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Kindles.. hands up if you use one?

Many years ago while doing a lot of travelling I bought and kindle and I just never really got comfortable with it.

But now a number of factors are making me reconsider whether it’s worth trying again.  

How many people here use kindles? And how did you get over the initial … it’s not a real book feeling? 

For some weird reason I just don’t feel like I connect to the stories in the same way I do with a physical book. 

I do know that is all entirely in my head.. 

 

But does that ever change if you use them regularly? 

Yes. 

I loved my first kindle. It was brilliant. Sadly it (and it’s refurbished replacement died) and the latest one is a pile of shit. Not a single change has actually improved it. 

A recommendation to go back to your old one if you can. 

The ‘not a book’ thing was easy enough to overcome from having a whole library in your hand. 

My old one was first first first gen. Last time I tried to give it a whirl I couldn’t even update the software on it anymore.

I may try to find it and give it a whirl though.  It was most likely my general tech shittiness. 

Basically there is a series I want to read that is available for free on kindle prime.. but is ridiculously expensive in paperback. 

It so expensive that by the time I buy the whole series in paperback I could  just buy myself a new kindle instead. 

 

I’ve recently gone back to using an early version of the Paperwhite and must confess that I find it excellent, given that I am travelling a lot these days. 

In particular, I find its relatively long battery life (compared with most mobile phones etc) to be a massive bonus.  

I use the Kindle app on ipad. Agree with whoever said that having access to your full library is a game changer (as is being able to insta-download any new book that takes your fancy).

Only downside is I'm less comfortable using it at the beach or by a pool.

I don’t have a functional iPad otherwise that would be a brilliant idea. 

I have my mums old one but trying to get Apple to remove it from her Apple ID has proved impossible despite the fact she’s been dead for over two years now. 

They require death certificates and stat decs filed in certain stores just to take the device off her ID and it can’t be registered to any other Apple account without that. 🫠
 

I use a combination. Still prefer a physical book for the reasons you give. But reasons to use a kindle:

  • If you can't sleep at night you can read one with the soft back light and no need to turn the light on. Excellent for dropping off to sleep.
  • Useful for holidays especially if you feel like reading 2 or 3 trashy books you aren't interested in owning hard copies of.
  • Great if you often read stuff "with" another person - you can sync your libraries and automatically get each others' new books.
  • If you like reading in the bath you can get a waterproof one.

Never had one. More than mildly obsessed with books as physical things and a lot of the books I read aren’t on kindle.  Sounds as if you should get one for that series and see how it goes.

Also old school. But I’ve heard so many people give strong recommendations for Kindles (including my wife) that I should try it. But like Bertha, I like to collect books and often lend them to others.

I have a paperwhite but I tend to read physical books or listen to Audible. I get through far more books that way. Am more likely to solely use the Kindle on holiday. 

I am Kindle Queen as my hobby is reading.  Think I'm on my 6th Kindle (paperwhite) but have had the HD Fires ones as well.  It is my most precious non sentimental possession.

I have one. I use it for commute and travel reading. Probably 50/50 with real books. 

The convenience is brilliant. Particularly good when something is only in hardback and you don't want a heavy lump. 

 

The one thing is I often forget the names of books I've read as I'm not looking at the name all the time. 

Been using them for years. I move every couple of years with work so it just seemed a lot more convenient to use kindle rather than move crates of heavy books. Also means that anywhere I have my phone I can read. 

I have one but only use it for limited purposes / specific types of books--light fiction that I know I won't reread (detective novels, etc.) and current affairs/reportage type works that I expect to date quickly. But the limitations could still be annoying--the quality of photos and other graphics could be uneven/unpredictable; maps are generally hopeless; and one loses access to any colour plates. Even for fiction there are times when I want to flip back and revisit some passages and the Kindle format isn't very user-friendly in that regard. Finally, I don't know if it is psychological, but I am already bad at remembering books I have read, and it is worse when it comes to something I read on Kindle.

It is a nice-looking product (I also got the cork cover from amazon) and can be convenient, but mainly I resort to Kindle because I just don't have enough bookshelf space for all the books I would otherwise buy.

I keep losing the fecking thing in the house somewhere in a way I just don’t with books. It is great though apart from the odd time it randomly jumps forward 200 pages and then it’s a lot harder than a normal book just to find where you were, or even just to flick back and forth to check something or remind yourself of who someone is. 

On balance good but not without drawbacks. 

I have a kindle paperwhite and love it, but as others have said it is great for certain purposes:

  • reading in bed
  • travelling
  • trying a book I'm not sure about
  • paperbacks I don't want to have the physical copy of

It's not so good for books which have photos/pictures/maps or special formatting, or where you want to flick around within the book. 

