Pick your e-reader

[BlackCat]

Lol yeah definitely! My friend read the entire Lord of the Rings saga on his iPhone and it said it was the most awkward thing he's ever done in his life :/ And he's done some pretty awkward things !

I love the fact that you can put so much materials on one single machine. It is slick, stylish, portable, and very convenient. The other the thing is the price tag. Books on Kindle are much cheaper, many of the classics include valuable philosophical and theological treatises are either free or dead cheap. Another factor that make the Kindle a better e-reader than iphone or ipad is the screen, help me read without those annoying reflections. Also who could forget the wonderful note taking ability?

[jyossarian]

Some valid points there, but it's all down to personal opinion at the end of the day I guess.
Like I'm the kind of person who does take notes in regular books if required
And some of the books are very ****ily laid out on the Kindle I think. And sorry for the lack of a better adjective there :L

Oh and loving the dancing bananas

[BlackCat]

Some valid points there, but it's all down to personal opinion at the end of the day I guess.
Like I'm the kind of person who does take notes in regular books if required
And some of the books are very ****ily laid out on the Kindle I think. And sorry for the lack of a better adjective there :L

Oh and loving the dancing bananas

sometimes it's just too hard for me to take notes, especially with those library books :P. Oh, thanks, I love it too

[B. Laumness]

I like my kindle, especially that I can get a new book instantly, since I don't have a bookstore nearby. But I still value real books more. I also love how books smell, even some old ones. And nothing is better than to go into one of the bookstores that smells of books and coffee. Being surrounded by books makes me feel peaceful. I feel such a loss for our Borders Bookstore that went out of business, probably due in part to the kindle. I heard that Barnes and Nobles is surviving but they got into the e-book niche early with the Nook, but we don't have B & N here.

I also think that as in everything instant, quality will suffer. I was reading about The Sagas of the Icelanders, and the review said that in the kindle version the graphs and charts in the back are left out. If something doesn't fit on that 6" screen, it's just thrown away. The review said it's a shame after the care and attention the publishers lavished on the book version to have it carelessly transfered to kindle that way.

Many books will never be made available on kindle. Many of the best books are not profitable, and older books will only be transferred if there is sufficient profit in transferring them.

And many people will become so devoted to their kindle that they will only want a kindle book and won't even buy a real book that is deemed to heavy or awkward, so all those great old books will end up discarded. And if you carry around a paperback book instead of a Kindle Fire, people will think you're inadequate, like if you don't have a smartphone.

The other thing is that even those free classics will be free only for a limited time. The corporations will learn how to make us pay for downloads - they will find an excuse for charging. And this "Cloud" storage will only be free for a while also. Once the physical bookstores are out of business and people have discarded their books, such as in moving, because they have all their books so conveniently on kindle, then the kindle will not be a great deal anymore. It will be as expensive or more so than real books. But we will have lost touch with something else that is real, and people will no longer remember or care about books once they are gone. And like fast food people, and all the other "virtual" crap, they will Love this inferior product.

The digital format will also make it easier for deficient authors to get published, since no valuable paper is used in it, absolutely flooding the world with garbage and chick lit, so that if there is a decent book published it will get buried in all of that.

I also don't want to completely knock Kindle; as I said, I like mine, and if there are no real books - it's like crappy food - I'll take what I can get and be thankful for it.

Another potential problem with Kindle is that they could decide to edit the books at any time, unless you keep them backed up on your hard drive. If you have a physical book, no one can decide after 5 years that they don't like part of the political message or something in there and make slight alterations to it, but with Kindle, they can. Over the years small edits can happen to books until they gradually change and people wouldn't even notice that their book had been altered.

That said, I'm sure I will always have a kindle, though I do spend a lot of time just looking at the screen saver. But I'll not be parting with my real books that I have unless my house burns.

You raised valid points.

[Emil Miller]

Oh, I see. I thought you might have been afraid they'd leave out a couple of chapters, or something.

