Anyone got an E-book?

Yazi

So what are your thoughts on E-Books?

Has anyone got one?
Good idea? Which one?
Just been reading about the "Wireless reading device" from a popular online seller...

Its just that I am thinking when buying books they wont take up so much room after reading. Then end up in the loft.....

Good for holidays/reading in bed/maybe not for reading in the bath...

blobbyh

I guess they're okay for some, others will deem them a waste of dosh.

To me, it's a gadget too far. I personally prefer the search for and tangible feel of buying a real book, usually from the charity shop or library. If you drop it, it doesn't stop working or run out of battery power. Lose it and you only lose five quid. If it's excellent, you can also lend it to someone else.

Then once you've all done with it, you simply take it back to the same place.

Marga

blobbyh wrote: »

I guess they're okay for some, others will deem them a waste of dosh.

To me, it's a gadget too far. I personally prefer the search for and tangible feel of buying a real book, usually from the charity shop or library. If you drop it, it doesn't stop working or run out of battery power. Lose it and you only lose five quid. If it's excellent, you can also lend it to someone else.

Then once you've all done with it, you simply take it back to the same place.

that is what i do with my books

i buy them the most i have paid i think it was £1.50 for my books and also get them from the book fairs in the market ....

It is not for me, but a friend of mine has one and loves it guess it depends on the person

I only have brains to read one book at a time so why would i need to carry 400 even if it is in a very small thing?

Primble

i'm planning on getting a kindle with my bonus. am so excited as i like to buy one thing specific with my bonus so it doesn't drift away with other expenditure

taskey

i have an ipod touch which has the kindle on it as a free app, and you can download the books from amazon and can read it from the ipod touch. granted the screen is a bit small, but you can vary the size of the text just like in a kindle or the ipad.

not bought any books yet as have not had a proper go with it, but it has downloaded some free books and seems to be quite a cool idea.

Tracy

Andypandy

With regards to the ACCA material, they're inexpensive from ebay (99p as opposed to £35.99. I like the Tony Surridge stuff, which is sold as an ebook, but can't get used to using it on the pooter everyday - too much hard work. You still need to weigh up the printing costs,...

steveJ

I always go through phases with reading - Can read book after book for a few months and then wont read anyting (apart from AAT books on a regualr basis).

I was just wondering how good these devices can be for your eyes ? Obviously the manufacturers must have taken this into account when creating them.
On average, i spend upto an hour n half reading a book in one sitting, so was just wondering how this time would affect my eyes when reading from a kindle or any such device ?

Monsoon

blobbyh wrote: »

I guess they're okay for some, others will deem them a waste of dosh.

To me, it's a gadget too far. I personally prefer the search for and tangible feel of buying a real book, usually from the charity shop or library. If you drop it, it doesn't stop working or run out of battery power. Lose it and you only lose five quid. If it's excellent, you can also lend it to someone else.

Then once you've all done with it, you simply take it back to the same place.

Absolutely.

I love reading. I spend too many hours a day staring at a screen, I wouldn't like to read a book on a screen either. I'm sure eBooks have their place, but for me I'd only do it if I really needed to - I much prefer a real book.

Pixie

I like the idea of having work related manuals and text books on an e-reader (I've seen quite a few accounting and business e-books available) It would save carrying loads of books to college, and handy for referencing things at work etc. Plus I think you can download PDF files to them - our college notes are emailed to us prior to lessons, so you could put them on the e-reader, some of which allow you to annotate the text.

Rinske

I love my e reader.

Because the screen isn't lighted from behind, it doesn't feel like you are reading from a screen, but just a normal page and instead of having one book with me, I carry about 400, so if I got bored with a book, I just swap.

I got loads of study notes on it. And it reads pdf files, although usually I convert them, because zooming in on a pdf seems to not work too well on my ereader.

PAMDILL

I have got a Kindle, used to use my HP IPAQ for reading stories but prefer the Kindle. I read like crazy, all sorts of stuff. I mainly use the Kindle for fanfiction like SG1 and X Men stories.

I have not tried downloading an e-book yet but hope to get vouchers at Christmas for that.

I find the Kindle easier to read than paperbacks as you don't have to worry about splitting the spines.

PGM

blobbyh wrote: »

I guess they're okay for some, others will deem them a waste of dosh.

