E-readers

[artist]

In an effort to minimize our clutter and the things that we keep, dh and I did a drastic cut back a few years ago and eliminated over 500 book titles from our shelves. We did hold onto only those books we knew we would read over and over again, and/or were reference material that we would look to time and again for review (such as YMOYL). That said, we didn't keep all that much but slowly reaccumulated some titles that we wished we hadn't gotten rid of. Combined we have a total of approximatly 60 books, though only about 40 of them are "must have" titles. Of those, about 8 are not available for e-readers.

I started to wonder if purchasing an e-reader, to hold those titles that I simply must have my own copy of, would be of benifit. I don't own a lot of books so I'm wondering if it would be worth making the switch over to electronic format over paper. I come across maybe two or three "Must have" titles in a year.

Dh has a Nook tablet that he uses for business meetings, church meetings, and general reading and study. He loves it, but says it's very different and he still has approximatly 20 titles that he "must have" paper copies of. I was just wondering if anyone has made the switch to electronic books and minimized what they have on paper.

I know for me, digitizing my music and eliminating my CD collection was a great blessing. Not only did it free up clutter but it also allowed for quick access, easy storage and organization. Wondering if doing the same for the books would be just as freeing.

So what are your thoughts on E-readers in general? Has anyone made the switch over so that only books not available for your e-reader are on your shelf?

* If I did get one it would be the Nook simple touch (without light). I don't want to have apps or be able to read email or look stuff up online. I just want to be able to read books, take notes, highlight and look up words from time to time.

[Sissy]

I really like my Kindle, but I have books that I don't want to get rid of. I don't have a good library here so I can get mostly what I want on Kindle. Sometimes I am really dissappointed if it is not available in that format. But I am not a heavy reader, so I have books waiting to be read. I keep it in my purse so I always know right where I put it! lol.

As to the difference in a Kindle vs. Nook, I can't tell you.

[Alan]

...Sometimes I am really dissappointed if it is not available in that format..
I use a free ebook manager and converter to manage my collection. http://calibre-ebook.com/
If you can't find a book you want in the correct format for your reader, it will convert it for you.

[artist]

As to the difference in a Kindle vs. Nook, I can't tell you.

I'm choosing the nook because our library supports lending to the Nook but not to Kindle.

[Dhiana]

LOVE my Kindle, which for me is the app on both my iPod Touch and iPhone. Still love paper books but like you prefer to have less.
The books we still have are more reference books that would be impractical to have electronically such as cookbooks, travel guide books,
Photo/illustration heavy books such as art & design books.

While I have almost 600 books in my kindle library, I know I wouldn't have anywhere near that many still at home as I was always cycling
the read ones through used bookstores/thrift shops as much as possible.

[Miss Cellane]

Both Kindle and Nook have software that lets you read books on your computer, and if you have a smartphone, they most likely have software that will work on that.

So you can try out the various features of the software without buying anything--I think the downloads are still free. If you have a desktop computer, then you are stuck reading at your desk. But with a laptop, you are a lot more mobile. Still not as easy to hold as the actual Nook or Kindle, but takes up a lot less room than tons of books.

[catherine]

I agree that the kindle is very versatile--I sometimes read on my computer, sometimes on my iPhone, sometimes on my Kindle device.

As far as going all the way and storing all your books--I still like some books that just don't translate well to Kindle: like decorating books and any other books with many illustrations. Maybe people find they're fine on iPad or on the late-gen Kindles (I have one of the early b@w ones). But I still feel certain books are great thumbing through the old-fashioned way

[razz]

I use a free ebook manager and converter to manage my collection. http://calibre-ebook.com/
If you can't find a book you want in the correct format for your reader, it will convert it for you.
I am in awe at what is possible these days with this option being one of them. Thanks for the link.

[ToomuchStuff]

Also a Calibre user and live fairly close to a few libraries. That said, most of my actual books are either reference or picked up cheap and to yet read. (buy when you can)
Unfortunately I don't see this as the same as CD's, where you can rip them to a portable format (fair use verses copyright) easily. What I have seen are the digital ones cost more then the physical ones, and have restrictions on reselling or passing them on.

[Tradd]

Just a reminder, you can get free eBooks from Project Gutenberg - the classics, and all sorts of interesting, obscure stuff. The titles are offered in a variety of digital formats. There are free eBook apps for Apple and Android gadgets. I live Stanza for Apple devices - it can also read PDF documents.

