Hey, guys,
I'm frequent Throwing Things reader and occasional commenter Cecilia. I don't want to threadjack yesterday's excellent post on book suggestions, so I was wondering whether we could have a post at some point on the merits of e-books? I've always been anti-e-book, but I'm running out of room and have begun toying with the idea of getting one. I'd be interesting if the Throwing Things community likes the ones they have and the relative merits of the Kindle vs. the Nook. Having seen how much this crew reads, I'd be more interested in their thoughts and recommendations than just some random people at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Thanks!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
WHICH ONE'S BETAMAX? We take requests:
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I do not yet own an e-reader or other similar device, but when I purchase, most likely will be an iPad 2 (the new version rumored for Spring). Why?
ReplyDelete1. Doesn't lock you into a single proprietary format, unlike Kindle/Nook/Sony--free apps are available for Kindle and Nook formats, and it also opens up Apple's iBook format. Any new standards are likely to be supported by an App, given iPad's substantial user base.
2. Yes, it costs more than a Kindle, but you also have increased functionality. It's not quite ready to replace my laptop, but for day to day stuff, much better.
3. Larger screen/more flexibility.
My second choice would be a Kindle, and my last choice a Nook.
I have a Kindle, and I love it. Mine is a Kindle 2. If you want it just for reading, I think you probably can't do better. It's front-lit, so it's very easy on the eyes -- really no different, in that sense, from reading a book. You'll have to get used to pressing a button to turn the page, but I adapted to that part of it really easily.
ReplyDeleteI can't speak to the free 3G that comes with the new Kindle -- mine has browsing capabilities, but they're under Experimental Features and frankly, they suck. I'm told they've improved it, but haven't actually tried it.
Also worth noting: I have downloaded a metric TON of free books, which I suspect you could also do with the iPad if you had the Kindle app. Sure, some of the free books that are available are trash, including an alarming number of vampire/demon romance novels (shudder) but you can also get things like the complete works of Dickens, or all of Sherlock Holmes, or all of Lewis Carroll, for nothing.
Advantages:
ReplyDelete--Obvious benefit of traveling without carrying lots and lots of books.
--Able to download stuff instantly, not to be taken for granted if you live a distance from any bookstore (see immediate need to read Hunger Games books 2 and 3).
--Lots of free (public domain) books.
--Ability to carry all your books around at the same time (great if you tend to reread stuff a lot).
Disadvantages:
--Strangers striking up conversations on planes and trains about how you like your kindle (probably not so much anymore - enjoy this, ipad users)!
I have a 1G Kindle that's still alive and well, but I'm with Matt that if I replace it, I'm very tempted to replace it with an iPad (2). The only things holding me back--one major, one minor--are price and bulk. I'd be choosing to switch for the access, etc. so I wouldn't make an entry-level investment and so it's a lot of money.
ReplyDeleteThe smaller concern: they're not light. Of course, that's a very relative statement, but the few times I've held/used an iPad I'm always momentarily surprised by how heavy they are. I have a long daily (mass transit) commute and an e-reader for me is essentially a document reader so I don't have to carry a lot of paper around . . . so choosing extra weight detracts.
Anyone with an iPad?
I have a Nook (well, it's my husband's, but we share it). I haven't used a Kindle, so I can't compare, although my husband did a lot of comparisons before choosing the Nook over the Kindle. I think he liked the wider B&N selection better, and thought they had more free books to offer.
ReplyDeleteOne drawback (for me) for the Nook - at the bottom of the device, instead of a keyboard there's a touchscreen to make selections. (Search for books, select the one you want to read, change options like the font, etc.) I find the touch screen a little difficult to use - some of the "buttons" are narrow, and my wide fingers often select the wrong item by accident.
My personal pros and cons of e-books in general:
Pros:
- Saves space (I don't have a decent library near me, and I'm sick of buying books, reading them, then having them take up room on a shelf forever)
- immediate gratification (want to read a book? You can order it and have it in a few minutes)
- lightweight (so much easier to carry around in my bag or read on the subway than a hardcover)
- amazing for traveling (take as many books as you want for no extra weight)
- options for bigger or smaller fonts
- doesn't look like a computer screen (no glare) - looks like a page
Cons:
- It's harder to read a book and then loan it out to someone
- when you're reading at night and want to know how many pages until the end of the chapter (you know, so you know whether you should finish it or go to sleep) it's annoying to click through the next few pages rather than flip as with a book
- a book never runs out of battery power or freezes just when you want to turn the page and see what happens next.
- you lose some of the personality of reading a book, if that makes sense. There's something not just about the feel of the pages, but about the jacket copy, or cover art, or the blurb or author photo on the back being ever-present , that gets lost with an e-reader.
All in all, I've been skipping back and forth - reading some books on the Nook, but not all. I really enjoy the e-reader, but I can't imagine transitioning to it completely.
I used to read e-Books on my iPhone, which works surprisingly well. I bought a Kobo this year and like it fine. The main reason I added the Kobo was that I wanted to read library books. You need an Adobe Digital Editions compatible device to do this. (Neither the iPhone nor iPad have an ADE capable app. No idea why.)
