Should I get a Kindle (or similar)?

[LadyMinerva]

Just that really. I've always maintained that I'm 'old school'when it cones to books. I like the feel of them. But, for various reasons, I'm wondering if it's time to get with the times and start with an e reader.

Was anyone else stubborn about books but then change?

I use my Kindle every day. I access my library books that way and occasionally I pay for a book. I absolutely love it. At night I enlarge the font so that I don't have to wear my glasses and can read in the dark.

I bought a used one on Amazon for £40. It is immaculate and works great. Based on the model type I saved £140. I actually wouldn’t pay full price for one.

I absolutely adored reading but found it interfered with life when I wanted to get stuff done. It was an either/or situation and I was struggling to make time for reading or I'd be engrossed in a book until the early hours.
Because I can't chop all the veg and read a book without risking my fingers, I got a kindle. I read books on it as normal but when needing to get on with a task I flip to screen reader and have it read to me. AirPods in and away we go.

I love my kindle. I read at every opportunity I can. And there's no waiting between books as it takes seconds to find and download the next. (Unless I'm waiting on the author publishing their next book)

I even have a spare I bought when I thought this one was dying. Turned out, despite its daily, near constant use for over 4 years, it was just needing the update. Now I don't have to panic if it does break.

And Amazon has great customer service.

When my first kindle developed a crack I called customer service to see how to get a repair and how much it would cost. He told me not to worry and a new one would be at the local post office in the morning and I should just shove my cracked one in the pack and mail it back with the sticker they sent with the replacement. Absolutely free and to keep the charger that came with it!

I resisted for years. But I couldn't live without it now. Some of the advantages -

Small, lightweight, easy to put in your bag. Great for reading anywhere, especially holidays you just have to take the Kindle and not 10 heavy books. If you are on holiday and you have finished all your books then it is so easy to get another.

I always read in bed for half an hour before sleeping, no need for a book light, noisy page turning, far less likely to disturb your partner if that may be an issue.

Generally cheaper books, a lot of free books.

Far more availability than in shops of anything you might want to read.

I live abroad and it isn't easy to get English language books. Now I can get another in seconds. The same if you live in the country whee books in your language plentiful, no need to leave the house to get your next book.

I really had no more space in the house for more books, I hate disposing of books but the house was literally full of them.

Always having it with you to read something even for 5 minutes. So portable.

Disadvantages -

None really. Unless it dies or you lose it and then you are in an absolute panic 😁.

I thought I would miss the page turning of a real book but I really don't. I wouldn't be without it now and can't imagine going back to books. The only ones I buy now are travel guides with maps etc., as they aren't so easy to read on a Kindle (although available).

I love mine and almost always read on it now - can't remember the last time I read a physical book other than a children's book! I also have the Kindle app on my phone which is very handy for train journeys or just when you're out and about - saves the mindless scrolling. It synchs up with the actual kindle and jumps to the most recent page read so it's easy to switch between the two. Definitely recommend!

Going to be a counterpoint here. Obviously there are lots of practical advantages as outlined above but in the end I love my books. I like the covers, I like seeing how far through it I am (looking at the % isn't the same). I just hate the experience of reading on a screen..proper reading not scrolling mn posts). It's an emotional thing. I do have the app on my phone if I'm stuck somewhere without a book. I know kindle screens are different but it's not for me.

Echo all the positives here, just love having a library of hundreds of books at my fingertips and also love that I can read a review of a book and be reading it within 2 minutes (at a much lower price). Our bookshelves are already groaning too so happy not to add to the load. The thousands of free books are available is also wonderful.

Only negatives I can see is that because I’m not picking up a physical book to read I often forget what the book I’m reading is called and I sometimes find it hard to flick back if I want to check or reread something.

I love my ereader. I had Kindle first, but then when it died I changed to Kobo.
The advantages - the backlit screen for reading at night, the weight, you never lose a page, the size, being able to adjust font size. Less stuff in my cluttered house.
Disadvantages, you don't see the covers, can't buy from charity shops or swap books with friends.