To me, it's a gadget too far. I personally prefer the search for and tangible feel of buying a real book, usually from the charity shop or library. If you drop it, it doesn't stop working or run out of battery power. Lose it and you only lose five quid. If it's excellent, you can also lend it to someone else.

Then once you've all done with it, you simply take it back to the same place.

I agree, and I hope they don't kill off the book

I just like having a book, which is often beat up by the times I'm done with it, being thrown in a bag during train journeys. Having to wrap up a kindle would be another hassle when commuting!

blobbyh

Can't see them killing off the printed format for a few years yet anymore than the supposed paperless office has killed off most other people buying reams and reams of A4 paper.

While not quite as "titty" as the Ipad, the e-reader's still another device for people at stare at on the train and think "Get a life..."

Rinske

I love a proper book too, but my e reader is smaller than most books I read, so it actually fits in my daily bag.

I actually wanted it for my next study, and got it as a reward for myself for finishing AAT, but so far I have not used it for my study at all, but love it for the normal reading. It's lighter than a book and when I am tired, I can change the font size, so I don't have to squint to read it, which is what I usually do with books.

I don't think it will replace books completely, as the whole second hand market for books is great, and I still go charity book shopping now and then.

Usually I don't fancy paying a lot for new books, so I pick them up in a charity shop and if they are really good, I keep them and otherwise I bring them back. But my e-reader came with a whole lot of free books on it and I'm still reading all those.

PGM

blobbyh wrote: »

While not quite as "titty" as the Ipad, the e-reader's still another device for people at stare at on the train and think "Get a life..."

Thats sums it up very well

I like the iPad advert, analysing the financial graphs or studying medicals diagrams. Should have shown someone playing a driving game on a train!

taskey

ok, any more views on this. i have been offered a kindle for a lovely price and have been looking at the e-books on amazon etc.

just wanting to know if it is money well spent??

Yazi

I did get one in the end with my bonus for not having taken any sick days in the year...!

Love it!

Will be taking it on holiday next month.

(Its funny how the reviews say that you cannot read it in the dark...its an e-"book"....)

Charged it up when I got it before xmas and havent needed to since.
Keeps your place. Can have several books on the go.
Can put PDF's on it.
Reads for you...(fun when you put the voice on fast...)
Can put music on it.
Dictionary - so that if you put the cursor in front of the word you get the definition.
Can Highlight. Make notes. Change text size.

Oh and do get the proper cover, its good. Bit pricey but I think its worth it..

blobbyh

Just curious Yazi, but who reads several books at the same time? You wouldn't have five movies on the go would you? And who needs to read in the dark anyway unless you want to destroy your eyesight, even with a backlit device?

Never had a paperback yet that needed charging before I could use it but each to their own...

Primble

I love my kindle. i thought you had already got it though? i dont have the amazon cover but do have a hot pink cheaper one that fits perfectly. i have been reading the free books and downloading loads at the same time then picking what i fancy. Blobby, you can read more than on book at a time. for example. i read a story, but i so have a how to lose weight without dieting book and the womens bible. ok i havnt looked at that yet but it was free and would be something youd read alongside something else

blobbyh

Surely the idea behind a gripping 'page tuner' is that you keep turning the pages until you get to the end?! I too might have several books on the go but all barring one of them would be non-fiction. Just because you can doesn't necessarily mean you should. ;-)

We should come back to this thread in a years time to see if you're still Kindle fans who've never gone back to proper books!!!

PGM

blobbyh wrote: »

We should come back to this thread in a years time

When the battery isn't holding a charge as long, and the screens picked up a few scratches making it annoying to read.

Yazi

Robert

I agree, reading in the dark is a silly idea, I was saying that some people think you should be able to read the Kindle in the dark but it is not designed for that, just like a book.

I too do have different books on the go, fiction, non-fiction, learn German, AAT (not) etc.
Also Hubby has his Star Wars ones on it, so multiple books stored on a thin device works for us.
Not saying that we dont have "normal" books anymore. Not anti paper books. Its just another option.

Kindle might get scratched but books do get tatty too, and yellow and dusty and musty and fall apart when the spine or glue dies..
Pros and cons to both I guess!

