" of the kids hold thousands....

[TyrantElf]

I have a ereader app on my ipod touch and it is nice when i need something to read, and forgot my book, but I still prefer a good old-fashioned book if I can have it.

[Ubi]

I personally love the feel of the book in my hands. I would much rather spend a few hundred dollars annually and be able to carry a book over buying a Kindle, Nook or any other such device.

[stevepole]

I was tempted to buy one this past semester if the cost of a Kindle & ebooks were cheaper then the hard copies but with my luck (which I guess is a good thing) the total for all my text book was slightly less the the price of the Kindle so I didn't end up getting one. I think they're a great investment especially if you travel a lot or simply don't want to be carrying around all the extra weight. Don't down side to them is if your one of those people who would rather have physical copies of your investments. I don't know if they do this but it'd be cool if you got a code every time you purchased a hard copy of a book so you could download the electronic copy of the book so it'd let people build up their own personal libraries while still having the freedom of carry around electronic copies of all you books on one device.

[Ubi]

I was tempted to buy one this past semester if the cost of a Kindle & ebooks were cheaper then the hard copies but with my luck (which I guess is a good thing) the total for all my text book was slightly less the the price of the Kindle so I didn't end up getting one. I think they're a great investment especially if you travel a lot or simply don't want to be carrying around all the extra weight. Don't down side to them is if your one of those people who would rather have physical copies of your investments. I don't know if they do this but it'd be cool if you got a code every time you purchased a hard copy of a book so you could download the electronic copy of the book so it'd let people build up their own personal libraries while still having the freedom of carry around electronic copies of all you books on one device.

 

If I traveled more on trains, bus or airplane I would agree. But the only time I can read is when I am home or when I am waiting for fifteen minutes to pass. With that being the case I only need to bring one book with me wherever I go. Since it would not make such a huge difference I prefer the physical copy. It may be odd, but turning the page of a book is the greatest feeling in the world. It's just a moment of pure desire to get back into the book, which makes reading so much more pleasurable. At least, for me that is.

[Alistair]

It's great for larger books which are a pain to actually carry around with you. For instance, I practically read the whole of The Count of Monte Cristo on my iPad despite also having a hard copy. It's surprisingly easy to read on it. Doesn't really strain the eye or anything. Smaller eReaders may be easier to carry around but I suspect they would be harder to actually read.

 

Also, most classic works of literature are free on eBooks because copyright expires, so you can just download them off Project Gutenburg.

 

It's nice to have some physical books. Some say that one of the great things about reading a lot is how picturesque your bookshelf looks afterwards. But there may come a point where you just have too many books and they seem to be piling around you. In fact, there's a pile of 8 books beside my keyboard right now due to my lack of organisation. Though I suppose you could always donate books you don't want to charity or schools.

 

Anyway, overall I don't actually suggest getting an eReader purely for reading. I think the cost of those don't really justify its use. However, I do support the use of devices which can double up as eReaders :P

[Kimberly]

Won't take more than a few generations passing for owning hard copies to be considered eccentric and for it to completely screw with the publishing industry.

[Racheya]

Well I'm figuring that since I'm going to be moving into University accommodation next year, saving on book space might be a good idea. I am slightly worried about the weather, though (as all good Brits are). I want to be able to use my kindle/eReader wherever I go and frequently when you go anywhere in England it's raining, I heard that you can get (albeit expensive) waterproof cases and also that clear plastic ziplock bags are just as good, does anyone know anything about that? :P

[Sy_Accursed]

Well I'm figuring that since I'm going to be moving into University accommodation next year, saving on book space might be a good idea. I am slightly worried about the weather, though (as all good Brits are). I want to be able to use my kindle/eReader wherever I go and frequently when you go anywhere in England it's raining, I heard that you can get (albeit expensive) waterproof cases and also that clear plastic ziplock bags are just as good, does anyone know anything about that? :P

 

I'd be careful before you jump on that bandwagon and double check books. I considered doing that as my shelf space is running dry of about 30 books i can get like 3 as ebooks.