With Kindle you are tied to Amazon. I didn't like that. Amazon do have ease of shopping/browsing nailed through.
With Kobo, you can buy from multiple sources, although its slightly less simple. Prices in Amazon and Kobo shop are always similar.
The big advantage of kobo is being able to read library books. I understand that kindle can't do this on the UK. I'm a member of two council Libraries. One uses Borrowbox, which is a pain because you need a laptop/pc with adobe software in the middle to download and transfer the books using a cable. The other uses Libby, which is linked to Overdrive. Books can be borrowed and returned directly from my kobo over wifi with this.
Neither library has a massive selection of e-books, and there are long waits for new bestsellers. You can also download old classics for free on sites like globalgrey.

I resisted for years and wouldn't be without my Kindle now. It is not like reading on a phone or computer screen, it's completely different. I love the fact I can have lots of books downloaded onto it so no taking heavy books on holiday and that I can read at night in the dark without hurting my eyes or disturbing DH.

The amount of free books on Prime reading is amazing, I rarely pay for one to be honest and you can have 10 at once.

I was late to the party but I wouldn't go back.

I read a lot but most books I don't want to keep. Books I want to keep, I buy a real book. Everything else, I get as an ebook.

My ereader is a Kobo, I love getting library books from the comfort of my sofa 😆even if it is a bit of a faff. Now I'm a bit longsighted, I love being able to adjust the font size so it's comfortable to read. I love having 100s of books to choose from, whether I'm at the hairdressers, travelling or on holiday.

Yes, it’s great! The major advantages for me are being able to take it on holiday (lightweight, no running out of books), being able to read in low light and only needing one hand (if you want to read while eating your lunch for example).

The only books I don’t like to read so much on a Kindle are those with lots of graphs or charts in.

How do you access library books on your kindle?

I love my kindle. Easy to carry around, no issues with holiday packing, very good on the eyes.

You are tied to Amazon, that is one of the negatives but I do read a significant amount of indie authors who are often publish in Kindle unlimited and even the ones who publish wide aren't in our library so moving to a Kobo wasn't worth it for me.

I have the app as well but don't really like reading on the phone/tablet as I find my eyes hurt after a while.

I do buy the odd book, mainly historical factual ones as I like to go back and forth and pictures, graphs and maps don't work well on a kindle.

DH reads both, kindle and physical books, it depends on the book and when he reads.
DD is anti-ereader, she hates it and her bookshelves are overflowing as a result.

You can’t, at least in the UK. The PP was probably referring to reading on the Libby app on a Kindle Fire, which is a very different experience.
I have a Kindle for purchases and a Kobo for library books and wouldn’t be without either of them.

Yes. You have your library in your pocket or bag. Kindle Unlimited is a game changer .

Just bought a kindle holder so now I can lie in bed on my back, kindle above me with the page turner device, my hands under the covers clicking when I want the page turned. Feels very decadent.

I do still like physical books but the Kindle comes in a close second and I don't feel like it is a screen as it does look like paper.

I can see the practical advantages of an e-reader, particularly for going on holiday, and also that I wouldn't have to wear reading glasses, but have resisted so far, mainly because I can't stand Amazon. I also like going to the library and browsing. I can't imagine not physically picking up books that take my fancy and having a flick through to see if I might like them.

It's fantastic. The Kindle paperwhite is gently illuminated so you can read in bed without a light. It feels very different to a phone.

I've read so many books over the last few years as it makes them so accessible and you can take it anywhere. I don't tend to need the library function but I can see it would be worth having a compatible one if that was important.

You can also ask Alexa to read your book to you if you are driving or something.

The clincher for me was for several years I had to sit in my son's room to help him settle to sleep and needed to be able to read in near darkness.

I'd suggest trying a second hand one, you can always keep it for holidays/emergency if you don't much like it.

I use a Kobo so I can get library books.

I have never been able to access library books on my Kindle. Please do you have any tips? I have a Kindle Oasis if it's important.

You can just download the kindle app onto your phone or iPad and I guess you could see if it’s for you this way, without committing to buying a kindle?

I got one about 10 years ago. It took me a few months to get used to it but now I can't live without it & I still have lots of books I haven't read now because I prefer to pick up the kindle.

I was totally stubborn about it till my eyesight started going and I realised the benefit of the kindle was that I could make the font super sized and still read without my glasses. That was the turning point for me and I wouldn't be without it now. There are slight annoyances with it but the benefits outweigh the negatives!

You can on the Kindle fire.