[IshbelRobertson]

I have owned and loved my Kindle for nearly 2 years.

My sister has been visiting from Australia for a couple of months and has bought me an Ipad - and put my Kindle books onto the new device. Whilst I love it for the facity of the internet, I still want to use my Kindle!

[Florence]

I love my iPad and have my Kindle on it. However, I have some books that I just don't want to part with. (And I keep wondering what I will read when the apocalypse happens and my iPad battery runs down??)

[fidgiegirl]

I have owned and loved my Kindle for nearly 2 years.

My sister has been visiting from Australia for a couple of months and has bought me an Ipad - and put my Kindle books onto the new device. Whilst I love it for the facity of the internet, I still want to use my Kindle!

You can still use both, Ishbel - wasn't sure if you were clear on that, or just saying that you like your Kindle better.

Your books are tied to your Amazon account, so let's say you are currently reading The Hobbit Kindle book, and you read a little on your Kindle and leave off at page 100. Then you go on a trip and don't want to take both devices so you pick up your iPad and open the Kindle app and voila! The Hobbit will be at page 100 for you to pick up where you left off. I love this feature for reading between my iPad and my iPhone. I don't mind reading on my phone, and sometimes if I am waiting at the doctor or something I don't haul along my iPad, but still have my phone on me.

Guessing Nook app works the same way, as well as iBooks if both apps are using the same AppleID. But not 100% sure on this.

And if you already knew this, sorry for assuming! Hopefully someone learned something new! :D

[IshbelRobertson]

My sister copied all the stored books from my kindle to the IPad.

I've got a cover for my kindle so it feels more like reading a 'real' book and the IPad feels heavier to hold than the K... Maybe I'll get used to it in time!

[Juicifer]

Nice to read about e-readers & tablets. I have actually been shopping for an e-reader in the last couple of weeks more as a Christmas gift for my spouse. I find that e-readers are smaller (and lighter?) than tablets so when it comes to weight and ease of use (I'm thinking about reading in bed) I lean towards the e-reader (also because my spouse is not at all a tablet or even a computer person cow-hi

I have looked at the Kindle and I liked that a lot, but the salesperson told me that it only downloads from Amazon and in certain formats, is this true?

[herbgeek]

There are both 7" and 10" tablets- the 7" inch is the same size as a Kindle. I have a 7" tablet, because I didn't want a single purpose device that the Kindle is. I do have the Kindle app on my tablet, so it gets to act as an e-reader, but it can also do so much more.

Yes, the Kindle is its own specific format. When you have a tablet, you can download other kinds of e reader software and therefore read any type of book, unlike a Kindle.

[Alan]

I have looked at the Kindle and I liked that a lot, but the salesperson told me that it only downloads from Amazon and in certain formats, is this true?

Sort of. The Kindle uses a proprietary AZW format, although I believe it's identical to the Mobi formatting scheme. You can download books in the proper format from just about anywhere if you transfer them from your PC or MAC to the Kindle.

You can even download books in an improper format, then format them for your device if you use a product such as Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com/), which is a free download.

[JaneV2.0]

Sort of. The Kindle uses a proprietary AZW format, although I believe it's identical to the Mobi formatting scheme. You can download books in the proper format from just about anywhere if you transfer them from your PC or MAC to the Kindle.

You can even download books in an improper format, then format them for your device if you use a product such as Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com/), which is a free download.


That's good to know, Alan. So far, I only read Kindle books on my PC, but I expect I'll get some kind of e-reader eventually.

[happystuff]

I have a kindle fire and, while I really like it and use it often, I wish I had bought a nook instead. The only reason being that the nook will allow for expandable memory ( a mini-SD card).

[JaneV2.0]

I have a kindle fire and, while I really like it and use it often, I wish I had bought a nook instead. The only reason being that the nook will allow for expandable memory ( a mini-SD card).

I suppose that's to encourage you to store books in the "cloud?" I prefer expandable memory when available.

[Alan]

I have a kindle fire and, while I really like it and use it often, I wish I had bought a nook instead. The only reason being that the nook will allow for expandable memory ( a mini-SD card).


I suppose that's to encourage you to store books in the "cloud?" I prefer expandable memory when available.If you have a PC available, the cloud is not necessary for storage. I have over 5000 e-books stored on a desktop PC and load them onto my iPad as needed.