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Forum -> Hobbies, Crafts, and Collections -> Reading Room

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Fox

Wed, Aug 13 2008, 5:12 pm

After a year of saving and vacillating, I finally got my Amazon Kindle electronic bookreader! If any of you are considering it, I definitely recommend it!

Yes, it's overpriced at $349, but for those of us for whom the public library isn't a good option, the savings on books more than make up for the price. I love the fact that I don't have to store or get rid of hardcopy books that I don't want to keep, and I like the fact that I can keep a private library -- things I want to read but might not want my children thumbing through. The Kindle's internal memory holds approximately 200 books, and you can use an SD card to store more.

The Kindle uses cell phone technology rather than Internet, so I can simply click and purchase a book no matter where I am. I also get the Wall Street Journal delivered every morning . . . and I don't have to take papers to the garbage at the end of the day!

I was concerned that I wouldn't enjoy reading as much because I've always liked the feel of paper pages, but I adjusted almost instantly.

So now you know where all the money went that I saved by buying a cheap shaitel!

Last edited by Fox on Wed, Aug 13 2008, 5:38 pm; edited 1 time in total

Shimmysmom

Wed, Aug 13 2008, 5:16 pm

ive always thought that it looked like an awesome idea. but what about shabbos???
lets say your in the middle of reading something good and want to finish it on shabbos- this is when I have the most reading time!

Fox

Wed, Aug 13 2008, 5:37 pm

Shimmysmom wrote:

but what about shabbos???

Yeah, that's the only negative. I also love to read on Shabbos. I try to read Jewish-oriented books on Shabbos, so I don't miss it too much. The flip side is that I just throw it in my purse, and I have while I'm waiting at doctors' offices, in carpool lines, etc.

Amital

Thu, Aug 14 2008, 8:57 am

For $350, I hope you don't just "throw" it anywhere. LOL

(Sorry, it was my first reaction.)

I have been eying one of these, but it seems like a lot, and I don't live in the US right now. So I guess I'll wait. It's nice to hear that it's as good as it looks, though!

Kumphort

Thu, Aug 14 2008, 10:55 am

I have also been eyeing one for a while.
do you have any issues with glare? have to hod it at angle?
have you done any good comfy sitting on the couch curled up reading? or is it better just for casual reading like the WSJ?

How much do you pay for a book?

Fox

Thu, Aug 14 2008, 11:21 am

Amital wrote:

For $350, I hope you don't just "throw" it anywhere. LOL

(Sorry, it was my first reaction.)

It comes with a padded jacket that you leave on when reading (at least I do). It makes it feel more familiar -- like reading a traditional book -- and it provides pretty good protection. You're right -- I don't aim for a 50-yard touchdown pass, but I don't feel like I have to coddle it.

Kumphort wrote:

do you have any issues with glare? have to hod it at angle?

I had been concerned about this because many of the early reviews mentioned it. I don't know if they've improved it or if I'm so old I just don't notice. I'll have to tilt it occasionally if I'm reading outside and the sun hits it at an odd angle, but never for inside reading.

Kumphort wrote:

have you done any good comfy sitting on the couch curled up reading? or is it better just for casual reading like the WSJ?

It's actually much better for "curled up reading" than for periodicals and newspapers. The pages look exactly like a traditional book, but instead of turning the page, you simply click a wide bar that says "next page". I had to get used to reading the WSJ on it because I was using the page layout as a guide to find stories. Now I have to scroll through a list of sections or articles.

Since I fit into the category of "older imamother", I also like the fact that I can change the font size. If I don't have a pair of reading glasses with me, I just increase the font size to "BAAB" (Blind as a Bat)!

Kumphort wrote:

How much do you pay for a book?

The books range in price from free (usually some part of a special promotion) to $9.99 for a just-released-in-hardcover title. Recently released mass paperbacks are generally in the $3-$5 range and trade paperbacks are generally in the $4-$8 range. Classics issued by publishers who are no longer receiving royalties are as little as $1.

Amital wrote:

I don't live in the US right now. So I guess I'll wait.