LIke you I have an ancient kindle that won't update anymore.

Since that became difficult to use, I have used the kindle app on my ipad.  It's brilliant for everything apart from reading in strong sunlight.  So I would say keep pressing Apple to release your mum's ipad to you.

 

 

Oh, one thing that amazon seems to have started doing: files that you have downloaded may not stay on the device. If you haven't accessed it for a while (I heard a year) then you may need to re-download it. I don't know if there is a setting that can be changed to get around this.

Thanks lemonade.. but I don’t yet have a kindle. 

Still considering the comments on this thread from others…

Current theme seems to be that even the people who like them., still prefer books given an choice. 

 

I have had two kindles.  I gave the first one away to my nephew who said he would like it.  The second one sits here gathering dust.  Give me a proper book, please.

Yeah, not great for reference books. 

I've got a book on how to rebuild society following a nuclear/pandemic/zombie apocalypse. That sort of thing needs to be physical media. 

It's not an either or thing.  Have a kindle for on the move and books when you're at home.  There is a lot of pulp fic I don't want cluttering up my place that already looks like the bodlean

I love having physical books but for fiction Kindle is my preference when commuting and abroad  - on holiday I often read a book a day, so having a digital library and the Kindle store is great. If you have Amazon Prime you also get a bonus free new book to select each month (from a list of about 6 titles)  - tempts me to try authors and genres I would not typically consider. Paperwhite is light to hold and no glare (unlike iPad (which is my must have tech for everything else) - I don’t find reading books on iPad enjoyable) and ability to adjust font size and tone is good on Kindle. The only thing I don’t like is that my Kindle doesn’t show the title on each page and flicking backwards and forwards is not as easy as with a physical book.

how did you get over the initial … it’s not a real book feeling? 

 

The ease of reading in bed without needing a light immediately outweighs the 'it's not a book' problem.

 

In the cons column, I seem to be unable to finish a book. I have too many. I just hop from one to another like a monkey with ADHD.

I love it. I’ve read loads of free and Prime free stuff I’d never have bought. Great for commuting, bed and holidays. 

The ease and speed of use is great. I get through a story faster definitely on kindle. 

I’m not addicted to the physical book, I must say. Though I do understand the pleasure of a nice looking bookcase. 

I use the kindle app on my phone for : 

Selfy helpy embarrassing books I don’t want anyone to see me reading 

Reading in bed when Nev and kids asleep 

I have one fiction book on the go on it - in case I forget my book and get stuck 

If I’m reading pulp 

I mostly still read paper books and because I’m reading less volume I try and buy books I’ll want to keep. Currently reading 10 birds that changed the world and it’s a beautiful looking thing 

Kindle for books I don’t particularly care about. Hard copy of everything else. I love having a personal copy of beautiful books. For some reason, books on Kindle don’t feel ‘mine’ in the same way. 

I use the kindle app on my phone.

Not on iPad. I never really learned to love the iPad. I’m not sure I need something that falls between the two stools of Macbook and phone.

that’s a really intelligent comment actually, re kids getting a specific message from seeing you read a book rather than just being on your phone; and I agree with it

Thanks for the discussion and input. 

I don’t commute and I don’t travel much anymore.. my cats also don’t care whether I’m on my phone or reading a book.  So a lot of very good Kindle owning reasons don’t apply to me. 

The most convincing argument so far is not having to get out of bed to turn off the light when it’s time to sleep.

 

My  house isn’t mega future if anything. 

It’s just very self sufficient.. 

I’ve never really liked bedside lamps. They kind of annoy me and aren’t bright enough to read from anyway. 

I do have lamps in my bedroom but they are opposite from my bed to highlight artworks. 

I’d still have to get up to turn them off. 

 Hey Questionmark

 

Just wanted to say thanks for the inspiration to have another crack at my mums iPad. 

 

I somehow managed to add my phone number to her account as a second verified account and through various verification process, add a new password and then add myself as her Touch ID... and then hacked her Apple ID on the internet and removed the device and her iphone!!

 

 Am now rofffing from that device and just as soon at about 5 years worth of software updates kick in I will download the kindle app and see how I go. 

Part of me feels like a proper hacking genius and the other half thinks how could I have been so stupid as to not manage this all before instead of the many many hours I spent on the phone with Apple support and they couldn’t figure it out either. 

Unless something has changed with ipad screens, kindle app on ipad doesnt sound like a great idea.

The whole point of kindles is that the display mimics a real page and the backlight is very soft. There is no blue light or whatever that you get from a computer screen, it's much easier on the eyes.

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