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Original poster

Will I get used to a Kindle?

111 replies

Brigittebidet · 05/08/2021 18:51

DH, who is lovely in every way, bought me a Kindle today as he thinks I have been very stressed at work (correct) and we are off on holidays with the DC tomorrow and that it was a nice thing for me to have as I love reading (again correct). However, I love reading books, not screens.

I was grateful and enthusiastic but a little bit of me cried inside.

OP posts:
itsgrand · 05/08/2021 18:54

I felt like that before I got mine. I like the feel and smell of books and didn't want to be in front of a screen. I got a Kindle bought as a present like you and kind of turned my nose up at it. But ….. I soon fell in love and just wouldn't be without my kindle now!! I absolutely love it.

As soon as I finish one book I can immediately buy another one and start it in seconds!

BillMasheen · 05/08/2021 18:54

I bloody love my kindle

You can have both. E books are Great when you have to travel light, and better than no book or the wrong book.

Echobelly · 05/08/2021 18:54

I like both books and kindles for different reasons and still use both. It is good for holidays as you can easily take really 'big' books with you. I still take a spare paper book with me on holiday sometimes just in case of technical issues, which is one big advantage paper books have!

DinosApple · 05/08/2021 18:55

I felt similarly, but got over it ok. Download a few books you really, really want to read, that'll help you get used to it.

Mine hasn't replaced books in my life, I still read lots, but it's handy when you go on holiday to have a done on a Kindle rather than 3 or 4 in your case.

FreddieLounds · 05/08/2021 18:56

I love mine, having been similarly resistant to the idea initially. My eyesight has deteriorated since I got my first Kindle and I really appreciate being able to crank up the size of the font.

reprehensibleme · 05/08/2021 18:56

Someone recommended reading a book you love first - it didn't take long to become submerged in the book, not the medium you're reading it on.

knittingaddict · 05/08/2021 18:57

Depends on which kindle it is. I love my paperwhite, but wouldn't want one that has a standard screen. The way a psperwhite is lit is very easy on the eyes. Not sure what the range is like now.

nocoolnamesleft · 05/08/2021 18:57

I love reading books. I love my kindle. There is something about an actual physical book. But the kindle is just so amazingly awesomely convenient. And to hear about a book you fancy reading, and be able to be actually reading it a few minutes later is great.

ImInStealthMode · 05/08/2021 18:58

Absolutely. I loved books, still do, but love my kindle too. A bit like having a second child Grin

I read much more on my kindle as I can keep reading when DP is asleep with the lights off, on a plane with low cabin lights, in bright sunshine without glare (appreciate that books don't have glare). Doesn't weigh down my luggage, I can always find my page, no wrinkly pages from getting wet, smeared ink from sun cream hands or sand stuck in the spine.

Physical books exist are now for curled up on the sofa, in the bath or in the garden.

knittingaddict · 05/08/2021 19:00

I'm on holiday now and have read 5 books in 6 days. That is a lot of books to pack. We are in the UK but for a holiday abroad they are even better.

NoYOUbekind · 05/08/2021 19:01

I was exactly the same, until I went on holiday. I used to take 14 books on a 14 day holiday (pre DC of course). That was basically half a suitcase full of books and I would invariably run out and be stuck trying to find an English bookshop or reading romances that people had left behind. No more.

Then I moved out of the city to a place without a bookshop. Bad times.

Then my eyesight got actually quite bad. I would really struggle with the type on most physical books now, especially at night. I read at 7 on their scale during the day and 10 at night. So the kindle has basically saved my reading life.

Most of my friends move between kindles and physical books though, it's not one or the other.

MimsyBorogroves · 05/08/2021 19:02

I adore mine. Can take all of my books everywhere with me. I signed up to Netgalley and started reviewing books - I now read LOTS of books for free before they come out which means I read lots more for much less money.