Another potential problem with Kindle is that they could decide to edit the books at any time, unless you keep them backed up on your hard drive. If you have a physical book, no one can decide after 5 years that they don't like part of the political message or something in there and make slight alterations to it, but with Kindle, they can. Over the years small edits can happen to books until they gradually change and people wouldn't even notice that their book had been altered.

That said, I'm sure I will always have a kindle, though I do spend a lot of time just looking at the screen saver. But I'll not be parting with my real books that I have unless my house burns.

No, Kindle/Amazon are subject to copyright laws that would require them to obtain the author's approval for any alterations to the original manuscript.
They may quote certain sections of a book without permission but they are extremely limited and subject to legal proceedings if deemed necessary.

[kasie]

I believe there may be ways to get your book on Kindle, if you wish, Emil - an author friend of mine has just worked this way. You can firstly request your publishers to re-publish your work on Kindle. If they refuse, you could try to regain the publishing rights to the book and then publish it yourself on Kindle. You would lose their marketing facilities but any money raised by Kindle sales would be all yours (less Kindle's commission which I believe is moderate). How quickly you could do this would depend on your original agreement with the publishers. It will mean a lot of work for you as you will have to reformat the text yourself. My friend has regained rights to nearly all her backlist and is seeing a resurgence of interest in some of her old titles.

As for your fears about 'deficient' authors being published, Vonny, I think the same market forces will operate on Kindle as in the printed book world - bad work won't sell. You can read the first ten pages before buying on Kindle - bad writing is evident in those first ten pages and I for one wouldn't buy an electronic book with a poor opening in the hope that it may improve as it progresses just as I wouldn't buy a printed book with an unpromising start. Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to buy it -at least paper won't have been wasted.

As for the Fast Food analogy, I think that is stretching the point - lots of people don't eat hamburgers etc, lots of people take an active interest in food and its preparation. Similarly with books, not everyone reads the equivalent of Fast Food, whether you call it Chick Lit (of which there are some good examples, by the way, don't judge the book, etc) or Best Selling Trash (ditto). Just because it's there, you don't have to buy it - you have a mind of your own, you can hunt out what you want, it's your money. I can't help feeling the ease of access offered by Kindle could lead to an increase in the interest in reading - surely that's a good thing?

I love my books, I don't intend to replace them with an electronic version but - what's going to happen to them after my days? I can see my heirs retaining possibly a tenth of them (and that's being hopeful!) but the rest will go to Charity shops/secondhand book shops. I've been doing a lot of culling lately in my attempts at decluttering and I've seen some very sad sights in the back rooms of Charity shops, piles of unwanted books gathering dust, turning into dust even. It has given me pause for thought - I tend to splurge on books when I am in book shop, doesn't happen often as we don't have a 'proper' bookshop in my local town, but I tend to buy 'ephemera', the latest title by an author I've enjoyed, something I've seen well-reviewed, a storyline that catches my eye - that's the sort of thing that could well go on an electronic device. I could save the purchase of the paper version for texts that I will refer to constantly.

As for the 'Cloud' (and being a Sony e-Reader owner, I am guessing this is the equivalent of the i-Tunes Bookshelf) once you have bought the electronic rights to a text, it is yours and the vendor has entered into an agreement to allow you access to it at any time for the forseeable future. If they wish to change that part of the contract, they will have to give you a great deal of notice in order to obtain your consent.

[Emil Miller]

I believe there may be ways to get your book on Kindle, if you wish, Emil - an author friend of mine has just worked this way. You can firstly request your publishers to re-publish your work on Kindle. If they refuse, you could try to regain the publishing rights to the book and then publish it yourself on Kindle.

The problem is that I am currently engaged in discussions with the publisher about terms for a second book which is ready for publication and they might use a request to digitalize the first book as a pretext for more favourable terms for themselves. Do you know how would I go about getting a deal with Kindle, who I believe are part of Amazon, in getting my second book published as an E-format book rather than through my original publisher?

[itstito]

A kindle is really very useful once you get used to it. It can never beat a book, but its brilliant in its own way. Also you have a wide collection of books to choose from.

