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?

How do you connect your library account?

I have Kindle Paper white for reading text. Great for in bed reading as it is light. I have a Kindle Fire for magazines and things with colour.

I love books but as a fast reader I appreciate being able to store them in the cloud. I also don't want to travel to a library. I get Kindle Prime to allow me to read my modern (trashy) fiction and it costs about the same as a magazine each month (which I now get for free with prime).

Kindle and ereaders are better than paper books. There, i said it.

You can access thousands of books instantly, the books aren't cluttering up your house, you can only read books on the one I've got so stops me scrolling my phone. Its backlit. The surface is as near as possible to reading a paper book. i can send any documents etc i like to it. I recently bought ebooks from an indie publisher who uses Bookfunnel so i was able to send it to my Kindle so you're not necessarily tied to Amazon. The battery life is really good so doesn't need charging very often. Also i have sensory issues so while some people love the smell of a musty old book that's been sat in a charity shop for years, i don't, so i like that my Kindle always smells the same (i like the smell of new books but who can afford £8 for a new book every time?!)

You can also return Kindle books for a refund if they're terrible, or subscribe to Kindle unlimited so you have access to even more books for a flat monthly fee.

The biggest change for me though is the lack of clutter. I never knew what to do with all those books i paid for and read once other than give them away. Now i can access books that are free or very cheap. I could use the library but getting there can be difficult and i have to pay £1 to reserve books at the library. Invariably i forget to return them and sometimes you have to wait weeks for it to be available.

Also you can link your Kindle library to a friend if you have another friend with a Kindle and you can share all your books with them and vice versa.

I took years to finally make the decision to become a regular kindle reader. I did just love books. I still do, but find reading them harder as I am getting older because you can't adjust the size of the print and even with up to date reading glasses it is difficult.

Kindle solves that issue, plus it is a very lightweight way to carry hundreds of books. It has its own dictionary too, so if you don't understand a word you just hold your finger on it and most of the time the definition comes up.

I use my kindle it almost every day. I'm also considering getting a Kobo as my Christmas present to myself so that I can have the best of both worlds without being completely tied to Amazon.

I'd say go for it. I'm glad I did. I'll always love a browse in a traditional bookshop too though. 🤠

It’s not a book replacement for me. I still have a houseful of books. I was a very late adopter of Kindle, but find it useful for (1) travelling, so I’m not weighed down with the vast numbers of books I need (2) reading in the bath (waterproof and can be read by candlelight or in the dark, which is how I like my baths) and (3) reading yourself to sleep (I like to read till I’m practically unconscious, and not have to sit up and turn the light off). Also, the font size being alterable means I can read without my reading glasses when I can’t on paper.,

Get a kobo. I have both and the experience on my 13yr old kobo is as good as my 2yr old kindle. Kobos are built so much better imo. I'm actually hoping my kobo will die so I can upgrade but no luck yet!!

Also, it's not a book replacement, it's an additional way of reading for me. I go through phases of using all the different options in varying degrees

I have kindle fire but can't access my public library - I can tho on my kobo

@Dreammalildream
sorry, returning Kindle books is a terrible thing. You don’t hurt Amazon, you hurt the author as they are getting charged for every refund.
You can’t return a read paperback
just because you don’t like it after reading.

Get a Kobo or a fire if you want a library option or pay the subscription for Kobo Plus/Kindle unlimited.

I have hundreds of books and used to be a bit of a purist about physical books, but I have read so much more this year since I bought a cheap second hand Kindle. It goes everywhere with me and I wouldn't be without it now!

@Dreammalildream
How can you view books as clutter?!! Don't you ever go to someone's house and think 'Where are all your books?'

I have books that I inherited from my parents and grandparents, books from my childhood and that belong to my children, books that I received as gifts and books that I have bought for myself. I keep them because they they remind me of people and past times, and also because I re-read them.

I also have a healthy rotation of books I buy and then re-donate to charity shops.

I do both. We have a great little free library near us and I constantly get books from there, and return after reading. I still have a wall full of physical books that I want to keep and I also use my Kindle a lot. It's a godsend for travelling and I can read in bed without having a light on.
Definitely have a look on Ebay. People upgrade and sell them for peanuts..quite often with a cover thrown in. I favour the Kindle Voyage which is just a little bit smaller than the Paperwhite and fits my hand better.