ReplyDeleteMy library (and most libraries I think?) has an e-book site where you can reserve ebooks. When you download them, there's usually a time period (21 days is standard for mine). At the end of that period, Adobe won't let you open the file any more. I can use ADE to transfer the book to the Kobo and read it there. To my mind, this is the #1 reason to avoid the Kindle. I didn't want to only ever buy books from Amazon. I have a Kindle app on my iPhone, so if I want a book that's only available at Amazon, I can still read it.
I think the hardware isn't perfect yet. There's a bit of a delay in page turning etc. If I did it again I might buy a Sony reader. I still like paper books, but the instant gratification aspect is pretty awesome. You know a book is out, so you just buy it, and are reading it within a couple of minutes.
If you already have an iPhone or an Android phone, I would start there. Try reading a few books on your phone. At first the screen is ridiculously tiny. But then suddenly you are 100 pages in, and somehow have not noticed...
Oh, the can of awesomesauce you have opened with this question. Ebooks are ideal for avid readers - which it sounds like you are - for a whole mess of reasons.
ReplyDeleteI run a website called Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, which is all about romance novels and the women who read and write them. So many romance readers were early adopters of ereader technology because we read voraciously, we have "reading emergencies" (i.e. "What do you MEAN I finished a book and don't have another to start?!"). At 3am in a snowstorm, you can get a new book in 2 seconds. WIN!
I've tested just about every ereader out there, and recommend them based on the reading interests and the technical capability of the reader.
KINDLE: Kindle 3 is lightweight, has 3g and Wifi capabilities (depending on the model you buy) and is connected to Amazon's ebookstore, which is pretty flush with the options. The Kindle has an on-board email address so you can email files to yourself (if they are the correct format) and you can also connect it to a computer to load books. Kindle pretty much limits your buying location to Amazon exclusively, but they make it bonehead easy to buy books, and once you buy one, it's on the device in about 3 seconds if you're connected to a 3g/Wifi network.
The downside to Kindle: you cannot borrow library books. If you want to shop elsewhere for better pricing, you have to find the correct format, strip off the DRM, convert it using a free program called Calibre, then load the newly-reformatted file onto your Kindle. It is a Pain in the Ass.
Really, the biggest downside to ebooks is DRM, digital rights management, or the security wrapper around each book that forces the user to authenticate and possibly give up a kidney in order to verify that she has the right to read a single book file. DRM can really make the entire ebook buying experience totally miserable.
NOOK - the nook and the nook color are pretty spiffy, in that they allow you to buy books at BN.com, and, with limited availability, other bookstores. They also, depending on the model, have wireless and 3G capabilities. The nook also allows you to borrow ebooks from the library if your local library has digital lending available. I personally did not like the nook as much because it is bottom-heavy and thicker around the back (heh) so I was uncomfortable holding it. The nook color has a touch screen, and is taller than other readers.
I know many romance readers who LOVE having a nook because of the library and book purchase capabilities. Plus, if you go to Barnes & Noble stores pretty often, there are wifi-exclusive coupons for the nook that will appear on the device if you bring it with you -- free chocolate is never a bad thing.
The Kindle and the Nook have one big advantage over the Sony readers, which are expensive and, save one, have no wireless connection: with the companion apps for iPhone, Droid, Blackberry, iPad, PC and Mac, you can read a book that you've purchased from Amazon for the Kindle, or from BN.com for the Nook, on any device, and the wireless networks will keep your place. This is wonderfully addictive, but it will only work for books you've purchased from the proprietary bookstores associated with those devices. So you can start a book on your Kindle, for example, then download that book to the Kindle app on your phone while you're waiting in line somewhere, read a few pages, and when you go back to the Kindle, it will sync your last page read and ask if you'd like to jump ahead to where you left off.
Personally, I love having 150 books in my bag at all times, and I love the wireless connection that allows me to shop anywhere, any time I hear about a book I want to [...]
I have last year's Kindle model, and I love it. I'll second all of Adlai's and Aimee's pros above, and add a couple--any text-only files you can copy into a Notepad document can be uploaded to the Kindle for free. I send a lot of my newsletters to the Kindle to read, lots of magazine articles, etc.
ReplyDeleteIf you need to use it for work, they can also transfer PDFs into an adjustable text file for a price (I think it's 10-15 cents a page).
The type size is adjustable, so if you have bad eyesight, or if you're used to reading agate type, you can do both.
AND, if there are books you're "ashamed" to read in public, no more worries.
The cons are that some books just don't translate well (picture books, obviously, but also footnote-heavy stuff like David Foster Wallace). And using it for Web browsing--well, don't. The screen navigation is slow and bulky when it comes to that.
I haven't tried a nook or an iPad (the iPad's size bothers me) but I love my Kindle.
There must be something in the air because I just went through this earlier this week. I had been pretty ambivalent about e-readers but suddenly decided that I had to have one (I think it was finally reading the Lisbeth Salander books and determining that I HAD to have the next one immediately). I ended up going with a Nook for reasons that made sense to me on Monday. It had something to do with not wanting to be tied to Amazon for some ethical reasons I won't go into.
ReplyDeleteOh look, the UPS guy literally just brought this into my office! Hurray!
I have an iPhone but didn't want to read the small screen and didn't feel I need another device for web capabilities. I'd love an iPad but didn't want to try to justify the expense right now. Plus, I'd still need to bring my phone around since the iPad isn't a phone, so I figured that, since I'd be hauling two devices anyway, I'd stick with the smaller Nook.
