Anyone own a Kindle?

Hi all

Does anyone have a Kindle? As an avid reader I am starting to run out of space in my apartment. I can't throw any away as I have too many favorites that I go back to from time to time. So I was thinking about getting a Kindle.

Does anyone have one? What are your feelings/experiences with using one. I'm all for embracing modern technology, but I do like the feel of a book in my hands.

I would only be using it for leisure, not study.

Thanks guys

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Permalink Reply by Jim Minion on September 30, 2011 at 4:13pm

I have been using a Kindle for about year, love it. Can load with audio books also for long drives.

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Permalink Reply by Damian Green on October 1, 2011 at 12:17am

Wow, lots of positive feedback!

You guys have all convinced me. I'm definitely going to get one now. Thank you all for your input.

To be honest, I'm not really interested in getting a top of the range, app heavy Kindle. All I want to do is read books. Same thing with phones, you get a million apps and all I want to do is call people!

Thanks again all. I'll order my Kindle this week.

If you guys are interested, I'll update you when I get it and let you know how it goes.

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Permalink Reply by Jo on October 1, 2011 at 5:28am

I love my Kindle, and can't go a day without reading a page or two (preferably more) in a book.

As for the feel of a book, just get a leather jacket that opens like a book. You still get the sensation of holding a book, but have the portability of the Kindle.

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Permalink Reply by JC-Rocks on October 1, 2011 at 2:00pm

I have one and it compeletely kickstarted my reading ... I rarely read at all but since getting a kindle at Christmas I must have 30 odd books.Recently I broke my kindle, cracked screen (it was like my world had fallen apart ... not really but it was a major bummer) but I contacted Amazon and they replaced it just like that. The best thing about my kindle is I've hacked it to get my own pictures rather than the awful Amazon ones (especicially the psychotic Emily Dickinson picture).

The Kindle Fire is also intriguing and I can't wait to see what price it'll come out at in the UK.

Keke

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Permalink Reply by Mike Baker on October 1, 2011 at 3:19pm

Highly recommend the Kindle. I'm reading much more than I did before I got it because it's so convenient. And my library now has kindle books.

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Permalink Reply by Unseen on October 1, 2011 at 8:42pm

I'm not going to read every single post to make sure, but someone should mention that with the introduction of the Fire and the new smaller Kindle with a 6" screen and general price reductions on the older units with the introduction of the new models, it's less expensive than ever to own a Kindle.

I can also second the idea of Mike Baker that when you get an ereader, you tend to read more than you used to.

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Permalink Reply by Nicole Bales on October 1, 2011 at 9:53pm

I have a Kobo, it's the Border's e-reader. You can get them for $100. Very simple, have wifi access or plug into the pc to upload books. They also come with 100 classic books loaded. They accept most formats of e-books (e-puc, etc). I love it. Was easy to get used to and it's way cheaper to buy books. I don't like Kindle because you kinda get locked into purchasing from Amazon.

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Permalink Reply by Nadia Corinna Ayoub on October 4, 2011 at 9:17am

I'm a hardcore reader and I own around 800 books (real books) as well as just having bought myself a Kindle. So sue me, I like to be thorough. *takes deep breath*

Pro-Kindle

Brilliant if the book you're trying to read is huge and heavy, or if you want to take multiple books with you somewhere - on holiday or such.
Service from Amazon is brilliant. My Kindle's screen broke and, after one phonecall, Amazon shipped me a replacement which arrived the following day with no charge and no argument.
The screen is as easy to read as Amazon says it is and, despite my friends' objections when I was thinking about getting one, there is no noticable delay on the page turn (and fewer pages stuck together or paper cuts to worry about).
They save some serious space. I'd need an extra bookcase (for which my house has no space) to hold hard copies of all the books I now have in Kindle format.

Anti-Kindle

Books are fantastic. Browsing Amazon cannot and never will imitate or replace the joys of browsing a library or bookstore, for me.
Whatever Amazon says about the Kindle being lighter and easy to hold than a paperback, it's rubbish. For someone used to holding real books all her life, it takes practice to be comfortable holding a Kindle instead.
As mentioned above, mine broke. After about two months. However good their replacement service, it's an established fact that Kindles are fragile, even with a hard case.
Kindle books cannot, as yet, be given as gifts. Personally, I find this annoying.
It's an aggravating process getting anything onto a Kindle that isn't in official Kindle format - ie. PDFs, .mobi files, etc. - which was actual the main purpose for which I bought a Kindle. Yeah, I'm kind of annoyed about that.

Overall verdict: If you've got the spare cash and are having serious space problems, it's probably worth getting one, but I'm unconvinced that they're as magical as Amazon would have us believe.

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Permalink Reply by Jo on October 4, 2011 at 2:18pm

You can give Kindle books as gifts, but I believe the publisher has the right to say "no", just like with the text-to-speech function.

And if you have the right software, you can convert non-DRM files into a format usable by the Kindle.

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Permalink Reply by Unseen on October 4, 2011 at 10:24pm

I have a feeling you're confusing gifting with sharing. The publisher can disable sharing. I know: I have a dozen or so titles available through the Kindle store.