It's not really my problem - if authors list their books on Amazon i assume they've agreed to the fact that customers can return books. And yes you could return a read book to say Waterstones if purchased online as long as it's within the time specified in the terms and conditions/your statutory rights.

I'm not going to buy a kobo so i can borrow books from the library (and wait weeks to borrow them) when i already own a Kindle and I'm operating within Amazon's rules.

How can you view books as clutter?!! Don't you ever go to someone's house and think 'Where are all your books?'

Never, because I don't judge people by how many books they do or don't have on display. I also don't assume that everyone does or should enjoy reading.

If people think less of me because they can't see any books in my house, i don't want them in my house either. Thankfully all my friends aren't so shallow.

I use a kindle and still read actual books either bought new or used , passed on to us from family (and I lass on to them) and I use the library. I don't see books as clutter but have a lot of non fiction books associated with a hobby (for which I prefer physical books) and there's only so much room in the house!

I’ve had my kindle for years, when they first came out, I’ve not used it for ages as I’ve got the kindle app on my phone and iPad, it’s great, got a spare 5 minutes I’ll read no matter where I am

Do you have an ad free kindle, if so you can go into the settings and make your kindle show your current book's cover on the sleep screen rather than the generic pictures.

I love my kindle, I have 2 because I got sick of getting into bed and realising my kindle was downstairs. Now I just permanently have one by my bed and I sync it to the last read page from my other kindle.
I haven't read a physical book in years. As much as I love the smell, feel and cover of a real book I just find them inconvenient now and a pain to hold.

My daughter and I share a kindle unlimited account . I read every night before I go to sleep and because I like 1900-1940s crime / mysteries there is a plentiful supply . I have a paper white which is excellent , not sure I’d get on with proper books now because my eyesight is appalling. My daughter loves a proper book as well as her kindle .

Just download the kindle app onto your phone, it's much cheaper! And if you don't use it you haven't wasted money.

God, yes. I read it every day. Wouldn't be without it.

You’re allowed to use an e-reader, AND read actual physical books. I find the cheaper prices for kindle books mean I don’t really hesitate to spend £20 on a new hardback from a favourite author if I’m desperate to read it.

I always said I couldn’t imagine wanting to use an e-reader, but as soon as I got my kindle I was smitten. If you have a tablet (iPad, kindle fire, Samsung etc) you could join your library online and borrow a book to read on it, see how you find it? An actual e-reader is a much nicer, more simple, and more lightweight though.

I tend to read lots on my kindle, often a book I would usually get in hardback on the day of release will be on offer a couple of months later much cheaper.

Although, when I then decide to visit our local bookshop I end up justifying buying at least 3 new books “because I haven’t actually bought an actual book in aaaaaaages” 😂

Anyway, the TBR pile grows ever larger, in both corporeal and digital form 🙈

I have had a Kindle and 2 kindle fires in my life. Its much easier than having piles of books around but it can be a bit of a pain in the bum to make not-bought-from-amazon ebooks to appear and usually even though they're in the right folders in the sdcard it takes several restarts until they actually appear but after that it's all good.

I now have a Samsung tablet and use it as my ebook reader by using the pocketbook app. It's much easier as it shows all formats of book including audiobooks and pdfs and lists then in a more sensible fashion and everything shows up as soon as its downloaded, even if it's not in the actual book folder. If you have an account you can sync it if you reinstall and it's also available for phones.

Having said that, the pocketbook app could have a better interface but you can't have everything for free.

The downside for using apps and tablets and kindle fires is that they're showing other notifications for other items and it's easy to get distracted by a WhatsApp or email notification or to start googling something rather than just reading.

I hate mine. I hate reading on a screen. I hate that I can't put books in categories - it just creates a duplicate in that section so I can't file them all away off the Home Screen, and see what i haven't read etc. I hate forgetting to download and not being able to read them.
It's just gathering dust in a cupboard and I'm back in Waterstones.

I resisted for a long time but now I find it hard to read a 'real' book. Either the writing is too small or the light isn't good enough, or I put the darn book down and can't find it! I just use my phone though, I don't bother with a kindle.

I sent mine back so jerky! An iPad and Books is miles better! I have a kindle app on it too