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Captain's Log, Stardate 05.21.2008

I admit, I have Kindle envy.

Lots of my friends have got Kindles. I haven’t even seen one yet, but everyone says the screen is amazing.

Now, my love of ebooks comes honestly. I’ve loved ebooks ever since I could download them from Fictionwise.com, and I’ve gotten PDAs specifically so that I could read books on them and never be without something to read.

In fact, I will confess that one reason I don’t want an iPhone is because I can’t read ebooks on it.

But Captain Caffeine always advises (and quite rightly, most of the time) not to buy the first version of any piece of technology because there are always first generation bugs.

So another reason not to even put the Kindle on my Amazon wishlist is because there might be a second version in another year and it will probably be even better.

(Another reason is that price tag—yowzers! Uh, no, I’d like to be able to afford groceries this month ...)

So I’ve been continuing to buy my ebooks, but from Fictionwise (which has great prices, by the way, especially if you’re a Club Member), and reading them on my computer or my Palm PDA.

In fact, I prefer reading my Steeple Hill and other Harlequin books on ebook rather than hard copy.

(1) I can make the font REALLY BIG.

(2) I can get the books instantly rather than waiting for shipping.

(3) They’re a little cheaper than buying a hard copy.

(4) In being able to read them on my computer, I can actually knit while reading an ebook, since all I have to do is hit a button to turn the page. Laugh if you dare, but I enjoy being so efficient with my time! LOL

Have any of you bought Kindles? Do any of you like ebooks?
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Comments

Ausjenny said…
I have heard of the Kindles but dont have one. I dont have a PDA i think im behind the times cos i dont honestly know what one is. I have a mp3 player. is a pda good for taking on a plane? I have a 15 hour trip coming up in September.
Tue May 20, 03:13:00 AM 2008
Leslie said…
Have you been assimiliated by the Borg? They are very efficiant with their time :)

I have Kindle envy too - but I'd have to see one before I'd even consider buying it. I wasn't even considering them because I'd heard that you are limited as to how many books you can put on it - and I like to re-read books all the time. But then I read that you can use SD cards to expand the memory of the Kindle - so that took care of that objection.

My other holdback is that I like to be able to share books with my friends who can't afford to buy books - so in that instance a Kindle would be bad too.
Tue May 20, 05:52:00 AM 2008
Georgiana Daniels said…
All I can say is: hooray for ebooks! I'm super jealous that you can knit and read at the same time. My brain just wouldn't work that way.

It was a dark and stormy (knit one, purl two) night, and all around the (knit one, pur--oh, dropped a stitch.)

Nope, not happening.
Tue May 20, 06:24:00 AM 2008
Malia Spencer said…
I love ebooks too. I go through phases when I read them and when I don't. It just all depends on how much time I spent on the computer. Lately that's been a lot more than usual and my eyes just can't take the strain of the reading. I actually didn't read for over a whole week, that's how much time I was spending on the computer. Is that sad or what?
Tue May 20, 09:22:00 AM 2008
Anonymous said…
I own a Kindle, Camy. I've had it just about a month, and I absolutely love it. The charge lasts and lasts, and the fonts are great. It's about the size of a trade paperback. I blogged about it here
and here.

I haven't found anything I don't like about it, even if it is first generation. And this is from someone who has never liked reading on my PDA or on my computer.

Robin

PS If those HTML links don't work, go to my blog and see the entries around the 2nd and 3rd of May.
Tue May 20, 11:23:00 AM 2008
Gail said…
Thanks for the interesting topic. I was just looking at the Kindle again to see what people are thinking of them now that they've been out a few months. I do admit to being intrigued by them. I have a Palm Pilot and LOVE reading on it. My two favorite features of reading on a palm are not available on Kindle, however, which discourages me.

1) the backlight: I love, love, love being able to read in bed without a night light. Do it ALL the time, every night, often twice a night.

2) the small size: I dislike the trade sized paperbacks because they are too big to fit in my purse, but my Palm fits perfectly, and it small enough to hold and read on a crowded train (I live in Moscow so trains are VERY crowded).

It seems to me like Kindle is the perfect device to convert those who have never liked reading on a device or computer. For me, I'm not so sure. Plus the price is way out of my price range. I'm just a poor missionary who needs to take a paycut because of low support, so I can't afford to buy one for a long time. The price really does seem outrageous when Palms are so much cheaper and do multiple things. I bought my palm years ago and it is also my mp3 player, video player, picture viewer, keeps track of my finances, schedule, phone numbers, contains multiple versions of the Bible and much more.

All in all, even if I could afford it I can't justify buying it, partly because I can't use the books I've already purchased, and I'm not sure it's features would completely satisfy me.
Tue May 20, 07:20:00 PM 2008
Melissa said…
I think they are a great idea in concept, but it does force you to buy all of your books from Amazon or one other place (can't remember off the top of my head). I trade a ton of books via paperbackswap, and you can't really pass books along.
I suppose it would be great to have one to take on a trip, where you can load a bunch of books on it and have only the one thing to carry around rather than a huge bag of books (like I always do)
Wed May 21, 01:49:00 PM 2008
Camy Tang said…
I agree, the cost is a bit prohibitive and I love the fact my Palm PDA is the size of a deck of cards versus the size of a trade paperback book.

I love the fact that I can carry like 40-50 ebooks in my PDA when I am traveling. Not that I really read that many books, but I have a huge selection to choose from, so I can read whatever I'm in the mood to read at that moment!

Camy
Wed May 21, 02:48:00 PM 2008
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