There's a lot of discussion on the Kindle forums about using it outside the U.S. or in remote areas of the U.S. It's all dependent on cell phone coverage. Since it didn't affect me, I didn't delve into the issue, but apparently the biggest complaint is from U.S. troops serving outside the Green Zone in Iraq or in Afghanistan. They have trouble downloading stuff. Most of them have family members save books on an SD card and send it to them, but this is obviously not what most of them hoped for.

Raisin

Thu, Aug 14 2008, 11:22 am

It says books cost from 99c to 9.99. How much do you pay for books on average?

(if they bring it to europe I may consider one)

smilingmom

Wed, May 20 2009, 6:48 pm

I'm thinking of getting one for my DH,
Every time we go anywhere he is always carrying a few seforim. Are there a lot of available seforim that can you downloaded?

Fox

Wed, May 20 2009, 7:45 pm

smilingmom wrote:

I'm thinking of getting one for my DH,
Every time we go anywhere he is always carrying a few seforim. Are there a lot of available seforim that can you downloaded?

You know, I actually haven't checked out the seforim situation. My DH doesn't use it -- just me and the kids.

However, there's one very, very neat thing: Amazon makes it amazingly easy to publish books for the Kindle. I'm not sure, but I think it's free or nearly free. I've seen a few Jewish books made available, and there are tons of "self-published" books.

I probably wouldn't recommend it for seforim -- at least not at this point. The Sony Book Reader has a more limited list of downloadable books, but it offers the advantage of reading PDF files as well. The DH of one of my friends has one, and he does use it for learning. In fact, he's gotten lots of seforim simply by asking the authors or publishers to send him a PDF in exchange for a token payment.

An interesting thing has occurred vis-a-vis the Kindle since I started this thread. Lots of established authors are publishing stuff for the Kindle that their publishers didn't want. For example, many novelists also write short stories, but the market for short story collections is much smaller and you need a whole collection to make a "book". But an author can publish a short story for the Kindle and sell it for 99 cents to fans of his other work. He doesn't have to create a book that will sell 25,000 copies. I've gotten some wonderful stuff, and sometimes the authors ask their fans for feedback on their Kindle-only work. I had a nice email exchange with a writer whom I never would have "met" -- turns out he's a ger and was very interested in my feedback on using Jewish themes.

Anyway, I'll shut up. I just get excited about living in an era that's witnessing the biggest changes in publishing since the Guttenberg press. "Rant off", as they say in the programming world.

smilingmom

Wed, May 20 2009, 8:21 pm

Thanks.

Aribenj

Wed, May 20 2009, 11:03 pm

I LOOOOOOOOOVVVVEEEE my kindle...

On shabbos I have my shabbos book, but for the rest of the week I use a kindle. Also, I feel like I read a LOT faster with the Kindle.

RachelEve14

Thu, May 21 2009, 1:37 am

I'm glad you like it so much. I don't have one (don't think they work in EY), but my cousin was one of the original designers (she still works on it). Sounds like something I would love (if you can ever download the books here).

Fox

Thu, May 21 2009, 2:34 pm

RachelEve14 wrote:

I was under the impression that you can download books from anyplace with good cell phone reception. I know that there were lots of discussions on the Kindle forums among U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan -- seems you can download stuff easily within the "Green Zone" of Baghdad, but not so easily elsewhere, and hardly at all in Afghanistan. So I assumed it would work pretty easily in EY. Definitely ask on the Kindle forums, though. People are very helpful.

Tell your cousin that she's helped create a big problem in my house: now we all fight over the Kindle!

bashinda

Thu, May 21 2009, 10:02 pm

I thought about getting one but didn't for a few reasons:

1. the price is a bit prohibitive for me. it's funny but the same company (amazon) is one of the reasons I wouldn't buy it. I can get used books for very cheap on their marketplace and since I'm fine using the library I mostly do that through interbranch loan.

2. it would just be too tempting for me to read secular novels and I've somehow managed to not read them for a year almost so it would be like putting candy in front of a diabetic for me.

