Thoughts on e-books?

I have a Kindle 2. And I love it. It’s really great for reading fiction – not so much for non-fiction where you might want to make notes, highlight, only read one chapter. But for fiction, awesome. It’s really light, and it’s easy to read with one hand. The controls on the newer Kindles have changed a bit, and I don’t know how they are for reading with one hand. But, the cheapest Kindle is now $79, the cheapest touch (and just fyi, touch makes it harder to read with one hand, because you need one hand to swipe and one to hold the thing up) is $99, the color tablet version is $200, and the most expensive version is $260.

I don’t really know the Nook very well. I’ve held it in the store a couple times, seemed pretty much the same as the Kindle (but again, the controls have changed since I was in the market, so could be much different by now). The cheapest Nook is $99, the most expensive $250.

I think (but could be wrong) that one big advantage of the Kindle is that some authors just publish their own books on Amazon via ebook, but I don’t know if Barnes & Noble has the same kind of market for self-publishing. And then the books are in Amazon format, which you can convert to Nook format, but it takes a bit of doing and some of the formatting might get lost.

ETA: possibly a good and current review site.

@Aethelflaed, are they back-lit. I like to read in bed and my husband is very light sensitive. Consequently, I can’t turn the lamp on. If I got a reader and it was back-lit I could read without bothering him.

@Bellatrix The color ones (Kindle Fire, Nook Color, and Nook Tablet) are backlit.

Thank you @Aethelflaed.

The hardcover edition of Murakami’s recent 1Q84 is a reasonable $16.04 at Amazon.

The Kindle edition of Murakami’s recent 1Q84 is an unreasonable $14.99 at Amazon.

Maybe I’m missing something, but I can’t see why anyone would pay so much for a digital copy when the hardcover, collectible, beautifully designed alternative is only $1.05 more.

Having said that, I’ve held and read from friends’ Kindle 2s and they are quite nice. I wish I had one. The best part might be the free books in the public domain

Ars just did a review of the Nook. They are a pretty good source for objective reviews.

@vine Because hardcovers have their downside. They’re heavy, and hard to lug around, and take up physical space. They’re generally harder to read (physically speaking) than paperbacks. Me, I’m running out of room for all my books, and have to buy many in physical form because they don’t come in ebook form. Plus, then I can take them with me everywhere – I can take a library of 3,000 books on a trip if they’re ebooks, but I can’t really take more than about 5 physical books. And not everyone cares about collectibles (like people who spill, or bend pages, or have small children or pets), or are even particularly concerned with the cover design.

@Aethelflaed

My only complaint is with the price of digital books, not the device’s portability and practicality, which are obvious to everyone already.

But I am glad you can carry 3000 books with you on a trip! Unfortunately I cannot read that quickly, and a handful of paperbacks will usually suffice for me.

My confession: I don’t care for hardcovers either. I think they are inconvenient and unnecessary and I don’t buy them. I am more likely to buy a Kindle than a hardcover for Christmas, truth be told. But I was using the Murakami as a comparison, since first edition hardcovers are always pricier than paperbacks, and yet here is a digital copy for the Kindle that costs the same! It just seems unreasonable to me.

I agree with you that books, the physical objects, can become burdensome. There are several obstructive piles in my room and sometimes I think my stuffed bookcases are about to buckle. But does that justify paying $15 for what’s essentially a formatted text file? In the end we are paying more for less, because less is convenient and convenience is a cult.

@vine Yeah, but for me, text files are sometimes more. Like on a text file, I can easily copy and past text into a paper. For a physical book, I have to type to entire quote out myself, which takes time for even the smallest quote to make sure I get it verbatim. And eBooks aren’t any more “less” than audio and video and picture files.

Also, while for that particular book the price is almost the same, many times the eBook is much cheaper. For this textbook, the new hardcover is $75, the new paperback is $38, the cheapest used is $15, and the Kindle is $20. This book, the new paperback is $36, while the Kindle is only $17. This book, the paperback from Amazon is $14, the Kindle is $12, and the hardcover through a third-party seller is, wait for it, $270. So, I don’t know that your example is particularly representative.

I’d go with the Kindle. It’s the true-tried original, more refined and better than ever. I guess. I don’t really know, actually; I like pages and paper and the spines of books nestled on the joints of my ring and middle fingers. I’d still go with the Kindle, though; it’s battery lasts a long time and it’s glare resistant.

I have a Nook, and I love it. Mine uses the e-ink, which requires a light source; back lit stuff gives me a headache after a while. The Nook and the Kindle are comparable devices, but some of the things I like about the Nook are: if I have a question, I can go to Barnes and Noble and the Nook guy can answer it. If I’m interested in a book, but not sure I want to buy, I can read it for an hour free by sitting in the Barnes and Noble, come back the next day and read for another hour, etc. Theoretically I could read entire volumes for free.And yes, I know that’s not feasible for most people. I don’t know the numbers, but I know that authors get a significantly greater percentage from the sale of an ebook than a paper book.