Alwayswithalacrity · 05/08/2021 19:02

I was an avid book reader but due to the restrictions of lockdown found myself forced to use the kindle app on my iPad. I now cannot see myself going back to physical books —although I do love a walk through Waterstones for the smell-- My ipad is easy to read, dont have to physically hold a book open and it has 546 books stored on it. Give it a chance!

Original poster
Brigittebidet · 05/08/2021 19:05

Thank you - you have given me hope.

OP posts:
caughtinanet · 05/08/2021 19:05

I used to think the same until I got one. I read so much more now as I find it easier to read at night now my eyes aren't quite as good and I spend next to nothing as I have amazon Prime and read all the free books you get access to with that or buy ones I want when they are on a 99p offer

You may be very pleasantly surprised once you get started

The content of the book is just the same

tillytoodles1 · 05/08/2021 19:06

You can download books on your phone without having a kindle.

BatshitCrazyWoman · 05/08/2021 19:06

@BillMasheen

I bloody love my kindle

You can have both. E books are Great when you have to travel light, and better than no book or the wrong book.

I agree with this. No carting loads of books around because I'm worried about not having anything to read. It's brilliant! I also read actual books.
PanamaPattie · 05/08/2021 19:20

I love my Kindle. I also read books. I like that you can download the first few chapters of a book at no cost and then you only pay for the book if you like it. It knows how far you have read and you can just pick up the story where you left it. You can put your favourites or genres into collections so that it’s easy to navigate. You can carry thousands of books around on your Kindle. I couldn’t imagine a life without one.

Confusedandshaken · 05/08/2021 19:32

I felt the same when I got my first kindle 11 years ago. Now I find paper books a PITA. They are heavy, you lose your place, you can't enlarge the print or brighten the page. And worst of all you can't press on a word you don't know to see a definition. I have been caught out several times jabbing away on the page of a paperback trying to see what the word means. I now have a bed kindle, a handbag kindle and a back up handbag kindle in case of a reading emergency.

I do still read some paper books but they are no longer my first choice.

WimpoleHat · 05/08/2021 19:36

I prefer a book. But - when you’re going on holiday or a long trip and you might get through 3/4/5 books? Much lighter than carrying them. I’ve even got used to reading on the kindle app on my phone on the train. Think of it as an “as well as” rather than “instead of” books.

Starjammer · 05/08/2021 19:37

Proper Kindle e-readers, not the Fire tablets, use e-ink, which is not like reading off a screen at all. They look like a book page.

Fluffycloudland77 · 05/08/2021 19:41

I’ve got a kobo Clara because I wanted to borrow library books on it and I love it.

I swore I’d never get one when I was young but years ago Paper was white and smooth not this beigey colour they use now. I know it’s because it’s recycled but I’m 44 and it was getting harder to read by the bedside lamp.

I bore dh senseless about it every time I download a book.

cariadlet · 05/08/2021 19:45

I promised dp that I'd stop buying books when I got a kindle. That never happened. I love real books too much. I love the feel of them. I get a warm glow when I look up at a set of bookshelves, glance along the spines and remember reading the books. Looking at the contents page of a kindle isn't the same.

BUT a kindle is bloody brilliant for holidays and train journeys. When I check in my luggage, it weighs a fraction of what it used to and there's no danger of reading all my books and panicking because I can't find anywhere that sells books printed in English.

fruitpastille · 05/08/2021 19:50

I love both books and my kindle. It's worth paying an extra ten quid to get adverts removed from it (you can do it after you get it). Then when you pick it up it just has a lovely black and white image on display. I also got a nice cover (I think the brand was finte) so I can open and close it like a book.

Mangozesty · 05/08/2021 19:50

@nocoolnamesleft

I love reading books. I love my kindle. There is something about an actual physical book. But the kindle is just so amazingly awesomely convenient. And to hear about a book you fancy reading, and be able to be actually reading it a few minutes later is great.
This! I love being able to get a book immediately. Absolutely love my kindle, and find it much easier to read on.