As a book fiend and a gadget lover, the kindle seemed like the perfect invention for me but oddly, I was never really interested in getting one. My husband gave me my Kindle 2 last year for Christmas as a surprise and I have to tell you, I love it more and more every day.
ReplyDeleteI feel like could have written Aimee & Adlai's posts because I too have downloaded dozens of free books and have used the 3G to download Hunger Games book 2 from the beach in Cape May seconds after finishing book 1. AWESOME feature!
One of my favorite features is the sample download. Whenever I hear about a book from a friend, a podcast, or a blog like this one, I run to Amazon and download the sample. It's a great resource for when I'm casting about looking for a new book I can just try a few and see which one clicks with me at that moment and then download it.
The downfall, for me, is that I have used my library much less since owning the kindle. I used to go there to browse but now I seldom pop in because I can browse on the kindle. I need to be more mindful of borrowing books in 2011 instead of just buying them instantly. It's super easy to spend a lot on books without even thinking about it. The counterpoint to that is that the kindle allows me to feel like I am building a giant stockpile of books to read without actually buying them. Having a sample makes me feel like I own a book because I CAN own it at any time. I like the idea of having a giant pile of books on the nightstand and this lets me have that feelling without having the expense and clutter of all those books.
I like the fact that it's light as a feather, isn't in color, and has no distractions. I use it just to read, not to surf, not to post on the internet, not even for magazines or newspapers. Just for books. Thanks to Goodreads I know that I've read 45 books in 2010 and just about half of them were read on kindle. I was surprised that the ratio was that close -- I feel like I read more on the kindle -- but it certainly hasn't made me walk away from real books.
I also miss the ability to lend great books to friends. I have to reading buddies in my office and we used to swap books quite often. Now two of us have kindles and the swapping happens much less frequently...but perhaps we get that lend feature soon.
My take is, that if you even slightly want it, get it. It's not THAT expensive and I think it'll make a nice addition to your reading life. Much like my iPod, which seemed like a frivolous waste of money when I first got it, I can't imagine my life without it now. I'd buy a new one instantly if my current one broke.
Just a note...that last sentence should actually say iPhone not iPod!
ReplyDeleteI primarily read ebooks on my iPhone. I prefer the Kindle app to the iBooks app (you can lock page position on the Kindle app and it uses less battery, plus it has a built-in dictionary). I also use Eucalyptus on occasion for Project Gutenberg/precopyright books. The reason I started doing this was because I wanted to read some classics but had a hard time finding a copy with a nice, readable font and non-yellowed paper and I found the bright lighting, adjustable fonts, and such very nice for reading The Age of Innocence.
ReplyDeleteThe other reason I like reading stuff on my phone is that I commute to work by public transportation, about 40 minutes each way. Having a book on my phone means that when I'm in a crowded train car, I can still read, and that crucial space in my shoulder bag is not eaten up by a huge hardback. It's also nice to have access to tons of books at once.
One other cool thing about ebooks is that they allow for multimedia. My husband is reading Nixonland on his iPad and they've integrated archival footage and audio, so you can read about some Nixon speech or one of his taped rants and actually see/hear it while reading the book.
The cons are definitely the sharing problem -- I am an avid reader and love recommending books to my friends but can't loan out my Kindle books to someone else -- and probably the expense. I like to use the library to keep my costs down, and both Kindle and iBooks use proprietary technology, so you can't get library downloads for either. So to use them, you have to buy books from their stores. And yeah, ebooks are cheaper than hardbacks, but when you read two books a week, it still adds up.
I've been thinking about upgrading to a reader. My husband has an iPad and it's fun, and it can use the Kindle app, so I think maybe down the road I'll probably go with the iPad 2 because it does offer more functionality than a Kindle.
I just wrote a paper on ebooks for school, largely about how the book industry can learn from the examples of the music and television industries, but I also argued against digital rights management. Yes, piracy can be a problem, but anyone who reads knows that one of the best parks of being a reader is sharing your books. And DRM causes accessability problems for people with disabilities and eliminates libraries from participating in the format, thus liminting their audience.
Anyway, that's my take on it. I still read a number of print books and buy a hard copy of those books I really love. But I do like the flexibility of the ebook.
WHO READ MY MIND? This is creepy. Tell me what I'm thinking now.
ReplyDeleteReally not sure yet. LOVE a physical book. My commute is not that long that it requires multiple books. But my apt is very tiny.
Probably leaning towards an IPad but not rushing into this.
I have a Kindle 3 (Wi-Fi only) and I absolutely love it. I wouldn't worry about lock-in too badly with either Kindle or Nook, as both Amazon and B&N are in the business of selling books and want you to be able to buy books for whatever platform you use. So you can read your Kindle books on iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, Mac, Windows Phone, and any other OS that will become popular in the future. B&N has a similar range of reader software, so I wouldn't worry too much about lock-in so much.
ReplyDeleteThe advantage of the Kindle over the Nook (or even the iPad) is that the Kindle is simply a the best piece of hardware built to date for reading. E-Ink is easier to read on than an LCD screen, and the Kindle is faster, lighter and higher contrast than the Nook. The Kindle is light enough that it slips easily into a jacket pocket -- and awkwardly into a pants pocket. I carry my Kindle around for commuting reading all the time. I don't know if I'd bring an iPad with me quite as frequently.
