Arguments for the Kindle

[ChristineB]

1. The Stand
2. The Talisman
3. The Dark Tower books
4. It
5. Needful Things
6. Insomnia
7. Duma Key
And the final one that pushed me over the edge just last night...
8. Under the Dome

My hubby and I went to Best Buy the other day to look at a new game and they had a Kindle (new one) on display there. It amazed me just how thin the thing is now. Yes I have seen the pictures of it online, but until I picked it up and looked at it I just hadn't grasped (pun or no pun your choice ) just how extremely thin it really is.

Then last night I pulled one of the 4 copies of UTD I have off the shelf to start reading it... the first thing I noticed was just how heavy the thing really is, I know I weighed it back when it came out due to needing to ship one and it was like 8lbs 11oz or some such... Noticable wieght. Then I looked at how thick it is... 2 7/16 inches.

Right then I realised just how nice a Kindle would be to have. The Kindle is about the thickness of the board on that book... not sure what it wieghs but I know it isn't as much as just the ouches over 8lbs that UTD wieghs.

I am starting to wonder if SK has stock in Kindle now.

Don't get me wrong, I will never give up my 1/1 collection of hard back SK books (the phase "they will pry it from my cold, dead hands" comes to mind), but having them on a Kindle so I can take them ALL anywhere I want with me, easily, is very nice.

Ofcourse I will have to keep it away from the toilet.

[turtlex]

Part of my whole issue with the Kindle is .

1. You don't own a physical book ( therefore, no lending, no re-selling, no trading in )

2. Likely, you already own the book if it's one of your favorite authors, so unless it's a new release, so you're buying things yet AGAIN. And, if it's a Sai King book - aren't you going to buy a hardcopy anyways?

3. $12.99 isn't cheap, and that's what a lot of the new releases are going for.

I just can't see paying the cost of the Kindle and then the cost of getting all my favorite books, and then ... and then ....

[ChristineB]

I will be owning all his books anyway. And while in the house will be reading from them, I don't think the Kindle could replace any physical book for me.

But, I read away from home too, and the thought of having to lug this (and many others of his) around so I can, even the paperback version, is not fun.

And we all buy extra copies (most of us do anyway) now I just won't need the $10 p/b copy of these books too.

I find it funny that so many of his books are so big they have become an argument (for me anyway) for finally buying the thing. It didn't hurt that they reduced the price to a point where it was an option. I would still not be buying one for $250 even at this point.

[turtlex]

Oh, you make a good case! Especially due to the heft issue with a lot of the SK books.

I just see it as yet another way to spend money on books... which, I really don't need!

With the price drop to $189 - it sure was tempting, but I just remind myself of the collectible edition I might get for that money and the temptation goes away!

[ChristineB]

With the price drop to $189 - it sure was tempting, but I just remind myself of the collectible edition I might get for that money and the temptation goes away!

LOL

I can understand that

[ChristineB]

The other thing these books are good for:

--work out weights (who needs 5lb weights?)
--doorstops
--personal defense (smack someone with UTD and they aren't getting up for a few)
--paper weights (even the wind in Amarillo isn't moving UTD)
--step stools

Ok... having diarrhea of the fingers now

[Bev Vincent]

I used to joke that even the Kindle version of Under the Dome was heavy.

By the way, the WiFi only version is now only $139.

I love my Kindle. I buy most of my new books in that format.

[ELazansky]

I've been kicking around the Kindle idea myself. I usually find myself going to the library to get books to read, and I rarely buy books any more. So if I got one, I'd have to start spending 10-12 bucks a book and not have anything physical to show for it. But the other day, I was at my kid's Karate class, and I had no book. If I had a Kindle with 3G, I could have just bought something and started reading it right then and there. And as much as I love the feel of a book in your hands, they do get a bit uncomfortable when it is 1000+ pages. I may ask my wife to get me one for Xmas.

[Bev Vincent]

I used to buy books new, read them as soon as possible after publication, and then resell them on Amazon marketplace while the hardcover still had some resale value. I figure the net cost was about $10-$12 a book. That being the case, I have no trouble paying $9.99 or $12.99 for an eBook that I'll always have that won't take up space on our already overburdened shelves.

[mae]

Hm. To me, the heftier the better

Can't see myself reading on a device. I love the feel of a physical book. I don't even buy so-called paperback reading copies, I only read in hardcover, as those are the only True Books.

[LadyHitchhiker]

I hate the kindle. Those kind of devices will leave me out of a job in the future if they truly catch people's fancies. There's nothing quite like a bookstore...

[ELazansky]

True Books, to me, are the words themselves. Doesn't matter how I read them, as long as the story is told.

[LadyHitchhiker]

I guess I'm old-fashioned. I love my job so much. I hate things that jeopardize my possible future there.

And I'd rather replace one book than one expensive piece of equipment with all my books on it.

Plus I can't take a bath while reading mechanical book.

[ELazansky]

I love books, too, and I hate that many local bookstores have had to close due to Amazon, B&N, etc. I always wanted to have a large library in my home, but I've had to move so many times, that I've donated most of my books to local libraries. I've resisted getting a Kindle since it came out, and I'm still on the fence. I'm to the point that I don't really care how I read a book, as long as I get a chance to enjoy it.

[ChristineB]

Plus I can't take a bath while reading mechanical book.

Hehe, don't tell my Kindle that, will be reading it in the bath just like I do my regular books. Have to be just as careful with it as I do my regular books.

It will just be so much easier to take the Kindle (with all his books on it) with me to my mom's house then just one pb copy of UTD.

