Yes, I broke down and got one. With all the reading I do for Bookmarks and in my spare time, I decided to take the plunge and get Amazon’s Kindle (version 1.1—not the smartest thing to do, I realize, but someone needs to check out the electronic reader concept for those not daunted by the hefty $399 price tag, no?).
And… I love it. The Kindle will never replace the stacks of books, magazines, and newspapers lying around the office and home. It will never mimic the smell of a new book, the excitement of browsing the titles in a bookstore or library, or the joy of flipping through the pages to read the ending first. Simply put, it will never replace paper and the printed word.
But: I love it anyway, and this is why:
1) Portability: When I travel, I don’t want to lug around six books. The Kindle can hold about 200 books, with the option of using Amazon to store even more books and switch them in and out of the Kindle.
2) Web access: The Kindle offers free access to the Internet via the Sprint network. Sure, the Web browser is a little rudimentary, and its purpose is to allow users to purchase books from Amazon (books download in about a minute; I tried it), but for a Luddite like me who has shied away from PDAs and iPhones, having portable Web access is kind of new and fun. That’s all.
3) Free books: Amazon wants users to purchase books from Amazon, but some blogs pointed me to free e-book sites with books in the public domain, including http://manybooks.net. It’s a good chance to brush up on the classics.
4) Readability: The Kindle screen isn’t as large as even a paperback, but I find it extremely readable (it has an e-ink technology that mimics a printed page). And, it’s nice to be able to increase the font size.
5) It’s easy: Technology is not my forte, but using the Kindle is easy. I figured it out even without the directions that supposedly came with it but did not… sort of.
Are there any downsides? Sure. I can’t figure out the whole bookmarking thing yet, the built-in dictionary doesn’t contain Indian slang (I’m reading Rohinton Mistry’s Family Matters), I keep turning the “next page” tab by mistake, and it’s an expensive toy to buy and maintain. And, it can’t do everything—but nor is it meant to. For me, it’s simply a convenient and fun supplement to the printed word. But will I carry a few books with me when I travel just in case? Probably.
Any thoughts out there on e-readers?
Best,
Jessica Teisch
(Bookmarks Managing Editor)
Thanks for the review
A friend and I were just talking about this last night and saying how great it sounded, so it's nice to know it really is great. I'm glad my house isn't in its service area, though, since I would be too sorely tempted to blow $400 on it that I don't have!
Ereader
I too have a Sony Ebook and totally, totally love it. Would have got a Kindle but was unable to get one. The Sony is great. It is so nice not having to carry all those books. I seem to read a lot faster for some reason. I love how fast they download. The selection is awsome so far, and the cost is something I can live with. Why is it that most look at this like something from another planet, and seem to think you have to be a computer geek?? This is the greatest think since sliced bread. I know the future will bring many improvements to both models. So, why I ask does not Amazon and Sony get together and offer us more choices and perhaps even more models??
This is the future of books, so come on people lets all get on the boat!! LOL
I wish Bookmarks was on Kindle. I need larger print and a Kindle does this.
Well, I've got my Kindle 2.0 on order, so I'll be playing around with what it might take to put Bookmarks on the Kindle. No promises yet ... but stay tuned!
Jon
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Jon Phillips
Editor & Publisher, Bookmarks
I would definitely subscribe! I would love to have book review magazines on the Kindle! It just seems like a perfect match. It would be wonderful to link the review to the book at the store and purchase.
Lori
Okay, here's another idea for Jon. What I do to my Bookmarks Mag is cut it up and keep the reviews of books I plan to buy (think recipes in a box). Works fine except for when two reviews are on the back and front of the same page. So, here's yet another idea: make an e version of Bookmarks. Allow personal cataloging by having the reader click and save on favorite book reviews. Save those reviews into a new file that sorts alphabetically and voila, you have a personalized, very functional mini-Bookmarks.
Would love to see Bookmarks available for the Kindle!