More than books, I really love being able to read longer form pieces form the web on the Kindle screen. For a while, I was printing out articles form the web in a two-column, 10 point font, double-sided page format to read on the go and without having to read off of a monitor, but while trying not to waste paper. With Instapaper and the Kindle, I can read TMQ and other long web reading comfortably without wasting paper.
The drawback of the Kindle is the lack of sharing. You can't lend a Kindle book to someone without lending them the Kindle or giving them access to your Amazon account to use on an alternative device. And unlike Nook and Sony Reader, Kindle doesn't support the ePub format, which most libraries use to lend e-books. Without being able to borrow books, I may actually be slightly more price-concious about my reading -- skimping on newer, more expensive books and reading free, public domain classics.
Now that the price of the Kindle has fallen to where it is, buying an e-reader in addition to a tablet or smartphone isn't a bad choice. The gadgets are different enough that if you enjoy reading, a single purpose e-reader is a worthwhile investment.
Just announced today: some Amazon books are eligible for lending to other people:
ReplyDeletehttp://booksprung.com/kindle-ebook-lending-is-now-available
The lending term is 14 days, you can only lend a title once, and you can't read it during that time.
The lending is probably based on publisher permission, and given that most of the big 6 publishers have very specific terms for Amazon selling their books, some if not many won't be available for lending. More here:
http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/amazons-new-lending-feature-is-probably-going-to-anger-some-publishers/
Speaking from the older end of the demographic - adjustable font sizing is the stuff.
ReplyDeleteReading has become a bit more tiring lately as my eyesight has fuzzed up a bit. Now in the evenings, I can bump the text size up a notch and read with comfort. I also noticed with the smaller amount of text on the screen, I focus more on the text I'm reading. I have fewer distractions from surrounding text.
I have a kindle 3 (wifi only) and use it everyday. The ability to carry multiple books in one small package is a blessing. The battery life is excellent.
I read mostly history, and the only down side I've found is that the maps/graphs are difficult to interpret.
I'd prefer a dedicated reader to an iPad (or other tablet) for two reasons: battery life, and the front lit screen is easier to read for long periods of time.
Good luck.
I'm in the camp of never thinking I'd own one and then suddenly I was buying a Kindle. In addition to all the pros already listed by others, I'll add that I can load my audible.com audio books on the Kindle and listen to them -- making for even more books in one place.
ReplyDeleteTwo cons -- flight attendants insist that reading a Kindle (even without the WiFi/3G on) classifies as an electronic device, so I try not to get caught during those passes through the cabin.
And I find it creepy that the Kindle lets me how many other people have highlighted a selected passage on the page I'm reading. So they know not only which phrases were highlighted, but I'm sure also by whom. Not the first invasion of my privacy, I know, but I haven't quite gotten past this one yet so I've stopped highlighting things.
Since getting a Kindle 2 for my birthday, I have downgraded to a smaller purse. Seriously, just from this. I LOVE her (her name is Dolores). I love her for travel, I love the sheer volume of books I can have with me (so if I get really bored with a serious book I can pop in a fluffy romance novel in a sec and then flop back when that bores me), I love that I NEVER run out of books now not even for one second, I love that no one on my bus to work knew that I read the ENTIRE Twilight Trilogy, I love that I no longer have to find room in my luggage for 4-10 books depending on the trip, I love that my shoulder hurts less for those time when you are about to finish one book and know that you will need the next book with you when that happens but then that stretches out over a couple of days because you get caught up on a bus with a friend or a really great This American Life episode, I love that when I want to read in bed I can switch to my iphone or my ipod touch and use the app to read without turning on half the lights in the bedroom while my fiancee is sleeping, I love that I don't have to print out bulky manuscripts for my scrappy theatre company, I love that as long as I have bookmarked my frequent bus stops the "experimental" web surfing is super fast for bus tracker, I love her more everyday.
ReplyDeleteThe drawbacks are: oooh boy if you read a lot can it get spendy, which is why I love it when my future brother in law gives me amazon gift cards as gifts AND I still do use the library from time to time. You can't loan/borrow books, and that is a bummer. And people will sometimes accost you in public to get you to talk about it--which meant that one morning I spent my bus commute teaching an older gentleman (who was a lawyer) how he could send some of his bigger documents to it as long as he had a word or PDF copy--but this happens way less frequently now than when I got Dolores in June of 2009.
I have never used a Nook or any of the other things, but seriously if you are a voracious reader, this device was MADE for you.
I'm reading Infinite Jest on my kindle and I find the footnotes wonderful. I click on the number, read the note, click "back" and I'm back to the text. Beats carrying around a 1000 page book and keeping track of multiple book marks.
ReplyDeleteChristy--is it a Kindle where you have to move line-by-line up to the number to click? Because if that's improved on the new model, sign me up.
ReplyDeleteWe have both a kindle (1) and an iPad in our house. Clearly, I've got more experience reading on the kindle as we've had it longer. I love it. A few reasons:
ReplyDelete- travel. I hate running out of books to read on a trip.
- so easy to read-- even in bright sunlight. I read on the beach in Curacao and it was glorious. No glare. Nothing.
- download a sample. I downloaded samples from about a half dozen books last night. I'm auditioning books for my vacation at the end of January.
