Kindle - yes or no?

[chocoholicwifey]

I've been debating getting one for myself for far too long, I love reading but I'm not sure if a kindle would be the same for me as turning the pages of a book. But the book prices seem cheaper and I think a lot of people own them. Honestly would you recommend?

I love my Kindle, I’ve had one since they first came out.

I especially like that you can have a new book within seconds, no schlepping around town or waiting for a delivery.
I like the adjustable features such as type size, and also the ability to group books into categories.

I have the kindle app on my phone. If I'm without the kindle itself, I can still dip into my book and it syncs between the two. Clever!

I love that aspect - I don't generally read on my phone but It's great that I will always have my book with me if necessary.

I love mine. I still love a real book too but I have trouble sleeping and the Kindle Paper White means I can read at 2 am without disturbing DH with paper rustling and lights. It’s also nice when you travel. You don’t have to panic about running out of reading material.

I adore books. The smell, the feel, the sound of the spine snapping, the texture of the pages, the way the different fonts look on the paper.

But I am also thinking of the environment and as a prolific reader I was going through so many. DH bought me a paperwhite last Christmas even though I hated the idea. Now I would let go back. I have my favourite books in print and nevertheless on the kindle.

You won’t regret it.

Big yes from me. I held off for ages, but love mine. I needed to get my head around the fact that they don't need to replace paper books, but are an additional way of getting one's book fix. The screen is very comfortable to look at.

The daily deals are good - probably once a fortnight I'll pick up something for a pound. They are so good for travel - you will never run out of holiday reading again.

Maybe it helps that I've never been sentimental about books themselves. We don't keep 1000s at home and make regular charity shop drops. If you are one of those people who likes the cachet of dozens well-packed shelves then perhaps not so good for you!

I was adamant i didn’t want one but my sister ignored me and bought me one for my brithday years ago. I love it and use it a lot, I do still read books too. I like to do both

I love mine, its always nearby. Like others the Paperwhite is great for bedtime reading and you can change the font and size which is really helpful. I always check out the daily deals, sometimes there's some great classics on there, and I've read some books I never would have thought of.

I put mine in a sandwich bag when I read it in the bath to keep it safe. I'll have to look up borrowing from the library, thats a great idea.

I loved my kindle, loved having all my books at my fingertips. No more planning which books to take on holiday with me. No having to carry a stack of books when travelling.

Since I got a phone with a big enough screen, I use the kindle app on it and haven't touched the kindle again.

I've also cleared my bookshelves of almost all fiction---- paperbacks, too. And crossed the task catalogue my books off my to do list since I can search them on the app.

Brilliant.

So glad I found this thread as we now have a present for my FIL he loves reading and this would be perfect. Does anyone know if it's best just to purchase now or hopefully wait for good offers in the Amazon Black Friday sale?

Love mine. Was very against them in prinicple but was given one as a present and fell in love with it. I am now on my third - I have a paperwhite and would highly recommend it. Using the Kindle app on a phone or IPAD just isn't the same experience at all (unless you are reading reference books and it is great for highlighting text). My paperwhite battery last for weeks,

@ImAbsolutelyTwatted

So glad I found this thread as we now have a present for my FIL he loves reading and this would be perfect. Does anyone know if it's best just to purchase now or hopefully wait for good offers in the Amazon Black Friday sale?

IIRC there are often Black Friday deals for Kindles.

I use mine for holidays...I get through about 10 books in a week when I go away.
I do prefer proper books at home

I have a very old one. I do use it sometimes but much prefer a proper book that I can keep or lend after reading. For me it is just not the same.

I think definitely wait for the sales, as Kindles always seem to go on sale then. I have an old-style basic one for years. It's OK, but I want to upgrade to a back-lit one, preferably waterproof. Waiting for the Black Friday sale!

I use the kindle app on my phone and cloud reader on my PC about as much as the Kindle itself. If you like audiobooks, I find you often get a discount on the Audible audiobook when you buy a discounted kindle book, which is handy, and you can sync between the two, so you listen from where you left off. Alexa can also read from kindle books for free. I end up using all of these more than the kindle itself (the phone app is so handy when out and about), but if settling down to a long read, I'd prefer to use the Kindle.

I absolutely love mine, I had my old one for years and then upgraded to the Kindle paperwhite 10th generation for my birthday a couple of years ago. It's waterproof, it has a dark mode for when I'm reading in bed, and the screen is matt as I don't get the white glare like I would on my phone screen. Mine will also play audible audiobooks if you have wireless headphones (there is no speaker or headphone jack for size/weight reasons).

In terms of content, I have over 200 books but I still have 5GB free out of 6.5GB so loads of space, and I have been introduced to so many new authors and book series compared to my tiny Waterstones in town. (The Chronicles of St Mary's, The Athena Club, Alice Broadway's Ink Trilogy, etc).

A couple of pps have mentioned getting ebooks from the library on Kindle but I thought you needed a different ereader for this ie Kobo. If you can get library books on a Kindle can someone please explain how?

Yes I should have mentioned as you get older or eye sight deteriorates, the ability to change the font size to suit (massive is available) is something not available in a real book.
My original Kindle still works - but the upgrades over the years were worth getting.

@Tupla make sure you check out the upgrade offer from amazon too - at the moment they're offering a recycling scheme which gives you 20% off a new device. You only get the voucher once you've sent your current one in though, so it depends if you can use it at the same time as a black Friday discount I guess!

www.amazon.co.uk/Kindle-Trade-In/b?node=21261995031&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&ie=UTF8

Classics which are out of copyright...complete works etc can be very cheap.

If you have a smartphone, have you tried reading on the kindle app on that? I have the kindle app & also the library e-books app, and no need for another piece of electronic equipment. Although the screen's not massive it's so easy to turn the pages (you just flick) that it works just fine for me.

I have the text set reasonably large so I don't need to wear reading glasses (can't manage without them for paper books) that plus being able to read in bed without a light if dp is asleep are other major bonuses.
I'd definitely recommend trying that with a couple of the 99p kindle offerings before buying a new gadget both for environmental reasons and also to avoid having something else to charge, carry around etc.

(In terms of storage space, I have a few favourites permanently downloaded on my phone, but mostly delete the download after reading then just re-download from Amazon account where they're stored if I want to re-visit, so doesn't clutter things up.)

Yes I love my kindle. So convenient. Lots of books in a small package plus I can read at night without turning on the light.

I've just downloaded the library app and it only had options for IOS and Android.

To the PP who talked about not knowing the title of the book - you can change the settings so the book cover is displayed on your Home Screen for the book you are reading. I didn’t know you could do this until recently and I love seeing the book jacket whenever I pick up my kindle now!

Was a flash in the pan in our house.
Real books much preferred.

I never thought I would be a convert, but I have.

One of the advantages is that I can read in bed and not have the light on, as it’s back-lit.

Also, you get loads of good book offers. I’ve picked up lots of current books,for 99p. I’m probably reading more now as a result of getting one.