Kindle guilt

Thank you!

Borrowbox or Libby @LittleGreenDragons. I haven't used Amazon for years, but someone recommended these to me recently. I have the app on my tablet.

I don't want to support Amazon if I can help it so won't do kindles but I've heard there's a way to get library books on tablets and ereaders. Kobo or something? I'll be looking into that more.

You can buy e books for indie bookstores online. There’s one which Writers Routine podcast supports. Worth a google

I have no idea why anyone would feel guilty about their reading habit. Christ, don't we have enough to worry about in life?!?!?!?!

I love my Kindle.

I had a huge clear out of paperback books, then bought a kindle.
Think of all the costs of producing physical books.

Not sure about the connection between ebooks or paper books and the type of chicken or eggs we eat...

I do what suits me (and my budget) and leave the guilt for things that matter. If I don't use what a business offers, I don't feel bad about not giving them my money.

I feel the save bit I love my kindle and don't like reading physical books anymore, so what can you do?

I don't have a kindle, but read ebooks on the Kindle app on my phone at night, in dark mode and with the blue light filter turned up to the max, to avoid disturbing DH. I buy inexpensive ebooks or read the ones that are included with our Prime membership.

I also read physical books that I buy from online secondhand book stores, or when we've visited NTS etc. places - most historic houses tend to have secondhand books for sale. Also, in the past I would occasionally get them from those charity tables at motorway service stations.

If a book is particularly thick or heavy and so uncomfortable to hold, I just use a stand.

I borrow and download audiobooks from my library to my phone. Not ebooks as I'm a slow reader so would be renewing them endlessly. I've listened to some great audiobooks this way. I also listen to stories on BBC Sounds and Amazon Music.

A recent accident has left me disabled and on round the clock painkillers, so I feel no guilt whatsoever at making my life as easy as possible.

You can also lend / give hard copies to family / friends or give them to charity shops to sell on.

but I’m the worst of the worst for the environment because if I find a book I really love I buy both the paperback and the electronic version. (E-book so I can read it on my phone when waiting for kids or at lunchtime at work, hard copy because I like a proper book in the bath or at bedtime!)

i think it’s very reasonable to feel guilty for supporting amazon however no need to feel guilty in the slightest for using an e reader (even a Bezos one) if you didn’t have a chronic condition.

still probably not great but i use a kobo and can also borrow library books on it. i do mainly read books more than ebooks.

Definitely dont feel guilty at all though.

I feel no guilt at all. The kindle has transformed my reading life. And while I do like bookshops, I care much more about books themselves and reading them.

If you genuinely feel guilt about only using Amazon then you can easily 'jailbreak' your kindle by searching on YouTube, so you can buy from other sellers, and also get loads of other use from your kindle.

The book shop's business is not your responsibility. People just like to feel nostalgic over them, they are just the same any normal business. If there is demand for what they supply they'll be fine, if not they won't, the onus is not on the local population to purchase from them out of guilt. If it's cheaper and more convenient elsewhere, that's where it will come from in our house!
You paying double the price of Amazon (triple when there are deals on kindle) to put money in to someone else's pocket is bonkers. Just enjoy your kindle and leave business owners to worry about their profits!

I'd love it if you could get a package deal where buying the paperback also got you the Kindle book for no or minimal extra cost

Do you want to know the best thing I bought for my Kindle? A holder that attaches to the headboard. I have a page turner and a clicker so it turns the pages for me.

I can swing the Kindle holder like a dentist swings the light into place so it isn't in the way all the time over my head. This isn't clear from the link but it does pivot. I can then snuggle down in bed with my hands under the covers and read, effortlessly.

Now I do love the feel of a book but this is the game changer for me.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09ZY5W4QV?ref=ppxyo2ovdtbfedasintitle

If physical bookshops had books on display and you could browse and then take it to the cash desk to get the kindle download I would be so happy

I feel the same as I mainly listen on audible now. However, if I particular enjoy something I always buy it for my bookshelf as I love physical books and it's nice to flip through and see the words written down after I've listened to the audiobook. Perhaps you could do this OP?

That said I usually buy the books pre loved so I'm not really supporting bookshops anyway but if I'm out and about I would buy from bookshops as I love them.

I have zero guilt. I find reading so much easier on a Kindle. I still buy the odd book from bookstores (typically non-fiction.)

I've been using audible for years - listen to a book being read whilst I do a little colouring in bed - relaxes me for a good sleep.

I love my Kindle. I'm lucky to be able to get Kindle books through my library though, so I don't feel at all guilty. My husband and daughter prefer real books and they borrow books from the library. Yes, independent bookshops are important, but so are libraries, and we are happy to be library users.

I'm on my 4th kindle and read way into the night. The thing is I love bookshops and one of my favourite things to do is spending time in bookshops. I do have 100s of books and will often yearn for the physical sensation of reading an actual book. On those occasions I will have a proper book on the go as well as my kindle book for night time reading.

I love my kindle as I can make the text big enough for me to read.
I also have too many books for the amount of storage room I have, so I am taking some of them to charity shops.