I have read one book on the iPad and I liked it quite a lot. I'm not sure how it will be in sunlight. Looking forward to finding out.
I did have to deal with interruptions to ask about the kindle when I first got it. It was annoying. I especially thought that it was bold of strangers who asked to hold it. On the flip side, I read two of the Millenium trilogy books in Curacao in summer 2009. People all over the beach were reading those books- in so many languages. I thought it was awesome that so many of us were reading the same thing. And then I realized that no one knew I was reading it. I had the same experience with the third book at the pool this summer. I struck up a conversation with someone who was reading the third book but she never could have done the same with me because she didn't know I was reading that book too.
I was a late adopter (Kindle 3) because I love having paper books around. But our house is over capacity with the paper books, and I was traveling a lot, and I hated bringing two books just because I expected to finish one.
ReplyDeleteI now love the Kindle 3. It weighs about the same as a deck of cards, and I have the nice standard leather carrying case that makes it look like a dayplanner. I like all of the things people above have said. Also, I like it because I can read things that I would feel embarrassed to read in public if others could see what I was reading. Mainly pornography. Not really. Mainly Game of Thrones and Hunger Games.
One downside, and maybe this is just because I got a bum Kindle, but it freezes a lot. Probably twice a week I have to reboot it. This is annoying because you lose your place in books (it resets to where you were at some point in the distant past) and you have to click through to find where you were. I'd be interested in hearing if others have this problem.
On Kindle vs. iPad, I emphatically embrace my choice. If I want to play Angry Birds, I can borrow my wife's iPhone from my children. I want a lightweight reader with high capacity and low eyestrain for a great price, and that's what you get from the Kindle. If you want the ability to do a bunch of different things and you don't have an iPhone, the iPad is for you. If you're going to use it mostly for reading, get the Kindle.
My guess is that the Nook won't survive. I think there's room for both the Kindle and the iPad, though Jobs is going to do his best to kill the Kindle and I usually won't bet against him.
Not much has been said about the Nook Color, so I'll weigh in. I chose Nook over Kindle because of the lending/borrowing technology (our county library system uses Overdrive, which allows you to download borrowed books to Adobe Digital Editions and then transfer them to your Nook). I was going to get the original Nook but got dazzled by the Nook Color when I tried it out in the store.
ReplyDelete--Unlike the original Nook, the whole screen is reading space, which makes for a really nice big display
--The entire thing is also a touchscreen; this is good for footnotes -- you touch the number and you're taken to the note instantly; touch it again and you're back to the text
--Turning pages (with a finger swipe) is instantaneous, unlike the original Nook which can have a slight delay
--Some people don't like that it is backlit, which is supposedly not as good for your eyes, but I appreciate not having to use a booklight, and the brightness is adjustable all the way down to a very low level
--Someone mentioned checking to see how many pages are left in a chapter, which I do all the time; this is easy on the Color; touch the screen, a small menu pops up at the bottom, touch "contents" and a table pops up; touch the screen again and it's gone
--The browser is pretty good; not going to replace my laptop but perfectly fine if I just want to check something quickly while I'm reading rather than getting up to use the computer
--It's got some rudimentary apps (Pandora Radio, crossword puzzles, Sudoku, chess) but more will supposedly be developed over time
--It is a little heavier than the original Nook, but I don't find the weight bothersome; it just feels solid
--Battery life is not great, because of the backlighting I guess; I've just gotten into the habit of plugging it in when I go to bed, as I do with my Droid phone, which also has a not so great battery life
--Good for kids books in color; you can read the books yourself, or have them read by a narrator, and in some of them the pictures move; obviously good for magazines as well; the sample in the store had National Geographic loaded on it and it looked great
All in all, I'm very happy with it. Won't replace real books completely, but love the instant gratification of downloading books, and the space saving benefits, as my office shelves are crammed full and I'm tired of lugging so many books every time I move.
I'd definitely go for an e-reader except for one big problem: I don't kindle on shabbos.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/12/people-of-the-e-book-observant-jews-struggle-with-sabbath-in-a-digital-age/68289/
I highly recommend the iPad, though it's probably worth waiting for the second gen version that promises to be lighter and with an even better display. The Kindle app works really well on the iPad; I prefer it to Apple's iBook format.
ReplyDeleteI think this is the correct analysis. iPad stochastically dominates Kindle on every dimension except price and ease-of-reading-in-the-bright-sun. But I'd wait until April when the iPad 2 is out. (I currently have a Kindle 2, which I'm generally happy with.)
ReplyDeleteThat's not much of a disadvantage, sport.
ReplyDeleteMy big question is how much would I spend a year on ebooks vs reading the backlog of actual books I own or reading books from the library?
ReplyDeleteThere's definitely a period where you have to work down your backlog of hard copy, which can be frustrating once you've gotten used to the lightness and versatility of the e-book reader. But you know that everybody is going to migrate at some point, so it might as well be now. It's probably not too far in the future that the bookstore, I'm sad to say, will subsist at about the same level as the record store does now.
ReplyDeleteThe libraries are really going to get hurt in this process. I don't think that hard copy books are ever going to disappear, but I do think that they're going to get really expensive as they occupy a smaller and smaller share of the market.
Spacewoman, it really is. Imagine, if you will, that you're trying to read on a train, plane, in a bar, what have you, and every time you start to get a rhythm going, someone stops you to TALK ABOUT YOUR BOOK.
