Did buying a Kindle, increase the amount you read?

Toying with the idea of buying a Paperwhite, as I really do not read as much as I like, and thinking getting a Kindle will push me into reading more, what with quicker access to books + free/cheap titles available.

Also, I had a play with one in Tesco the other day, and they really are a nice bit of kit to, literally, look at.

…or is this the reading equivalent of all the gear and no idea? 8)

I read a LOT more generally. Mostly because it’s so portable and if I don’t like the book I’m reading I can switch easily without having to predict my “mood” before I go on a trip or something.

I’m on my second one as I got a freebie at a conference and will buy another (or equivalent) if/when this dies.

I don’t read more because I don;t get the opportuinity.

If I was someone who travelled at all or had spare time out the house then I’d carry mine in my bag and it woudl let me read more, yes. It’s the relatively low size and weight compared with a book that woudl swing it.

Yes. I used to read loads, years ago, then gradually got out of the habit. Have been reading regularly again since I got a Paperwhite, I really like it and much prefer it to a regular book.

I have had a Kindle for a few years and probably read a bit more now. I still enjoy going to bookshops and suffer from guilt when I browse the paper copies and then buy on Kindle. The Kindle library is probably the worst thing about it – I find it painful to browse for books.

It has made a big difference to the clutter in my house – I have read approx 90 books on my Kindle and these would take up a massive amount of space.

Overall I love my Kindle but worry that this may drive bookshops out of business.

As a tablet user, with several ereader apps installed, I’d say a categorical ‘yes’!
I’ve been an avid book reader since I was a little kid, but there’s a space limitation on the books I’d like to own. Yes, I could sell or give away older ones, but that would only work for a small while, because I re-read many of the books I have. Having the ebooks on the pad, and also on the phone, has made a huge difference, because I’ve found digital copies of books I’ve owned for thirty years or so, and others by the same authors I’ve never had paper copies of, and I’ve started reading books I last read fifteen-twenty years ago, because they’re always with me!. Any spare time, in a coffee shop, or down-time anywhere, and I can just open the book and carry on reading.
I still buy ‘real’ books, but not often, because of the space limitations, so technology hasn’t killed the book, it’s opened up the written word to a new, easily accessible format that anyone can use.
I’ve now got around 340 ebooks spread across four apps, although the great majority are Kindle and iBooks.
More are being added as I find new books, and old favourites.

I am reading more with mine. As said above it is portable and I keep it in my manbag courier bag so have it with me when I go out.

I read just the same, it’s a book substitute is all. I don’t like reading books in small doses though, magazines for waiting rooms etc and books for having a proper read, so I guess if I was doing more of that I’d be using the kindle more. But reading a book for 5 minutes is like riding a bike for 5 minutes 😉

Yep, reading more with mine too.

Rereading the free classics I’ve not read for years and some that I’ve not read at all.

About a quarter of the way through Les Mis.

Seriously impressed with the Paperwhite.
I’m glad I chose it over the normal Kindle – great for reading in bed when Ms Spanner’s asleep.

Yes.

Going to the bookshop, there’s a bewildering array of books, and I find it really hard to choose something I fancy. And since you’ve made the effort to go there you feel like you should buy two or three, so it’s a significant expense.

On the Kindle store you’re only paying £3.99 or something which seems far easier, and at the end it says ‘you might also like this’ and chances are you will, so the bewildering array is narrowed down to 6 or 8 books. Even if you don’t fancy one of those it gives you ideas, you can look at those other authors or the ‘people who bought this also bought this’ bit.

Also, when travelling it’s easy to always have the Kindle with you, so you’ve got lots of different kinds of book to suit your mood. Often I’d take a paper book and not be in the mood for it, so not read.

Overall I love my Kindle but worry that this may drive bookshops out of business.

We don’t really need traditional bookshops, what we really need is authors, and Kindle is pretty good for them.

Its weight, size and the fact that you can have so many books with you are the biggest factors.

It’s small enough to leave in the bag, even when you don’t think that your going to use it.

I’ve read twice as many books since I got it.

Not sure what I would do without it!

