The Kindle

Hi everyone,

Just curious as to if any of you have it here, and how it's been working for you?  I am considering purchasing one as I don't have the space for many more books, and while I love to read an actual book, the Kindle makes sense.    Any input/reviews?

I would definitely suggest trying to find one to try out.  (Or maybe seeing if it's returnable if you don't like it?).  I've tried both the Kindle and the Kindle 2.0, and the page-turn/refresh rate is still too slow and the organization too...simplistic, for my tastes.  I'm holding out for a DRM free e-book reader (hey, a girl can dream), but the page-turn rate is a deal breaker for me, and I hated the feeling of waiting for the next page, or just having to "turn" pages constantly.
But, as far as I know, they work fine here! 

I do occasionally read books on my iPhone using Stanza; it's not ideal, but I mostly read the free out of copyright ones (or ones that are free for promotional reasons), and it's a good backup for the times when I have somehow lost my brain and forgotten to bring a book.

Interesting.   Yeah, I read pretty quickly, so I would find a slow page turn annoying.  I have the 100 Classics for my Nintendo DS, which is actually pretty neat, but the screen is TINY.    Like..Great Expectations is 1100 DS pages. 

I love most things Apple and while the iPad looks neat, it's 500 bucks.  But, and I don't know that the sony e-reader has best selection available.  Hmmm. 

I *know*.  I buy a LOT of books, and I am certainly willing to invest in an e-reader, but I haven't found one that works for me yet.  So far, the page-rate has been killer on the Sony and the Kindle.  Plus, I'm a bit frustrated that you can't loan the books, you rarely find them discounted, and they are locked to the reader. Although I do love Stanze and the page-turn is actually super quick on my iPhone, but yeah, tiny screen, so constant tapping.

I like the look of the iPad as well (if not the horrible name), but I think I'm going to wait till 2.0 to see how the iBooks section works out.  Plus, it's not e-ink so...it's just like reading on a computer (not necessarily something I want).

I guess I'll just keep buying my half dozen books a month in book form and wait for some sort of e-book revolution. That, and tripling up my books on the bookcases.

I LOVE my Kindle!!!!! Best purchase ever made! I was running out of room for books and it has been great. I love the way I can just think of something a buy the book right then instead of having to remember when I go to the store.

I have the Sony e-reader and absolutely love it.  Don't know how I ever lived without it!  You get used to the page turn rate.  I thought that would drive me nuts, but I've since figured out how far down the page I need to be before tapping the button to turn the page.  You don't really think about it when you are reading a real book, but you really are doing the same thing and getting ready to turn the page before you have finished the page.

There was a thread on here a while back about the Kindle as I was looking into getting one myself.  Apparently if you buy one from the UK you can only buy books from Amazon UK (same from US), however the selection in the UK is severely limited compared to the US.  Also, if you need / go to replace it you can only transfer any of your books to another Kindle, not to another reader because of the format that Amazon sell the books...

I've still not gotten one, but I really want a Sony e-reader Touch edition.

You can use Kindles in different countries you just cant wirelessly download from anywhere other than your home country. You just use the cord to move the books from your computer and it takes 2 minutes vs. 1 minute. Its really no big deal.

Good to know!  I think I'm getting one as a belated birthday present, and it will most likely be from the US, so that was one of my concerns.  I flip back and forth between the UK/US sites depending on what I want (and if I'm heading home for a visit) but I was curious as to how it would work.  Do you need all that memory available on your computer to store the book, (I will need to get an external HD then, I imagine, if I download as many as I think I will) or do you just need to it sitting at your home computer with the Kindle plugged in?

I've just brought my US Kindle to the UK -- you *can* download books directly to the Kindle and from Amazon US, there is a notice on my Kindle that automatically popped up to explain this. There is just an extra charge associated with it.

I like my DS "100 Classic Books" and have a few read by email titles I subscribe to so I can read them on my Blackberry (public domain texts).  I've considered getting an e-Reader, but I realised that at this point in time, I'd be better for me to just borrow books from the library.  For the books I do buy, I will put them on Book mooch if I think I won't read them again.

If they ever become more technologically advanced and more affordable, as well as working out title ownership issues, I will totally buy one.  I still like books better.  I love the smell and feel of books.

I do Kindle on the iPhone.  Not a huge selection out there yet, but I'm running out of out-of-copyright books that I like!  Been reading on a PDA and iPhone for about three years now.  Couldn't tell you the last time I bought a real book.

I'm not sure if this will work on the Kindle (one of the reasons I haven't bought one).  But Baen books (a fantasy/sci fi publisher) has a free library full of books (usually the first in a series).  It's great! And a good place to find more recent things to read!

I'm holding out for a DRM free e-book reader

Check out the iRiver Story Book. My husband and I both have one. I get most of my books from an LJ community and you just drag and drop. I love it!

I was just given one for my birthday, so it saved me the agony of a purchase that I don't like..but seriously, love this thing.  I agree that the page turn can be a bit slow, but I got used to it pretty quickly and really enjoy reading on it and not having 2-3 books in my bag for the long flights!