ReplyDeleteNot about the book you're reading, mind you, but the fact that you even have a book. How remarkable! How much does the book weigh? Can I see it? Don't you get tired of carrying it around? Don't you miss scrolls? Man, I could never stop using scrolls, I love the feel of unraveling them for the first time too much. Does your fancy book play video games?
I love my DX, but I can't wait to be able to just read without talking about reading.
I just got a nook for christmas. I a bit of a luddite - my phone does not even have a data plan and I have never owned an "i" anything! I mainly chose the nook over the Kindle because I prefer the idea of having an actual place to go to if I have a problem and I am not fond of the Amazon website. I have only had it for a little less then a week but I am pleasantly suprised at the ease of use. I have read two full books on it and am thrilled with it so far.
ReplyDeleteI love love love my iPad, but I think I still prefer my Kindle for reading books. The difference in weight is significant enough to make one-handed reading much more feasible on the Kindle than on the iPad. Also, I am finding that the things that make the iPad great -- chiefly its amazing versatility -- are in some ways weaknesses when it comes to book reading. That is to say, it's very easy to say "Hey, let me check Facebook/the Web/my email!" on the iPad, whereas the lack of multifunctionality on the Kindle makes reading for extended periods of time more likely.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Spacewoman on this, but I'm a social kinda guy.
ReplyDeletePer above, I think your concerns are well-placed, JSG. The iPad is an amazing, game-changing device, and I sometimes read with it (esp. in bed, where Mrs. Russ likes the fact that it's backlit and therefore doesn't require me to use a separate light), but the Kindle is the better choice for pure reading. And the current generation Kindle, which is what I have now, is really amazing. The contrast is vastly improved even vis-a-vis the Kindle 2, the battery life is just astounding, and the page-turns have gotten up to a speed that doesn't disrupt the reading.
ReplyDeleteThat's the exact cover that I have, and it's the exact description of my problem. Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteSo far I've only read ebooks on my iPhone, but I think when the ipad 2 comes out I'll be getting that and using it as an ereader and for a lot more. Because personally I am anti Amazon I haven't wanted to go the Kindle route (my
ReplyDeletemom has one though, and enjoys it, although uses it only when traveling, and goes paper book with everything else.) And I though about Sony, Nook, and Kobo but one I saw an ipad I just decided I'd wait till generation 2 came out and get that because it is so multi-purpose. I know tonsof Kindle readers who love theirs but for me one of the better points about the other models is that now you have an option to purchase google ebooks from independent booksellers, who prior to now weren't able to play in the ebook world. A google ebook can be read on phones, the nook, the kobo, the ipad and on desktops, and, if you have more than one if these you can switch platforms partway through and it will know whatpage you stopped on. So if you're reading it on a nook, leave the nook at home, and end up in a long wait somewhere, you can continue reading on your phone. Kindle is the only ereader that does not support google ebooks. I really like the flexibility of being able to switch platforms if needed, and the ability to support my favorite independent bookstores.
This is an interesting point.
ReplyDeleteI think about the many of us who noted that we'd be buying Finishing the Hat with gift certificates. There's always going to be a market for those kinds of books. As for novels and other books that are purely for reading, I do think there will be alot of migrating to ebooks.
That actually hasn't bothered me. Good point though.
ReplyDeleteAs Spacewoman well knows, I dislike talking to random strangers in public.
ReplyDeleteHey Sue, Amazon just announced today that they've addressed your first Con: apparently at least some Kindle books are now lendable. I haven't investigated to see how it works yet, but I'm very excited about being able to share books with friends.
ReplyDeleteI posted this in response to Sue's comment about lending books, above, but I'll say it again since a couple of other comments mentioned the problem of lending e-books: Amazon just announced today that some Kindle books will now be lendable. I don't know how many, and I haven't investigated at all, but apparently if you go to the "Manage Your Kindle" section of the site, you can click more info and see which if your books are lendable. I'm pretty excited about the possibilities!
ReplyDeleteI've been having the same debate, so I appreciate Cecilia asking the question and all of your responses. I have been leaning towards waiting for the iPad second gen mostly because I read a lot of PDFs and I want to be able to annotate them. I also like being able to have Dropbox, etc. on the iPad. I hear that GoodReader's annotation software is pretty good, as is iannotate. I have tried reading ebooks on my iphone, but I want a bigger screen. All that said, my niece got a Kindle 3g for Christmas and it is very pretty and light (one of the drawbacks for the iPad for me). Do any the lawyers in the group have thoughts about the annotation software and its functionality on the iPad?
ReplyDeleteA few weeks ago, I got stuck somewhere during a snow squall and had only my iPad. Fortunately, I had a long PDF file to read (a Report issued by the Department of Commerce on privacy issues). Goodreader was nice, and I'm sure it would have been even better if I really had been familiar with how it worked. But the truth is that as soon as I was able, I printed a copy to read and mark up that way.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to sound like I'm slagging the iPad -- I really adore it, and I take mine everywhere -- but I question its utility as a work tool for lawyers. It's a PERFECT device for a long train ride or a few hours in a coffee shop reading and browsing and typing short emails. I also love it on the treadmill -- I can use it to read, or watch The Walking Dead, or check Facebook. But it's less strong for creating documents or doing really serious editing or annotation.
