Sunday Salon: Reading on the Kindle
Posted by Cottontimer on 18 May 2008 | Tagged as: Reading
Two weeks ago, my sister brought an Amazon Kindle electronic reader for me from the States (I live in London, UK). Since then, I haven’t gone a day without using it and obsessing over it by reading every mention of it via my RSS feed subscriptions. It is quite possible that I spend as much time reading comments and reviews of the Kindle as I do reading material on the device itself!
What I’ve read on the Kindle thus far:
- The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow
Currently, this book is only available in hardcover, audio CD, and Kindle formats. If I didn’t have the Kindle, I would have waited until the paperback version and by that time, would have probably forgotten all about it. I think this is one of the powers of the Kindle. Readers can read the latest books at a reasonable price (Last Lecture Kindle edition is $9.99) and authors can get faster gratification from seeing their books sold and read soon after first publication.
- The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8 Lee
Another book I would have put on my long long books wishlist. Who knows if I would have ever gotten to it had it not been available on the Kindle! As it is, I not only read and enjoyed this book about Chinese-American food and culture in general, I’ve purchased a hardcover copy for a friend who I think will be nodding her head all the way through it.
- The Sunday New York Times
I’ve taken to buying just the Sunday issues for 75 cents each week. Having the newspaper on my Kindle means that I can browse the articles at leisure no matter where I am without any of the mess and bulk so I’m able to recapture some of the serendipity of flipping through the paper version. I miss the pictures and diagrams but can always have a peek at them online if the story really moves me.
- Time magazine
Not a great experience. I miss the glossy pages and the photos. No more magazine purchases for me, I’m afraid.
- Drums of Autumn and The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon
I succumbed to downloading these to my Kindle even thought I own the paperbacks. Both of these (#4 and #5 of the Outlander series) are well over 1,000 pages and when I couldn’t crack the spine of one while reading, I got frustrated and went Kindle instead. My tired eyes (increased font size) and numb arms thank me!
So would I recommend the Kindle to other people? It depends.
If you travel frequently on public transportation or take longer trips, get a Kindle.
If you move frequently, especially to different countries, get a Kindle.
If you sometimes struggle with font size, get a Kindle.
If you have limited space for paper version books in your home, get a Kindle.
If you like buying hardcover new releases and want to save some money, get a Kindle.
What I think is really silly about my owning a Kindle is that I have no wireless access overseas meaning I have to download everything via USB whereas people in the U.S. in the wireless coverage area can download directly to their Kindle from (what seems like) thin air. In essence, my purchase subsidizes everyone else’s use of the wireless network! Nonetheless, the Kindle is a handy and convenient gadget for anyone who reads on a daily basis.
NB: I haven’t written up a list of likes and dislikes of the Kindle simply because so many others have done it. If there’s interest, I shall do so next Sunday provided baby #2 hasn’t arrived!
Photo credit: Custom Kindle Screensaver by Scurzuzu.
Free Kindle screensavers can be found at Kindlerama.com
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Interesting. I’ve heard very mixed reviews of Kindle, mostly on the negative side. I’m glad that you’ve shown some good reasons to like it (though I still don’t think I’m convinced). Happy Sunday Salon!
Christine, From what I’ve observed the people who truly dislike the Kindle are those who don’t even own one and have never seen one in person! Those of us who are willing to sprint for a Kindle are generally satisfied although that might be part of the rationalization that goes into paying $400 for a gadget.
No use for me in India. There is virtually no wireless here!
Gautami, The wireless is a big selling feature of the Kindle but even without it, the Kindle is highly functional. I purchase books online at the Amazon.com site then download the content to my Kindle via USB. You can also download free ebooks from other websites directly via the Internet.
I’m currently living in Okinawa, Japan and have been looking forward next year when we move back to the U.S. and I can get a Kindle. Now, you mentioned about using a USB port to download to the Kindle since you are overseas. Is anything being stored on your computer’s hard drive or is everything downloading directly to your Kindle?
Karen, By default, Amazon stores all your purchases in your Amazon account online for download via USB or wireless at anytime. You can choose to download purchases to your hard drive first then port it over to the Kindle. I didn’t want to clutter up my hard drive so I’ve been downloading directly from my account to the Kindle and deleting finished readings figuring that I can download again anytime via my account.
Hope you’re enjoying Japan! I lived in Nagoya from 1999-2004.
I read The Fortune Cookie Chronicles - the old fashioned way - via the library - it was good.
Leslie,
LOL @ “old fashioned”
According to some people, reading books in any format is old fashioned!
Now if a kindle can do away with reams and reams of newspapers then at least I can see a possible use for one.
You got it, Ann! Last weekend, someone tossed a free issue of the Sunday Times (UK) on our doorstep. I didn’t even bother to go through it. I despise ink on my hands and think 3/4 of most newspaper content is rubbish. I do love my Sunday NY Times, though. Old habits….
Yes, I can definitely see the value in one of these to replace huge stacks of newsprint. I’m not sure about books yet - I guess I’m still too tactile when it comes to books. I want to feel the paper and smell the ink
Ravenous Reader, I could do without the paper cuts, though! heh
Love to have one, they are so startrekkie! More then happy to have a world in which you buy a usb storage “stone” or down load on the hoof so my over crowded 2000+ books could become one neat shelf. But would need to see and use one for a while and see the price seriously fall. So around 3rd generation then!
John, Thanks for the comment! I’ll cross my fingers for you that 2nd generation will be much better and more affordable.
But then *I* would feel ripped off! No win situation.
Banzai!!!!! I’ve been craving a Kindle to feed my severe reading addiction and counter glacially slow parcel delivery, but thought i was out of luck because of the wireless feature and living in Japan. This thread seems to indicate otherwise. Hurrah…USB and Kindle, here I come.
Go, Diane, go!
The only strict requirement is that payment has to be with a U.S.-based credit card. Otherwise, overseas users can definitely download content for the Kindle. Two caveats:
1. We can’t get sample chapters because those are only available via the wireless.
2. I tried subscribing to newspapers but couldn’t kickstart the subs. It may be that the 14-day free trial is also be linked to wireless. I didn’t bother sorting it out with customer service because I ended up changing my mind about subscribing to the papers anyway.
Have fun! Let me know if you have other questions.
One more thing, I believe the Kindle can only be shipped to U.S. addresses.
I wrote a post about the Kindle - and whether I should buy one - on my site last year and one of my readers directed me here.
I’m really torn - I’m going to the states in September and was going to get one delivered to my hotel!
It’s such a shame that here in the UK we can’t use the wifi - maybe one day.
I’m not a fan of h/backs so always wait for the p/back - just recently a lot of people have been recommending h/back books and it would be so great to be able to read them now rather than wait 12-18 months!