To me its a huge huge leap forward

All of the above reasons plus for me personally

i can read in a totaly dark room. Back when I was single i read myself to sleep every night. Thats harder when some one else is in the room and who wants to get to sleep. So 20 year on I’m back reading myself to sleep so thats brillaint

I’m also dyslexic. I read well and have always been a person with a book on the go. But I read even better on the kindle due to shorter lines and bigger text. I’ve had mine since christmas. I’ve had some amazing moments when the reading and kindle disapear and the book just sort of flows in

So yes its been a huge thing for

2 more weird thoughts

Its quite anti gadget really. Its about the reading, the gadegt itself is dull

I’m so glad the novel and written stories have leapt free from paper. i sort of wondered if reading for pleasure would die with paper. Now it seems the story is free and set for the future

exit evangilising mode

sorry

I normally read a lot when I have a book… as in, I will devour it in a very short space of time. Then, if I don’t have another book, I won’t read for ages.

The kindle means I’ve always got a book on the go, and as soon as I’ve finished one, I can have another one instantly.

So yes, I read more 🙂

Dave

ampthill – Member

Its quite anti gadget really.

Aye… I showed mine to my dad, he’s a great reader, thought he’d like it.
What does it do?
It’s a book.
Oh. Can you watch telly on it?
No.
Does it play music?
No.
Can I surf the net on it?
No. (actually maybe you can, I have no idea)
Hmm. So it’s just a book?
Yes. But look, it lights up…

I bought the other half a Paperwhite for Christmas so she gave me her old one. I’m half way through my fifth book now, which is probably about what I’d read in an average year. And it’s still only January.

For me, I think it’s the convenience. I always want to read, but never seem to have the right book at hand. With the Kindle you can scour Amazon for whatever is floating your boat that day, and with the click of a single button it’s waiting for you, ready to be read.

The other half also reads a lot, and has done for the past year since I initially got her one. She’s a faster reader than me and literally goes through several books a week, every week. She’d only read every once in a while before she got one.

Yes you can surf the net on it

I think on an old qwert one I got some where

the paper white is a bit of a joke

like trying to read the Times through the letter box while some one holds it out side…

Cheers for the replies, all. Reckon I might pull the trigger, as can always flog it if it ends up not being used.

I bought a Kindle for my wife, mostly because she’s a bit of a book worm – and switches between about 4 books at once.

If we went on holiday, half of the suitcase was full of books….

Now she’s got dozens of books on her Kindle, and it goes everywhere with her (it’s a convenient handbag size). So yes, I’d say she does read more.

I would love one, but …. Why can’t you gift a book you have read to someone else ?
I would have bought one ages ago if I could give books away, bugs me you can’t

I read just the same, it’s a book substitute is all.

This.
Funnily enough I read a paperback the other day and decided I like books better than the Kindle. Still, it takes up a lot less space.

I read a lot before I got a kindle, that’s the reason I got one.
So I would say no real change for me. I still won’t take my kindle into the bathroom in case it gets wet so I always have a bog book in there made of paper.

It’s changed my diversity habits. So if I’m on a train journey, I used to just take one book. Now I can take a hundred and if I get bored of reading one, I can easily swap.

Not being able to share books is a right pain. There are ways around it though, you can copy the books off it and strip the DRM, then copy the files onto other devices.

Re newspapers – I suppose it depends on the format. Reading PDFs would be a nightmare, but the Guardian at least is a kind of app where you click through a main page to get all the articles, but you can also flick through them linearly – works very well.

xiphon – Member

If we went on holiday, half of the suitcase was full of books….

Aye. For biking trips I always take tons of books, on the basis that I might break myself on day 1 and spend the rest of the week in the chalet reading. One of the things that decided me on getting a kindle in the end. Even for weekends away I’ll usually take a couple and that’s a fair bit of space and weight.

There was also a more ‘educational’ side to her Kindle – she reads loads of scientific journals/papers (as PDFs) which render very nicely on the Kindle screen. iPad is on the shopping list, but the Kindle has done well so far.

Right, I was planning on getting a Paperwhite this weekend, but just seen Amazon have knocked a tenner off the bog standard Kindle. Tempted to just get that now.

Will I miss the illumination?

Hi Jamie – if there’s one thing that I’d whinge about with the standard kindle, it’s just that. Pain in the backside if you want to read in bed without disturbing your other half, and the little clip on lights, while more than adequate for the job, seem to run out of battery power really quickly. I’ve just got a kindle fire, and so far, I’m loving it.

Yep, that’s the main reason I bought a fire. The screen on the original is beautiful, like paper but it’s no good in the dark.

Gah!

I am trying to talk myself into saving £50….but I know deep down I want a lit version.

Bum. Maybe Amazon will do a deal on the Paperwhite next week…

…still. Quite the price diff.