The Nook Color seems to occupy an awkward space, being neither fish nor fowl. It's not as good of a dedicated reader as the Kindle (or e-ink Nook) and not as good of a browsing/media/jack-of-all-trades device as the iPad. Twice as expensive as the Kindle, it's also not as good at its core function, but it is versatile and half as expensive as the iPad.
ReplyDeleteHaving made a few negative comments about the iPad as an ereader above, I want to highlight two advantages the iPad enjoys in that regard. FIRST, it blows the Kindle (and I suspect the Nook) away when it comes to newspapers and magazines. Most books are just large text blocks (though some are not), and the Kindle is a great device for presenting text. But I came to realize that I had a hard time treating the newspaper as just a collection of text files -- there was something intrinsic in the layout and style that made the experience qualitatively different. Thus, while I for a while subscribed to NYT on the Kindle, I found I didn't read it that much. But on the iPad, I really love reading newspapers: It's all the joy of the actual newspaper without the hassles (the ink rubbing off, the logistics of folding and refolding, etc.). NYT and WaPo both have great apps (though NYT crashes more than I'd like). Likewise, I've had some very good experiences reading magazine content on the iPad. SECOND, it's clearly great for even less traditional texts. For example, Marvel and DC both have apps that let you download comics for less money than the comic costs. As someone who sometimes reads comics but has little interest in collecting and/or reselling, I'm very happy to read online in a format that transfers well, and the iPad certainly transfers comics well. I could see myself becoming a regular reader of one or more titles again in this format.
ReplyDeleteAlso, on the general "should I get an ereader" question: Obviously, it's personal, and depends on what you want out of reading and/or book use/ownership, but I'd make two comments. FIRST, it's not at all a binary choice. I still rack up huge bills at Borders and Amazon, as I'm sure many ereader users do, and I still read paper books very often. At $139, the WiFi Kindle 3 is cheap enough that it will pay itself off fairly quickly for a reader who downloads books for $10 that otherwise would cost $20 or $25, so you don't feel like you HAVE TO read only ebooks. SECOND, I often hear "but I really like the FEEL of the book." I love books to death (as some of you know, my license plate is "BOOKGUY"), but I found that the feel of the book isn't as critical as I might have thought before getting my first Kindle. In fact, in some ways, the ereader disintermediates the experience of reading by removing that tactile layer between the text and the reader. So, while I still enjoy reading "real" books, I'm very happy curling up with the Kindle or iPad, too, and don't feel like I'm missing anything when I do the latter.
Just my 2 (well, maybe 5) cents.
One caveat - If you like to write notes in the margins of your books (looking lovingly at wife), doesn't fly on the reader.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, it appears that the Nook Color can be rigged to be compatible with Kindle books:
ReplyDeletehttp://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20026799-1.html
I'm plenty social! But if I'm in a book, it's 'cause I want to be in that book, not because I secretly want to be pulled out of it. I'm not saying -- I'm just saying....
ReplyDeleteSarah! Holy SHIT!
ReplyDeleteThis is going to be great, once the publishers get on board with supporting it.
ReplyDeleteWhen they finally make the waterproof ereader, I'm totally sold. My bathtub reading is legendary.
ReplyDeleteOr when either of my libraries (the local public or the academic one that is my employer) starts lending ebooks.
For as much as I read, I spend less acquiring those books than you might think, through a combination of the libraries, BookMooch, and occasional trips to my favorite used bookstore, which gives generous trade credit. My fear of investing in a dedicated ereader is that I then wouldn't want to spend the money to feed the read need that way.
So far the Kindle app on my iPod Touch is as far as I'm willing to commit. And huzzah for all the free Trollope and Wodehouse.
I was always anti-e-book (I like the feel of a book! blah blah), but found myself on a longer than usual business trip without anything to read. I ended up downloading and reading an entire novel on my iPhone, which wasn't as unpleasant as I thought it would be. Ever since I got my iPad, I download a lot more books, but I would still peg my print-to-e ratio at 3 print books for every 1 e-book. As much as I love the convenience, I still think it's easier on the eyes to read a print book. I generally don't buy an e-book unless I'm in some kind of bind without something to read.
ReplyDeleteI will say this though (and maybe it's more a statement about my friends)...I like ebooks because I honestly hate lending my books out. They almost never come back to me!
This is where I mention my Kindle Condom idea... The Kindle would be perfect if I could read it in a tube while floating on a lazy river...
ReplyDeleteI once read somewhere that you should only lend a book that you can live with never getting back. That's why for some books I have my own copy and my lending copy (Princess Bride, To Say Nothing of the Dog, Game of Thrones, etc.)
ReplyDeleteI have found, that say I were to read the Kindle in a bath, that a gallon sized ziploc bag is an excellent Kindle condom if obviously more of the female variety than the male variety.
ReplyDeleteIt's not much of a disadvantage because whatever medium you're using to read your book, your wife is going to wait until you are half a paragraph in and then start telling you about something. So the Kindle-related interruption is exactly equal to the non-Kindle-related interruption.
ReplyDeleteI have never not ruined a book when trying to read it in a bath. Electronics don't like water, but neither does paper.
ReplyDeleteAn addition to what I said above: I love to read in bed and on my lunch hour. The kindle is better in both cases. I struggle to find a comfortable position in bed with a book for any extended period of time. On my lunch hour, when reading an actual book, I use my glasses case to hold one page down while I'm reading another (I don't crack the spines on my books).