Anyone seen the film farenheit 451? Love that film....(no Robert, not because they burn the books, Just love the story..)

blobbyh

On a topical note, perhaps the next lot of CBA exams will be made available on a poorly lit, barely charged device the size of a fag packet where you have to keep turning multiple pages just to see the whole of the question only to forget what came earlier?

It's a thought isn't it?

Yazi

Its funny, in the "old" days we, as a family, could not ever imagine what we would need a computer for. What would we do on it? Silly waste of space.. we can write letters, why do we need word processors.
Mobile phones....we had only one for ages and ages, only needed one. What did we need them for anyway....? Never would 'each member' of the family have one...let alone children....
TV = Black and White . just one.....and who needed colour..oh and then came colour...and did anyone realize that Wizard of Oz begins in B&W before then changed to colour part way through..
Now each room has one..

Progress it is called....it happens..sometimes unnecessary some feel.

Anyway back to the Kindle....I am saving the trees!!!!!!

Yep - will contact AAT with your idea Robert!

blobbyh

I bet you also remember the days when you had to ride a horse to the next village, eh?

Yazi

Didnt want to mention that!!!

taskey

Primble wrote: »

i thought you had already got it though?

i get it friday, cant wait. it comes with a leather cover with the light on it.

i have just cleared out a bookcase full of books i have not got round to reading yet, and yes, they are dusty, yellowing adn take up too much space.

i am taking them to the box outside the library for others to have. i have had them for years and if i have not read them yet, the chances are i never will.

i have also looked on amazon and all of the cima books i was going to buy are on there as kindle versions.

i like the idea that you can read pdf's too as a lot of my study stuff etc is all on pdf files, so i wont have to print reams of paper to read through.

pros and cons to everything i suppose it all comes down to personal preference

PGM

Something thats not been mentioned.....

When you have close friends and family that pass books around, saving money and talking about the books. How do you do that with a Kindle?!

And I'd guess the book you download has digital rights protection so you can't even put it on your parters or whoevers Kindle when they've bought one!

taskey

there is an amazon lendable site, you list any books you want to lend or borrow on and people can borrow them for 14 days, once the 14 days are over, the book "returns" to the original person

http://www.kindlelendingclub.com/

tracy

blobbyh

I guess it's a not so welcome to the digital age.

I have many good memories of my youth, loving the hunt for a much wanted metal album - vinyl of course - and seeking out every record shop in town, then the browsing through the dross in the racks in the hopes of actually finding it or some other gem. But with the loss of Woolies, Virgin and Our Price among others plus the death knell sounding for HMV, actual record shops will soon become a thing of the past. Read an article the other day that there are now only less than four hundred independant record shops left in the UK. Used to be about ten in Brighton - now there are only two and once their elderly owners die, we'll probably even lose those. Sad

CD's weren't quite the same were they? A single shiny disc could never replace the wonder of opening up a mighty gatefold sleeve, with photographs galore and hopefully lyrics printed on the insides of each record sleeve. Best presented double album I ever owned was Iron Maiden's "Live After Death" which had everything.

And MP3 downloads mean we never have to buy a full album again, just our favourite one or two tracks off each.

The same goes for books and the almost obsessive hunt through the charity shops looking for a used bargain. I can't see digital books ever having the same wonder of paper versions. It'll never have the same gob smacking effect of seeing what was once a twelve inch high full colour piece of artwork on a three inch high digital screen. We'll forget the great smell of a brand new book or the musty smell of an old one. The ability to switch between mutiple books at will simply panders to our increasingly impatient natures, discourgaing 'stick-ability' in the hope that things get better - as they sometimes joyously did. And with bookshops also going the way of record shops, digital crap will be the only form of media that one day we might all be left with. There's also the danger that those without a digital device will fall behind in their reading ability. Is this really progress?

Then once they're gone, we'll all be bemoaning the loss of what we once knew was great, secretly and guiltily acknowledging that it was actually us that killed the genre.

Bah!

PGM

Good post Blobby.

It is a real concern how the digital age is killing off not only books, records, cd's.. But also the shops and jobs for people that work in them.

I was gutted when Borders closed down, used to enjoy browsing the books and cd's there, then a coffee in its coffee shop. Now its just another web page, being served by an automated website.

This change in the way of doing business must be adding significant numbers to the unemployed statistics.