[Racheya]

Well I'm figuring that since I'm going to be moving into University accommodation next year, saving on book space might be a good idea. I am slightly worried about the weather, though (as all good Brits are). I want to be able to use my kindle/eReader wherever I go and frequently when you go anywhere in England it's raining, I heard that you can get (albeit expensive) waterproof cases and also that clear plastic ziplock bags are just as good, does anyone know anything about that? :P

 

I'd be careful before you jump on that bandwagon and double check books. I considered doing that as my shelf space is running dry of about 30 books i can get like 3 as ebooks.

I have looked at some of them and admittedly not all are on there BUT, to be frank, a lot of the novels I've collected are teenage fiction ones which I used to read a lot but now not so often. I'll keep my physical copies here, but I'm more interested in getting new books, in a way, and reading some of the classics that I've never gotten around to reading but should.

[Alistair]

You can get waterproof cases for use in rain, baths, showers, pool parties and any other wet situation, but realistically you should just go inside if it's raining. I'd be more worried about the cold freezing your fingers off in Britain to be honest.

[Racheya]

I have gloves :D But if I'm travelling to and from Uni, even if I don't use it outside if it's been raining my stuff is gonna be wet once I'm on the bus so I was wondering if a proper waterproof case was worth it or if cheaper alternatives are just as good.

[Hawks]

If you're not trying to use it in the rain, I think a ziplock bag or other such thing ought to work fine, especially if it's being kept in a backpack. It might work to use in the rain/damp in the bag too, but I doubt it.

 

There's always duct tape + plastic bag.

[tripsis]

I'm not a fan of eReaders/eBooks. I'm a collector. Not only do I like to physically hold the book in my hand, but I love having a collection: an entire bookshelf full of books. I'm also a fan of buying "antique" books. I have several books from the 1800s, mostly because I just love the look of them :)

 

So I won't be converting anytime soon :P

[Alistair]

If you're not using it in the rain or any other unreasonably wet circumstances, don't bother with anything which otherwise looks hideous. These devices are more waterproof than you think. Dropped my iPad into the bath and it works fine. Regular case and/or backpack does the job.

 

EDIT: I need gloves.

[Skeptical]

I have a Kindle, and love it.

 

The biggest problem for me is durability: I can't (or shouldn't) take it out into a Canadian winter like I do with a hardcopy, and I can't just drop it on the couch like I would with a beaten-up paperback.

 

I've got my textbooks on it, although you have to change it to landscape mode to easily read larger (or poorly formatted) PDFs. When I have the choice, though, I still would take a hardcopy any day, and I refuse to pay more than a couple bucks for an ebook, which raises interesting moral issues.

[stonewall337]

Ipod touch. Epub books. "nuf said. Regular books are nice, but this is great for night, dark (car) standing in lines @ store, etc.

[Skeptical]

Ipod touch. Epub books. "nuf said. Regular books are nice, but this is great for night, dark (car) standing in lines @ store, etc.

 

Get a lighted case. and a Kindle is still half the price of an Ipad, and about the same price as a touch (?), and try to tell me that it can be easily read out-doors, with a month of battery life.

 

If you want a touch-screen computer (why, I have no clue) then the iPad/touch is fine. It completely fails as an ebook reader though.

[sees_all1]

Got a nook for xmas. I was told today that it runs Android, and that you can hack it up...

[nine naked men]

My dad got an iPad for Christmas, and I downloaded The Runes of the Earth on it to read, and it was pretty awesome. I still prefer actual books over the digital stuff, but the digital stuff has one big advantage over normal books. You can highlight a word, and it will give you the definition. And, if anybody's read anything by Stephen R. Donaldson, you'll know how awesome that feature would be.

[grundledib]

I own a Sony PRS-505 I picked up cheap on eBay a few months back. I got it out of convenience- I'm one of those people that's constantly flitting between books and is probably reading 3 or 4 different books at any one time. Taking that many books 200 miles on the coach/ train every time I go home for holidays/ the weekend is a nightmare.

 

I do still covet books, and nothing will ever replace new book smell/ feel, but in my current situation, I simply cannot store as many physical books as I would like to, hence the reader. That being said, reading on it is a joy, and a huge amount better than reading on an LCD screen of any description. The contrast of E-Ink displays are very similar to that of a newspaper, for example, which makes using them to read very easy on the eyes.

[Ryannator]

not a big fan of the kindle or anything like that. call me old school but i like turning pages.