Does anyone have an Amazon Kindle?

im not sure about the whole kindle thing, how much does it cost to download the books? I can't imagine being able to read onscreen, and you definately can't take it into the bath!!!!

There is just something about opening a book, the smell, the texture, its pure indulgence

Luddite

Kindle! If people love books so much, why not buy the actual book to have and to hold.... and not a computer pad.
I rather love seeing the books that I have loved and read on my shelves, being able to share them and pass them on is a treat. A book does not go out of date and is not updated to a book1.0! And there is always room in the bag for a book, it does not need charging up and if I loose it, I only loose the book I am holding, not the others down-loaded into it!

A new cover has stopped my Kindle crashing. But it was doing it a LOT. If it happens to you, push th eon switch to the right, and hold it there until a green light shows next to the switch. It will then reboot and you will be OK until the next time...

It does seem to be only the Amazon leather covers without the built in light that have problems, so your best bet is probably a different cover.

I have a question:

with a book you can photocopy a page obviously, what can you do with a Kindle? Can you print off a page somehow or copy and paste into a Word document? I should explain that I'm a teacher so being able to photocopy bits of texts is important.

At the moment, my kindle, which has a fully charged battery, will not respond to any switch flicking to switch it on. It seems to be frozen on its pretty-cover-page. Won't re-boot that way. Will take it out of its cover this evening when I get home though, and see if that works.....

(fingers crossed)

Also, if you flick the switch and hold it in the on position for 20 secs until the green light flashes it reboots it, which seems to solve some of the crashing problems too.

I've got one and I love it.

Crashed a few times but I downloaded the latest software update and its been fine (and the pages turn faster) since.

I've downloaded loads of books I wouldn't have read otherwise, and filled in loads of gaps in my reading.

I still read paper books as well. It won't replace them, it's just a different way to read.

oh and I read it in the bath much to DPs horror.

So glad to read about the kindle cover issue..... my (christmas) kindle has been freezing and jamming since I got it, and I couldn't work out why. Will now take it out of its cover, see if that fixes its current freeze and return the cover....

So glad I found this thread, thanks so much!

Just a quick thanks so much to kitty1980 for the heads up on Life of Pi free ... I read and loved it.

I got one from DH for my 30th birthday - lovely suprise . I've only downloaded free stuff so far, mainly classics but some newer titles seem to be randomly available for free from time to time too.

I don't think it's going to replace paper books entirely (nothing beats browsing in a second-hand book shop) but it should certainly help stem the growing tide of books which had been taking over our house!

I find it really easy to use and after a while, you almost forget you're not reading paper. Definitely plan to download many more books this year.

I got one for christmas which was a real surprise. Loving it so far. Don't think it will replace 'proper' books especially as I like keeping most that I buy but definitely for things like holidays and quick reads it'll be great.

Only drawback is the lack of a light otherwise it would be perfect for reading in bed without dh nagging me to turn the light off. Will have to look for a case with a light now !!

My kindle should be arriving today.

I am getting a tad impatient

I'm not interested in reading pirate copies of books. If you want to read the latest things and can't afford to buy them, then go to a library.

If you want publishers and authors to continue to produce the fantastic quality they do in this country and others, don't expect to get it for free.

he link I added is free from Amazon

I got one for XMAS LOVE it though never thought i would say that! I bought some e books from waterstones and have loaded them onto the putter but have trouble putting them onto my kindle!
grr pitty as they look darn good....

I haven't bought anything off Ebay for my Kindle as yet though I know plenty of people who have. I do feel a bit uneasy about it not being fair to living authors.

However - We have a bring and take library at work. We pass books around between friends. I buy books at the charity shop or second-hand shop. A "real" book is a concrete object that can be treated thus - but someone originally has bought it and the royalty paid. I would be more comfortable if I was able to share or obtain e-books by similar means.

I wouldn't pay for someone else to download things that you can do for free. It doesn't make it any less illegal.

Ebay

I am very concerned that I should accidentally view one of these pirate websites ....is there anyway someone could give me an idea of their names or what to google to get up to date fiction books (and not crappy pseudo science books)

It is very, very easy to find pirated ebooks online that can be converted into Kindle-compatible format (.mobi) using Calibre. This is not legal and I'm not recommending it. But there are sites where you'll find every book you ever want for free.

sorry, www.freestuff.co.uk/go-lifeofpi

Life Of Pi free on Kindle here www.freestuff.co.uk/go-lifeofpi

I too got a Kindle for Christmas but was concerned about being tied to Amazon and the price of ebooks. Just wanted to say thanks to this thread for giving me a heads up about Calibre.

While researching, I have found this very useful article helps to explain about Calibre and converting files.

You can get legal free PDF ebooks (just Google "free PDF books") and convert them via various bits of freeware if you Google "convert PDF to Kindle". I would not of course advocate obtaining pirated PDF books here (ahem) .

I wonder if Mumsnet could do a Kindle users thread...? I do still love "real" books ... I come from a family of booksellers and it's in the blood.

I also got a kindle for Christmas and I love it! The page turning doesn't bother me at all. The only negative thing about the kindle is the price of books - the newer ones aren't much cheaper than printed books and you can't shop around either.