My Nook enhances my library, it doesn’t replace it.

I love my Nook for the very same reasons as @JilltheTooth stated. When I decided to purchase an eReader I researched all the pros and cons of the ones that were available at the time. The Nook won me over because I could check out books from the local library.

Anyone deciding to purchase an eReader should check them out personally. Most stores have personnel that are very knowledgeable in the gadget and can show you hands on what you are getting.

I have a kindle (v1) and I love it. It will display any format except those specifically for the sony. The best thing is being able to enlarge the text as big as I need, so even on “bad vision” days I can still read it.

@downtide : My vision is fine (with readers) but I’m glad of the font size adjustor as well. Sometimes I’m a little tired and the light isn’t quite as good, it makes a big difference to the enjoyment of a book when you’re not straining. Another plus: Project Guttenberg gives you access to gazillions of titles that are out of print or otherwise unavailable through standard ebook channels. I also like that a new release will cost significantly less. I just bought The Limit for $13, it was $25 in hardcover.

I have a kindle and an iPhone and since I have the iPhone with me at all times, I do most of my reading on that. I have also found that often the best prices on virtual books are on KoBo, usually much cheaper than Amazon. You can read Kobo books on your iPhone as well. I don’t think you can read them on the Kindle and I don’t know about Nook.

but the kindle battery lasts about 35 times longer than the iphone battery. :P

I love holding a book in my hand so can’t imagine I’d buy an e-book reader. That said, I do read much of my course required reading material on project gutenberg so maybe it’d be handy for something along those lines.

@stardust I love real books too, but half of my walls are bookcases filled with books. Also, I read really fast, so for trips it’s getting tiring taking 4 or 5 and taking up room in my bag.

Thanks for all the advice guys, I’m going to follow @AmWiser and go look at some in store.

I love paper books, too, and I was horrified when my sister gave me the Nook. Then I did some traveling, and was delighted. Then I found some titles on Project Gutenberg that I couldn’t get otherwise. Then I paid half for digital on new releases what I would have paid for hardcover (which I hate, with my small arthritic hands). I still buy and read paper books, too, but after all is said and done, it’s the words that matter, not the delivery system.

If I could pipe in – no matter what you get, I’d advise e-ink over a backlit screen, hands-down. The tech just isn’t ripe yet for reading on those screens. Their DPI is really low. If you’ve seen an iPhone 4 (or 4S), their DPI is 326, or in other words, as good as a magazine. The bigger screens (Nook Color, Amazon Fire & iPad ) don’t use that tech yet, so the letters are, I guess, ragged at their edges. It gets really tiresome on the eyes, really quickly. And I’m with @JilltheTooth – my ebooks are an addition to my library – not a replacement. Finally, having both the e-ink readers, I would advise getting the Nook Touch. It’s lovely.

@serenityNOW : My daughter has the Nook touch, and loves it. Mines the slightly older model, e-ink, but with a backlit touchpad on the bottom. It’s heavier, and doesn’t hold a charge quite as long, but it’s still a terrific thing to have. And sometimes the “free Friday” books are kinda fun!

@downtide – that is true, battery life on iPhone pretty much sucks, but if you are just reading, it does go longer than I can sit still so it works for me! :-)

I have a couple of shelves full of 8½“x11” hardcover books, each with 250–500 pages, and all full-color, so e-ink isn’t an option. For me, the only options are the Nook Color, Kindle Fire, or a full-on tablet.

I have tried them both. I prefer the Nook’s hardware, but the Kindle has a bigger apps market. So I think it really depends on what else you plan to do.

Can you flash the Fire to become a regular tablet? I know you can do that with the Nook Color…

@serenityNOW Just a comparison:

My Droid X has 230ppi, the Nook Color has 169ppi, the iPhone 3 has 163ppi, and the iPad has 132ppi. In other words, the Nook Color has smoother text than the iPad, and my Droid X beats them both soundly for crispness.

Also note that the text on my 32” desktop monitor is not terribly jagged at normal viewing distances (about arms length) despite only being 69ppi; distance plays a role here too, as does anti-aliasing.

Just in case you’re considering an iPad, wait a couple more months, and the new iPad will be released. It’s supposed to have a retina display, which would make a huge difference in reading experience (compared to iPad1/2). It’s obviously much more expensive than Kindles or Nooks, but it’s also much more capable ;)

@halabihazem I actually have the first IPad, but it’s the family’s and I don’t get to use it that often. Also, I don’t really like reading on them.

So, @TheIntern55 , don’t worry, douchy not on the agenda yet any word on the e-reader? Or do we have to wait til tomorrow to find out? ;-)

Haha, no, I think we’re waiting until tommorrow. Hold back the douchy, Jill. I know you can….

In spite of what a few users may be saying at this very moment, I’m actually a lovely person. I have to really work to achieve douchy, and can do so only if seriously provoked by someone else’s douchery. But then I can be really good at it… XD
Please update when you are reading the e!

Will do!