[biomieg]

I have a free Kindle app on my iPod Touch and I used it to buy and read UR (which hasn't been collected in a print edition yet) and BLOCKADE BILLY (because I wanted to read it - European customers are in the back of the shipping-waiting line at Cemetery Dance... it took about two months for me to get the book even when I ordered it literally 5 minutes after the site went live... but anyway )

But I won't be getting a true Kindle. I'm a physical-book man.

[WeDealInLead]

I just can't get into it. Most paperbacks will find a way to fit one of your pockets (jeans. jacket, sweatshirt) or the back seat of the car works fine too. They're cheap too.. used for $2-3, sometimes less if you're lucky. I'm also refusing to pay for MP3s. Paying for computer data.. I don't know, I guess it doesn't sit well with me.

Keep in mind though, I don't own a cellphone, I still listen to records and I don't have an MP3 player...

but I have a walkman (you know.. cassettes) and a tape deck.

I figure younger kids make up the big percentage of the Kindle consumers.

[Chap]

True Books, to me, are the words themselves. Doesn't matter how I read them, as long as the story is told.

My thoughts exactly.
I'm not a collector of books, never buy more than one copy and it's usually paperback. Simply because it's cheaper and easier to handle. A new hardcover in Norway can cost you $68, while a recently released paperback is $16/$22.
Sure, physically reading from a book is nice, but I think I would actually read more if I had a Kindle.

[alkanto]

I don't know...I've been toying with the idea of an E-Reader myself.
I just cannot get over the "real book" argument, however. There's something about that hefty old volume, with the creaking cover, and even the musty smell of pages...I don't think I could ever give that up.

The only reason I would get one, as a student, is that most college textbooks can be purchased on them nowadays. If my book load gets really heavy in the next few years, I may have to cave in. As of right now, my total textbook loads probably weighs about half of me

[pathoftheturtle]

...I still listen to records...

You mean vinyl? Wow.

[ChristineB]

The only reason I would get one, as a student, is that most college textbooks can be purchased on them nowadays. If my book load gets really heavy in the next few years, I may have to cave in. As of right now, my total textbook loads probably weighs about half of me

I wouldn't do this just because I used to sell mine back at the end of the semester to recoup a small amount of the cost for the buggers. Ofcourse it would have been nice not to have to lug around a 20lb book at school.

I'd be willing to be you won't save any money by getting them electronically (based on the fact the comp books my hubby gets electronically are not discounted).

[gsvec]

I will never give up real books. No way.

. . . but . . .

I broke down and bought a Kindle when UR came out, and I have to admit I really like it. It mostly comes in handy on 'errand' day - waiting for an oil change, in the doctor's office, etc. Once I ended up finishing the book I was reading and in barely over a minute I downloaded a new one - I didn't have to carry 2!

And by the way, there are tons of FREE books for Kindle. I've found that there are quite a few newer releases that they'll promote as freebies for a limited time as well as the always-free classics. For those of you who have a Kindle, click here for the page.

[Bethany]

The other thing these books are good for:

--work out weights (who needs 5lb weights?)
--doorstops
--personal defense (smack someone with UTD and they aren't getting up for a few)
--paper weights (even the wind in Amarillo isn't moving UTD)
--step stools

Ok... having diarrhea of the fingers now

Hard core collectors, please ignore the following post....

My bed is currently being held up by my hardcover Dark Tower books

[Darkthoughts]

I love gadgets, but books are one thing I will never personally digitise. As has been said already, I just love books - it almost seems blasphemous to have ebooks, I can't help thinking it's one step towards a Farenheit 451 scenario. I know that's slightly over the top but y'know what I mean?

Not everything needs to be modernised and ultra convenienced.

[debungsmere]

I am a Kindle owner, and I won't turn back. The following were my reasons, and examples, of why I am a Kindle owner.

The new kindles are only $140, which depending on how much you read, you can make up the savings pretty quick.

Now I am also a book collector, so it poses some problems. The books I want to have for my collection I need to buy twice. Sure that sucks, but it also helps keep the book I buy for the collection in perfect condition.

I went through all the reasons on why I wouldn't like a Kindle but those quickly diminished because the first book I bought on my Kindle was Under the Dome. I read the book while on an airplane, at airports, and on vacation. I could not imagine trying to bring a book that size on a vacation, it would just be too cumbersome.

One other example I ran into was on a trip where my plane got delayed for 6 hours and I was just finishing a book. click click click, I had another book to read to pass the time. Worked perfectly.

Now I know we all like books or we wouldn't be here, but I think we can all agree we read books we likely won't ever read again because they werent that good. Those books end up collecting dust somewhere, you aren't proud to show them off, and you end up giving them away. Kindle solves that problem.

Privacy. No one knows what you are reading! Not that I have ever spoiled, or been spoiled on an ending to a book. However one time I almost did it to someone. They were reading HP and the Half-Blood Prince on the airplane. I will just say that person was a total ass, ended up dropping their bag on my lap while I was reading. I almost looked up and said "---- ---- dies at the end of the book ya know". But that would've just been mean. But privacy is important sometimes. It's funny because a lot of the top selling books on Kindle are romance novels, which makes sense because no one knows what you are reading!

My favorite part of the Kindle though is that you can download an application for your phone and for your computer. Your books can be read on any of thee devices and it keeps track of your page. So for lunch breaks at work I open it up on my PC and read a bit and it keeps my page for me. Or if I am waiting for the doctor, haircut, oil change - I pop open my phone.

To end, I will say that the readability is awesome, its as good if not better than a book. I will also say, buy a Kindle - not another reader. The Ipad might be more usable, but the resolution for reading isnt as good, and if you buy an ereader buy one thats meant to be read on, not a computer.