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Thursday, July 15, 2010

In Progress, Kindle

My reading has slowed down a bit.  I need to review my latest Lee Child read, Echo Burning, and I'm busy reading Citizens of London (excellent) , Walking to Gatlinburg(eccentric), and Mark Stephens' Teaching Yoga (impressive).
This morning, I gave in and ordered a Kindle DX.  I'm looking forward to taking this when we attend little Kris' wedding in St. John's...I won't have to pack books to take with me!

So a few questions...

What are your experiences with ebook readers?

Can you get Advanced Reader Copies on a reader?  That would be such a savings for publishers and would prevent the pile up of books on the shelves, tables, and floor!

Does your library provide access to ebooks?

I'm sure I'll have more questions, but those are my most obvious concerns at the moment.  I did a little research and chose the DX because of the larger size and its ability to get more text on the screen, but the actual decision was almost impulsive.  Kind of "let's get it over with"...

8 comments:

  1. Jenclair, I have a regular Kindle, not the DX one. I love mine. Had it about a year now. I've had a good experience with mine. It was great for vacation and on plane trips. Slips in my purse and I can take it with me wherever. I will say that it is way, way too easy to purchase new books though. That's great and somewhat of a challenge to my impulsive buying self. LOL

    My library does not provide access to ebooks as of yet. However, I know that many do. You'd probably just have to check with them.

    You can get ARCs on an ereader. If you take a look at the website for netGalley.com, you can join for free and they are a great resource. That being said, the ARCs are pdf files and there is a bit of setting up to get them to your Kindle. It's pretty self explanatory though. I have had a minimal number of ARCs accessed in other ways. I've had a couple of authors send me a pdf and I've loaded them. I'm curious as to whether more publishers will take this road as time passes. The only downside is that I use a bigger font for my Kindle and some of the ARCs are file protected so that you can't adjust the font. It's kind of like looking at a scanned copy of an ARC. I don't like those.

    Good luck and let us know what you think.

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  2. I've heard that eReaders slow you down, is that true?

    Not that it matters, I was just wondering.

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  3. Thanks, Kay, for the link to netGalley; I'll look into it. I can't imagine publishers not being exceedingly interested in avoiding the cost of mailing and hope that will become a more readily available option in the future.

    Can't wait to see how things go with my new toy, but I know that (like you) I'll have to be careful about purchasing new books!

    Man of la Books - That is another reason I chose the larger size which allows more text on the screen, but I'll just have to wait and see how it works out. :}

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  4. I am very happy with my Kindle. I bought it to make travel easier and lighter since I very rarely check my bags on a flight. It is just one more thing to make my life easier.

    I still check books out from the library, purchase books from Abe's, and local bookstores.

    There have been a few times I purchased the hard copy of a book and downloaded it to my Kindle but in the end it really does make my life easier. So, hooray for eReaders!

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  5. That's quite a mix of books you've got there!

    Unfortunately I can't say anything about eReaders as I don't have one but I want one :) I bet you can't wait until you get yours!

    But, shh, don't tell the publishers to send out ARCs on a reader. I'll never get anymore then! haha... It'll probably be quite a while before I can budget in an eReader.

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  6. Kim - The main reason I want one if for travel. Carting books around from place to place is inconvenient, and I agree that a Kindle will make traveling easier. I don't think I will ever prefer an eReader to an actual book, but that doesn't mean I won't love it!

    Iliana - Initially, the idea of a Kindle or a Nook just didn't appeal to me, but the convenience has been a big appeal. I'll let you know if it is worth the investment for me (since I really don't travel that much) after it gets here, and I have a chance to check it out.

    I don't order that many books (everything is relative), but the cost of the books + shipping mounts up as well.

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  7. Hope you are enjoying your Kindle. I got a Nook a few weeks ago and I like it a lot. I'll still buy lots of books because I buy the ones that both The Hubster and I read. I do like that my library has ebooks available and I have several library books on my nook for vacation. I'm actually taking about half the books on vacation with me compared to last year because of the e-reader. For me, that's the biggest advantage.

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  8. SuziQ - I am getting used to the Kindle. My daughter has decided on the Nook for several reasons: the ability to lend books and her library has ebooks for Nook, but not Kindle. Those alone are pretty effective reasons for the Nook!

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