ReplyDeleteAs for the kindle in water, I've read it both in a pool and the bathtub. I'm just very careful.
GUYS: you're all so awesome! I very, very much appreciate all of the posts. You pretty heavily tipped the scales to getting an e-reader. I especially love hearing that I'll still read real books and the points about not having to carry two books because I'm about to finish the first one (which happens to me ALL the time). All of the Kindle, Nook, iPad commentary will be very useful as I now ponder which one I should get. Which I have some time to do with my insane backlog of actual books. You totally proved me right that this was a MUCH better way of going about things than just relying on random reviews on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.
ReplyDeleteThere is a great app for the iPad called bluefire reader; it allows you to read adobe digital editions and therefore borrow books from the library. Works like a charm
ReplyDeleteChristy, you need one of these:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/Maxi-Aids-Weighted-Bookmark/dp/B003E6OFN0
I work a fair number of old books (~400 years old). I have the same problem with reading a book--usually, while typing--but not damaging the binding. Plus, I love having hands free on other books so I can eat, lay in bed, type, or just be lazy. I have two. Most of my friends think they are some kind of self-torture device.
I got one of these for my Nook, and I love it. Took a little getting used to, but I definitely recommend it for bath time reading!
ReplyDeleteOh Watts, I wish I had gotten your advice ~10 years ago, when I lent my special edition Princess Bride hardcover to a friend who then went away to college and I never saw again. Makes me sad every time I think of reading it.
ReplyDeleteI have a Nook, and I love it! I've recently discovered one of the things I like best about it- you never have to wait on an additional printing before reading something (I'm looking at you, Mark Twain autobio!). Looking back, I maybe a little wish I had gotten a Nook Color, for the option of reading Graphic Novels on it at some point (I don't think they're widely available yet).... don't tell Mr. Liekl though, because it was a first anniversay gift from him (the "e-paper" anniversary as he put it) and he would be very disappointed to find this out.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I've heard that some libraries have e-readers to lend, so that might be a good way to try one out, if you have the opportunity!
I've owned a Kindle for a few days and didn't realize the try-a-sample feature existed until now, so I'd like to thank you for that.
ReplyDeleteOh, that is good advice! I am still sad on ex-coworker has my first two Harry Potters.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first heard about e-readers, I thought immediately about books like Infinite Jest and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and wondered about the footnotes. Thanks for mentioning this.
ReplyDeleteJoining this conversation late, but: Mr. Cosmo just got me a Kindle for Xmas. I am in love already. I am definitely worried about the costs I am going to incur over the next 1-2 months, as I feel that I should buy every ebook I might ever want to read RIGHT NOW just in case I find myself in a no-Wifi zone, but this will pass!
ReplyDeleteI looked at the Nook Color in the store and thought it looked great because it solved the one problem I had with the kindle (and also seemed to have when looking at the e-ink Nook): the flash when pages turn. As a migraineur, I have major problem with flashes in many areas (especially sports shows that seem to need to grab attention with bright flashes every couple of minutes), and can't have them in books, which I read constantly. The kindle was too flashy for me (minor to non-migraineurs, probably). The Nook Color didn't seem to have that problem at all.
ReplyDeleteI looked at the Nook Color in the store and thought it looked great because it solved the one problem I had with the kindle (and also seemed to have when looking at the e-ink Nook): the flash when pages turn. As a migraineur, I have major problem with flashes in many areas (especially sports shows that seem to need to grab attention with bright flashes every couple of minutes), and can't have them in books, which I read constantly. The kindle was too flashy for me (minor to non-migraineurs, probably). The Nook Color didn't seem to have that problem at all.
ReplyDeleteI looked at the Nook Color in the store and thought it looked great because it solved the one problem I had with the kindle (and also seemed to have when looking at the e-ink Nook): the flash when pages turn. As a migraineur, I have major problem with flashes in many areas (especially sports shows that seem to need to grab attention with bright flashes every couple of minutes), and can't have them in books, which I read constantly. The kindle was too flashy for me (minor to non-migraineurs, probably). The Nook Color didn't seem to have that problem at all.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to disagree slightly, as someone with an ithing and a Sony. The ithing reads more formats, but Sony and Nook both read epub which is an Adobe format and is pretty widely available. The epub sold in the Nook store has some extra special DRM, so it can't be read on another device (unless you have the Nook app) but the epubs in the Sony store can be read on anything that reads epub. And epub is pretty widely available in other ebook stores.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to disagree slightly, as someone with an ithing and a Sony. The ithing reads more formats, but Sony and Nook both read epub which is an Adobe format and is pretty widely available. The epub sold in the Nook store has some extra special DRM, so it can't be read on another device (unless you have the Nook app) but the epubs in the Sony store can be read on anything that reads epub. And epub is pretty widely available in other ebook stores.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to disagree slightly, as someone with an ithing and a Sony. The ithing reads more formats, but Sony and Nook both read epub which is an Adobe format and is pretty widely available. The epub sold in the Nook store has some extra special DRM, so it can't be read on another device (unless you have the Nook app) but the epubs in the Sony store can be read on anything that reads epub. And epub is pretty widely available in other ebook stores.
ReplyDelete