[Emil Miller]

Further to my previous post, I have received an Email from the publisher to say that they are going to create an E-book of Pro Bon Publico free of charge, which is good news but it would still be interesting to find out whether Amazon/Kindle will do it for my 2nd novel on my own submission rather than through the publisher.

[Vonny]

Further to my previous post, I have received an Email from the publisher to say that they are going to create an E-book of Pro Bon Publico free of charge, which is good news but it would still be interesting to find out whether Amazon/Kindle will do it for my 2nd novel on my own submission rather than through the publisher.

I've read about your next novel and that one sounds really good. When is it being published? I think I'll get real book versions though, in case someone's grandchildren wants to read the original version some day, when no one can afford a Kindle Fire or electricity anymore in this country, and the children are sitting around the campfire listening to the stories of old and blinking with wonderment in the fire light.

You know, someday in the story, the horse will no longer go off to the glue factory, he'll leave for a luxury retirement, and people will insist that that's what's going to happen to them, despite all the evidence they see around them.

[Buh4Bee]

Reading can be a shared experience. I have a friend that I email me reading quotes too when we are reading the same book. It is a very exciting thing to bond over when your friend is far away. You can also tweet- something I recently started with a fun pal. FUNMAN!

[Vonny]

Reading can be a shared experience. I have a friend that I email me reading quotes too when we are reading the same book. It is a very exciting thing to bond over when your friend is far away. You can also tweet- something I recently started with a fun pal. FUNMAN!

Oh yes, very insightful Bee.

Yes, and books you can loan as much as you want, even with people who can't afford a Kindle. When I bought my Icelandic books, I got physical copies, because currently you can get used ones from Amazon cheaper than you can buy the e-book and I figured I can send them to my brother after I get them read. He can afford a Kindle to buy his own version, but he's set against it for now.

I think currently you can loan a kindle book out for 2 weeks or something, where it disappears from your Kindle and appears on someone else's. But eventually when you can't pick up those real books anymore, you will no longer be able to loan books at all because Kindle will discontinue that feature, I believe.

[Emil Miller]

I've read about your next novel and that one sounds really good. When is it being published? I think I'll get real book versions though, in case someone's grandchildren wants to read the original version some day, when no one can afford a Kindle Fire or electricity anymore in this country, and the children are sitting around the campfire listening to the stories of old and blinking with wonderment in the fire light.

You know, someday in the story, the horse will no longer go off to the glue factory, he'll leave for a luxury retirement, and people will insist that that's what's going to happen to them, despite all the evidence they see around them.

Well I had the book printed privately for a few people and then decided to publish it but there has been some argument over the terms. Anyhow, I have discovered that Kindle would do it at low cost but it would only be available as an E-book, whereas if I manage to get it published via my old publisher, it would be available in hard copy as well. I will let you know when or if I manage to arrange for its publication.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Well, after being addicted to books for about 16 years and the kindle for about 5 weeks, I would actually put the kindle on top!!! (Of course this could be because it is newer but I don't think it is just that).

No seriously. Of course if the book is particularly attractive, if it is a special edition or if it contains great artwork then it wins, but if it is a standard copy like a Penguin, then I would prefer the kindle version I think - no, I'm sure I do.

This is becuase I am not particularly attached to the paper the words are printed on, but the words themselves. This is what matters even if I do hold attachmentes to certain books. So the the bottom line for me is the world created by the language not the paper, so I think, and I am surprised by it, but I think the kindle is top for me.

I absolutely love the fact that I can walk out of the house with potentially hundreds of books in my coat pocket. The power of this is incredible.

[Vonny]

What you say is true Neely, and I will admit that I like to travel light. So I'm really torn. I really like to fit all of my belongings into the trunk of a car if I decide I want to just pick up and go. My books are the only weighty, bulky thing I own. For some reason, I don't like the feeling of anything holding me down. And then, I live in a forested area, and at some point a wildfire will probably call for evacuation and take out my house. Throughout the West, forest fires (often from arson) burn homes every summer. So with this in mind, it would be good to have my books on a cloud.

And you're right that for most penguin type books, it doesn't matter. And the Kindle can save trees, only all the trees will end up becoming boxes for sugary cereal and paper bags anyway.