3. I also wonder about what if amazon decides not to make it anymore and no longer sells books in the kindle format. Yes, a paper book, can fall apart but that's one book. In the computer world things become obsolete extremely fast.

Otherwise I think it sounds great. I hope I'm not raining on your parade, ch"v and I hope you enjoy using kindle in good health!

Fox

Fri, May 22 2009, 12:10 pm

bashinda wrote:

Not in the least! I agree that the price is definitely a minus. Like everything else, a lot of it just depends on what excites you. Remember that I'm the woman who's firmly commited to $50 shaitels from Paula Young and whose best gift ever from her DH was a huge clip art collection.

If you have a decent public library and have time to go, then a Kindle would obviously not be such a wonderful thing. Unfortunately, my neighborhood library is lousy, and better branches are at least 15-20 minutes away. While I always had good intentions of making time for the library, I would end up running into Border's to pick up a book on my way to carpool or grocery shopping. Or I would make it to the library, but end up with huge fines because I didn't have time to get the books back.

So I figure my frugal shaitel habits more than compensate for the cost of the Kindle; I haven't entered Border's in over a year; and my parents give me gift certificates for Amazon for my birthday, etc. -- so my Kindle purchases don't come out-of-pocket.

I totally hear your thoughts about reading secular literature. While I definitely see the benefits of not being immersed in trashy novels, I was raised as a voracious reader, and that's something I'm not able to give up at this time. I try to limit my selections to the higher-brow stuff, but there are occasionally things I read that I would prefer my kids not read -- so I just store them (the books, not the kids) on an SD card that I keep separate from the Kindle.

bashinda

Fri, May 22 2009, 1:36 pm

Hmm. Storing kids on a kindle.

I can just see this.

"Sorry Mendel now that we said shema it's time for bed."
"No, Mommy, not button!"
(mommy presses button and *whoosh* mendel is nicely stored away for the night)
"Shluf gezeunterheit, yingele!"

And I walked away knowing my lovely children were all sleeping soundly in the kindle machine.

Okay nevermind.

I also grew up a voracious reader and even before I was frum the books of choice tended to be of the vintage and penguin variety. It's been a rough ride not reading anything secular and I'm amazed I made it this far without having a major relapse actually! I do miss reading a book where I'm enjoying just reading because it's so well written. Uhoh, I feel my taivos rising. Maybe I should stop here!

The library is a block away and even if the branch doesn't haven good stuff I don't know about it. I go online, choose the books I want and have them sent to my branch. Then I go in and pick them up. Also it helps being in Brooklyn there's a fair amount of Jewish literature available even some of the recent books. If I didn't have either of those options I would be more tempted as well.

That's great that you have so many certificates in amazon. Sounds like you're set to enjoy it for a long time. Again, use it in good health! Very Happy

ValleyMom

Tue, Dec 01 2009, 10:23 am

What about The Nook????
I am seriously cosidering getting the Nook.
Any thoughts???!

ValleyMom

Tue, Dec 01 2009, 10:24 am

And... Isn't it weird that there isnt a place to go try the darn items out before you drop this kind of $$????

bashinda

Tue, Dec 01 2009, 11:13 am

B&N says you can try it out in their stores.

but it's true about amazon's kindle, since they don't have "brick & mortar" stores you can't really check them out unless you know someone who has one.

My brother has one and one feature I liked is that it syncs with a kindle app for iphones and the ipod touch.

The closest I've come personally is using Adobe Digital Editions to read a few ebooks I checked out from the library, which is free but unless I get another laptop doesn't let me read in bed.

I would check out the nook. Then I would go through the features of both devices and see which one offered the features that are most important to you and how they compare with selection of books.

Whatever you choose, I hope you use in good health!

bubby

Tue, Dec 01 2009, 12:17 pm

I just spent over $100 on books to take for my looooooooooooong trip. And the weight!!! DH wanted to buy one for me but the price is definitely prohibitive. I just got a touch screen phone...I'm way behind the world in technology! Glad you like it, Fox!

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