[Closed] My book case is full...

Books are special. Computers are not.

There's staggering amounts of totally legal free books available. ASDA and Tescos are both doing cheap readers for around £60, but they require an SD card to be used to obtain books via your computer, they have no wifi. Not sure of the quality at that price, but could be worth a punt as a starting point. I use my phone, and manage perfectly well, but lots of people have issues with small screens. It's possible to get legit payed-for books for good prices if you look around, a disadvantage seems to be that with Kindles, Nooks and Sony's you're tied to their source, a cheap reader gives you the option of Stanza, eReader and other open book stores.

Nothing like a real book for me, although readers are convenient like an ipod.

I wouldn't argue with the good Captain's point, I love real books, I took eleven up to London last week to get them signed, but I have loads on my phone for sheer convenience, and because of limited space. I love having an entire library in my pocket, to be called on at any opportunity I have some quiet time to just read, in a coffee shop, down-time at work, on a train...
It's all reading, it's all literature, it's all good.

amazon do a kindle app for macs/pc;s - loads of free classic title s apparently

Not really convinced it's the right time to buy, still a developing market. I love books but they're so damn bulky, I've got a whole wall of this room floor to ceiling with bookcases, stacked 2 deep on every shelf with more wedged in the gaps, and still got piles on the floor.

Holidays and trips is when I'd really like a reader though.

kindles are rubbish for reading in the bath

I'd like one for travelling as I spend a lot of time away and my hand luggage is already heavy enough with kit. On the other hand I love books and shelves full of books. I usually by them in charity shops these days so you get a hell of a lot for your money that way. And with the e readers getting so popular I reckon the charity shops will be bursting with them as people move on their paper copies. What I'd like to see though is Amazon to give you the Kindle version for a nominal sum if you by the real book of them.

I quite like the kindle, but i'll hold off on buying one till they come out with a decent full screen one. No idea why they think you need a keyboard on them! But screen wise they do look very good. Not sure how many books i'd buy on it, as with most we all like the feel of a book, but for all the old free out of copyright stuff etc on the web(assuming they can read pdf/txt files?), they look like just the very thing.

Most can read PDF/txt files I believe. If you have iBooks on a phone or pad, if you open a PDF file in Safari you're automatically asked if you want to open it in iBooks, and it puts it onto a separate shelf in what appears to be a comb-bound paper copy, which is neat.

The Kindle has a keyboard so you can search for stuff in the Kindle store.

I've had one since about October and it's a brilliant bit of kit. There were some long threads around Christmas discussing them - a search would reveal lots of info and views.

Like this one:

[url= http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/kindle-1 ]http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/kindle-1[/url]

The Kindle has a keyboard so you can search for stuff in the Kindle store.

Aye but we live in a world with touch screen technology so i'll be waiting till i part with any cash till that happens!

I'm sure it'll come - I think the Sony Reader has a touchscreen. Kindle is cheap though. The keyboard is slightly annoying, I agree.

Aye but we live in a world with touch screen technology so i'll be waiting till i part with any cash till that happens

Until the latest Sony the problem of a touch screen has been that it's been slightly reflective which isn't great for an e reader. What I've read on the latest Sony however suggests they've got over that issue.

Just taken all the old paperbacks to the Charidy shop as I will never re read them - dont have time to get through the new ones. Now only need the one bookcase rather than the 3. Like ebook & digital magazines.

Plus you can set it up how you like if your not so keen on the black type on white background which some dislicksics struggle with...

You won't be able to read any of that electronic nonsense in 20 years time as there will be a different system. Stick with proper books.

there will be a different system

There may not even be a system... of any kind. But you'll still be able to read good ol' hard copy by candlelight.

ononeorange - Member
"Stick with proper books."

And all your music on wax drums.

And all your music on wax drums

I only recently stopped using a portable CD player. 😳

My gawd, the looks of disgust I got when changing discs on the train...

I love books too, but my god they take up a lot of space.

We've had an e-book given to us a year ago, so I dusted it off and "acquired" a few books to take on holiday a couple of weeks ago.

Pros:
* No agonising about which ones to take on holiday, take them all!
* Less to lug around
* Once I started reading, I still got just as engrossed in reading as normal, the technology didn't get in the way of my reading pleasure.

Cons:
* Books don't run out of batteries, or need a USB port
* You don't have to stop reading a book on takeoff and landing
* 1 ebook reader weighs more than 1 paperback, so if you're reading in bed and it slips and bonks you on the nose, it hurts.
* If the author chooses to write [u][b]WHORE[/b][/u] in massive letters, people on the train think you're surfing a weird web site and give you funny looks. Somehow, if they know your reading a book, it makes it OK (I was reading the Millennium Trilogy).

Mines been used practically every day since I got it in Nov.

Got the 3G one - free tinternet in Europe, US, and more.
Put pdfs of presentations etc on it for work.
RSS feeds of newspapers, blogs, etc automatically download.
Ive got hundreds of books on there. Sat waiting be the bus or whatever - just pull it out.
I dont have smartphone, so use it for quick emails too.
Crazy-long battery life

I bought the OH a Kindle for Christmas. There are hits, and then there are hits. Fantastic bit of kit, she loves it to pieces (and has the added effect of saving me from concussion when she falls asleep reading hardbacks in bed.