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Cindy
Oh, yes! I would love to have a Kindle version of this magazine. It is a much better way for me to read magazines than in print form and saves trees. I am also reading newspapers on my Kindle and the amount in my recycling has gone down tremendously. I have just discovered Bookmarks Magazine and am so very excited, as book reviews are getting scarcer and scarcer.
Mary
While we've got a little mini focus group, do any of you folks use an iphone? Misha's idea is interesting ... and easier to do on the iphone. Again, just asking, not making promises :-).
J
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Jon Phillips
Editor & Publisher, Bookmarks
No iPhone for me- by all means cater to that market.
But I desperately want to get a subscription to bookmarks readable on my Kindle.
I used to subscribe to the print edition for years and loved it. But frankly I've pretty much abandoned DT (dead tree) books and magazines. Setting aside the hundreds of books I have on my Kindle - I subscribe to three daily newspapers and three magazines purely in electronic versions (rather than their print ones.)
I'd be fine with it via Amazon, but personally prefer Fictionwise in the Multiformat for my magazines since I like to save my magazines to re-read for years to come (newspapers are fine for the Amazon sub since I don't save them.)
I have been surprised by the prejudice I've encountered against e-readers. When I announce to people
that I have a Kindle and love it, more times than not they avow their fidelity to printed books. Then
I show them my Kindle. Oh, the screen doesn't glare? Oh, you can download books instantly? Oh, you
can save them on a flash card? Or Amazon will save them for you? Oh, you can get samples?
Suddenly the prejudice evaporates.
And it doesn't have to be either/or. When I bought an mp3 player, I didn't toss out my home stereo system.
Or my car CD player. Or my boom box.
Many of the Kindle's advantages have been mentioned here, but the two things I appreciate most are the
ability to download a book instantly and the availability of free samples. The samples are long enough
that if I'm still reading at the end of the sample, I know I'll want to read the whole book.
There are also many free books available for Kindle. I've noticed that when an author has a new book
coming out, often one of their old ones will appear on Kindle for free. It's a great way to advertise and build
a readership, and it costs the author and publisher nothing. I have been giving away Book I of a trilogy in
e-book format, with great success so far, and the e-book seems to be supporting sales of the paperback,
something that would surprise many authors who worry that e-book sales will hurt sales of hard copies.
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Catherine M. Wilson
http://www.whenwomenwerewarriors.com/
http://www.catherine-m-wilson.com/
I've owned a Kindle since October '08. I enjoy its portability. I don't travel, but it's obviously handy for readers who do so. I was even going to buy the new Kindle, but decided I enjoy the greater reading experience of a 'real' book. Reading, for me, is more than the words on a page or a screen. I will use the Kindle for certain kinds of reading: the free previews of new(er) books, if they're available in the Kindle format, which isn't a given, and reading free books, such as the classics and other reading available free online (as long as they're available in the Kindle format).
I just finished reading "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo," in hardcover. At an emotional, perhaps at even a spiritual/psychic level, I enjoyed the story more because I held the book, turned the pages, knew instantly how much there was to read until it ended (which I didn't want to happen), and the visual enjoyment of the printed page. Perhaps reading in paper in someway got into my soul a long time ago so that it's an important part of my overall reading experience. I think also that having the physical paper version of the book to put onto a shelf carries some aesthetic meaning, as in when I see the book there on my bookshelf it reminds me of the pleasure I felt reading it. Having a book on a shelf is in some way a luxury, and a gift I've given myself.
There's something repetitious and bland seeing the same form of the printed word on the same looking screen as it appears on the Kindle. Perhaps when color comes to e-readers its appeal will increase because of the variety of the displays possible.
I feel a twinge of environmental irresponsibility buying paper versions of books, but I'm going to live with it because of papers' pleasures...for the time being.
So, there's my two sense/cents. Happy reading, in whatever format you desire!
Bruce
San Rafael, California