For those of you unfamiliar with the term, ereaders are basically electronic books. They are little electronic devises designed specifically for storing and reading books, magazines, newspapers, etc. Here are the leading models:
Left to right: Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook, Sony's Reader and Apple's iPad
Those are just a few of the models on the market right now. Type "compare ereaders" in Google and you'll get an idea of the full scope of the market. Each model varies a tad in their specific features but the concept is the same. You download books directly to the device. The devise marks your place automatically. Some allow you to highlight excerpts to refer back to whenever you like. Some allow you to share books with friends and family who have the same model as you. Amazon and Barnes & Noble specifically provide a large selection of free books (books that are no longer under copyright) to their ereader owners. All provide their owners with an easy and compact way to store all their books rather than cluttering up shelves and taking up valuable space in their homes.
The problem with this decision is that I am a traditionalist. I enjoy my books. Not just reading them. That's a given. I enjoy the feel of the pages in my hand. I enjoy collecting them; filing them on my bookshelves after I've finished; selecting the next one. I love building my library and sometimes go in there for no reason but just to look at all my books.
Yes, I've read all of them and I am almost out of space.
Also, I enjoy attending author readings and book signings. There's no way to have an author sign your ereader now is there. I have two signed first editions in my collection that I prize more than just about anything else I own: David Sedaris' When You Are Engulfed In Flames in which the inscription mentions my boobs and Lisa See's Shanghai Girls. Signed first editions just aren't an option with ereaders.
However, I also see the benefit of these devices and these benefits are what is making my decision so hard. First and foremost is cost. Not the cost of the device itself. I think most run around $250.00 or so. I am speaking of the cost of the books. Needless to say, I spend a LOT of money on books. I love hanging out in book stores and often go in for a one specific book and exit with an arm load. I just find so many other wonderful books I want to read while browsing. To make this habit a little easier on my pocketbook, I have tried to start acquiring my books at discount, second hand stores and fairs such as Half Price Books and the Planned Parenthood Booksale. EReader books are generally significantly cheaper to download than buying a physical book. And as I mentioned above, many have a large selection of free books. FREE BOOKS PEOPLE!
Another benefit is convenience. I take a book with me wherever I go whether it be work or doctors appointments or vacation. There's always a book in my purse. So logically, a compact device that stores many books would be attractive to me. Especially for vacation and travel. My good friend Jamie and I always laugh about how many books we each take on vacation with us. We're like little traveling libraries. Jamie has since purchased a Kindle and loves it. But she travels quite a bit more than I do so the purchase was a bit more easy for her.
Anyhoo, needless to say, I'm no closer to making a decision. As of right now, I think I am going to stick with the centuries old, tried and true method of physical books. But each time I enter Barnes & Noble and see that Nook display and I start playing around with the display model, the 21st century gal in me starts to come out and I start to covet the new technology. If any of you have an ereader and have any further insights, I would much appreciate your input. Until then, happy reading!
I got Jamie Lou a Kindle, she has a water proof sleeve on back order. If you want An iPad get an iPod, it does more, just with a smaller screen. You can come over and play with the Kindle some time if you like. The cost of the iPad seems to make it prohibitive to me. Sony I think just made one to make it, and the Nook looks fine. But with the Kindle come Amazon and with Amazon a beast of the interwebs. But what do I know?
ReplyDeleteI am trying to decide on this too...if I could get the 64GB ipad for the price of the 16GB it would probably be a done deal. I've played with the Kindle and like it too, but the comic book apps on the ipad are a deciding factor. Yes, I am a comic dork as well as a book dork. Plus if you ever do want to take a break from reading, you have other options. Kindle. Nook, Sony Reader...basically single purpose. If I can get something to do more, it is worth it to me. If the ipad gets a slight price reduction, I'll probably bite. Cam - I think the screen size is worth it in this case. I've read off an ipod before and it worked for short periods but got tiring sooner than I would have liked.
ReplyDeleteI too don't travel quite enough to justify one, but it would be definitely nice to have when I do travel. Last week had a 48 hour business trip to PA and took 3 books with me. That's way more than I could read but "just in case." Ended up having lots of delays on the way back so finished more than I thought, but man it would be nice just to carry an ipad/kindle.
It is a big decision for me too as I am also a collector...but I am limiting that more than I used to. I used to keep every book that I ever read but after moving a couple times and giving away boxes and boxes of books that I hadn't looked at in years (and I rarely re-read), I know am OK with buying a cheap paperback instead of the first edition hardcover but if I really like it I will go back and get the hc.
Sony's actually been in the e-book market for years and years. I remember being tempted over 10 years ago by one. They are OK but they remind me all Sony products now - utilitarian but nothing extraordinary or revolutionary...or sexy. They get the job done at a basic level and that is about it.
Haven't played with the Nook yet. I'm sure it is comparable to all else.
Electronic will never have the same kind of browsability, the same weight, the same feel, and the same smell as print (I love that smell) but I am getting more and more used to the idea.
Did you not read the entire post, Cam? I mentioned Jamie's Kindle. She's let me play with it a time or two (that sounds dirty) but if I were to get an ereader I think I would get the Nook.
ReplyDeleteI got a Kindle for Christmas...and I like it even more than I thought I would...it helps that I have been reading a couple of George RR Martins huge books (1200+ pages) and it feels so nice not having to lug a physical copy around. And when I finished one while at work (I didn't realize I was so close - there was a big appendix at the end), it was nice to have more books right there waiting.
ReplyDeleteI love the battery life. I have to charge mine about once every 3 weeks...and I have been reading a lot.
The readability is excellent - no glare, adjustable font,etc...
Many people have asked me if I was sad that I didn't get a Nook...because you know COLOR! But really that doesn't matter to me much at all, I am not reading kid's picture books. I am reading, and I think the Kindle mimics paper the best. I also don't need to surf the web or play games (although there are some)...my Kindle is for reading and it does that amazingly well.
There are a few things that I wish they would improve - the first is being organization. You can create folders to organize your books, but you can't create sub-folders. I am a book organization freak, and I want basically 3 folders on my home screen: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Reference...but then I want sub-categories, sometimes it will be an author, sometimes a series, sometimes a genre. The Kindle can not do this.
I wish it would let you edit Titles or Metadata. For example, in book series, I would like: Series Name, Book #, then Title...but right now, all I get is title (and I don't always remember the order). Yes, I know I can do this with other programs, but I want to be able to do it on the Kindle itself.
The other issues are physical:
A backlight would be nice, but I know it would drain the energy.
I wish it used a standard micro-usb connection (to the device itself). It uses some thin usb. Just because I would like to be able to use the same cords that I used to plug in my cell phone. Less cords = awesomer
Finally, the area between the bezel and the screen seems a little too big...dog hair is always getting caught in there.
I like it a lot, it is very handy. I liked how people can email me PDFs or I can load my own (I loaded my pinball repair manuals). It is a great conversation starter...people all over the place have stopped me and asked if they could check it out (the guy at the DOT license renewal place was really impressed...sorry everyone else waiting to get their picture taken). It will not keep me from reading printed books, but it is really nice to have. I am glad that I got it.
Still want an ipad for comics though...