Kindle-ed

[JohntheBiker]

Haven't got a Kindle, mine's a Sony eReader. But I have to agree that it has profoundly changed the way I manage my reading. I have a daily commute by train and the ereader is a lot more practical than carrying one or more books around. It's also a lot handier travelling - I can pack multiple books, I never run out and it fits easily in carry-on. I can honestly say that I generally don't buy hard copies any more. Haven't got rid of books around the house, but I am not adding to the library. Use my iPad for mobile computing and keep the ereader strickly for reading - the battery lasts a lot longer on the Sony.

[Cynthia]

I have a Kindle Touch (my husband has the Fire, and while he likes it, he kind of wishes he'd purchased a Touch as well). I go through chunks of time where I don't read at all, but I'm working out certain things like sewing projects and spend my winding down (when I normally read) time contemplating issues then instead. But yes, when I do read, I definitely read. I've only purchased one book so far, and that was to purchase my husband's eBook to tell him if it downloaded correctly when he first installed it. The rest of them, I pick up for free because they're old. I've been enjoying catching up on books I've always wanted to read, and having a light gadget to hold has been nice. I have fibromyalgia, and as much as I love books, some of those huge heavy ones make it difficult to get comfortable and read for long amounts of time.

[ScotFree]

I got my kindle a couple of years back. It hasn't changed the way I read really, as I always had a book with me wherever I went, but now I have 100 books with me wherever I go. So while it hasn't changed my reading habits, it has changed what I read. I tend to read now what I feel like at the moment instead of what I have with me.

[Tobus]

I should add that there is one other thing I occasionally use my Kindle for. It will open and view PDF documents, and you can zoom in as close as you want. Because of that, and its ability to hold a lot of documents, I have used it to store my construction drawings when going to visit a jobsite. Instead of having to lug around a roll of paper drawings (which is really difficult when you have to climb ladders), I just put them on my Kindle and carry it with me in a leather pouch slung over my shoulder. It's a little slow trying to find the drawing I want and open it up, but it's still a very convenient way to carry drawings. And since it uses e-ink (instead of a screen with backlighting), I can read it in full sunlight. Can't do that with an iPad or other computer screen. The black and white e-ink screen of my Kindle is perfect for viewing drawings.

[McFarkus]

I've had a Kindle since it first came out and am now on my 4th model the Touch. I paid extra to have both 3G and wireless. I find myself reading when I should be doing other things. One great thing, with the cover I have from my Kindle, I can read with one hand while walking the dog, so my morning walks have gotten a bit longer.

One dangerous secret: On Facebook there are two services which each offer 12 or more free books on Kindle. My "to be read" folder now contains over 200 books. The services are "Pixel of Ink" and "Kindle Author."

[DScottHunter]

I've had a Kindle Fire for a while now and I really like it. I had a regular Kindle reader prior to it and liked reading from it. The Fire has so much more with the color touch screen, access to the web and apps with wi-fi and the many other "smart" workings inside. It is a little heavier than the regular Kindles. There is no user fee to access the wi-fi info, but sometimes I wish I had 3g to access away from wi-fi sources. What I found I like to use with the touch screen is those stylus pen specially made for touch screens. With my big fingers and the often small buttons or info. to tap, it really helps to "type" better. With readers becoming more popular the access to e-books is becoming more difficult with the wait times becoming longer. But all in all with the ability to carry more books and info it's a great machine to have. Enjoy

[Pleater]

I have a program called 'Calibre' which manages ebooks, I haul the downloads into its library, and use it as my archive, then shuffle the - maybe that should be shovel the books into and out of the Kindle, as I find that 20 pages of titles is about the limit I can manage - I am sure that there must be some way to create sub-folders, but I don't have time to find it out at the moment.

I was perplexed by the lack of access to things on the device, but then realised that it can be thought of as a removable disc with limited access to the contents, and that seems to be working. I am sure that like most other technology the Kindle will expand its abilities in the same way phones have.

Having had the experience of my science fiction magazines disintegrate into confetti, the volatile nature of electronic books is not as off-putting as I thought it might have been.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[unixken]

No Kindle here, but I have taken to audio books, over the last couple years, for similar reasons. I spend a lot of time in my vehicle throughout the week, and the last two Garmin GPS units that I've owned include audio book players that support the audible.com aax format. With the audible support in the GPS, and the audible app installed on both my laptop and my iPod Touch, I too, am able to take some "reading material" with me just about anywhere.

It's a 13-hour drive for me, from my home in Ohio, to my sister's place, north of Orlando, Florida. When I made the drive to visit her at Christmas, the time passed effortlessly as I listened to Homer's "The Odyssey" (which as well, was 13 hours long.) That's probably the longest single stretch of "reading time" I've ever experienced, but the audible format was convenient and effortless to enjoy.

[Riverkilt]

Was gifted with a Kindle Fire last year...still struggling with the learning curve but have downloaded a few books. Use it as an on line thingie too when I can get a wireless signal...which is rare here. Just took it to the week long conference thinking I could use it during the presentations but the tech folks at the venue had blacked out the conference room...grumble.

Main hassle is getting the thing to work...gave up on touch - it usually ignores me...got one of them sticks with foam on the end but they only seem to work about half the time. It also has a mind of its own and likes to jump around at random. So far, its mostly been a challenge for me.

[ScotFree]

As big a lover of the printed book that I am, and I still do frequent used book stores, the best part of an e-reader is that I can take whole honking bunches of books around with me instead of just one or two. As I am in the habit of flipping around between books depending upon my mood at the moment, this is ideal. However, as a computer professional, I tend to take advantage of technologies that are useful.