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Original poster

I think i might hate my kindle

30 replies

piebald · 14/01/2012 08:25

I have been for some time in two minds whether to get one and DH surprised me at christmas. He knew it could go either way. So i am trying, Finding it very hard to get used to. I tried a few sample books but didnt get caught up in them, so i bought (and needless to say it wasnt 99p) something easy by an author i have read loads of so i was hooked in and would get used to it. I dont mind reading from it (when i can make my brain stop dotting about shreiking "its not a real book") But so many things irritate me. There are not enough words on a page, it dosent prop up properly in bed, very disapointed it dosent light up so need to buy a light. This morning i read a sample which i enjoyed and decided to buy so clicked buy now and "ker-ching ker-ching" £8.92 out of my account, without having been able to see (not often i spend that much on a book), just looked at Amazon to see paperback a pound cheaper. I have guilty feeelings about not using local bookshop and also really worry about charity shops loss of income from second hand books.
Sorry about this rantanyway what i really want to know is there anyway of sharing books on a kindlefor £8.92 this one needs a few more reads! (DH bought it hoping it would save money on books)

OP posts:

JiltedJohnsJulie · 14/01/2012 09:14

Surely though that is you have "been for some time in two minds whether to get one" you would have known they were not back lit and if DH just wanted you to save some money on books wouldn't he have been better getting you a library card? Although obviously this would not solve your charity shop dilemma.

I think there may be some information on here about sharing books but that won't solve your other problems, if you really hate it that much I'd sell it and spend the money on books.

DuchessofMalfi · 14/01/2012 09:25

I wasn't sure I was going to like my kindle when I got it either. I thought I'd miss the look, feel and smell of a book (it is part of reading for me ), but tbh I don't. I love my kindle, and I treat it in a different way from books.

I still buy books, both new and second-hand from the local charity shops.

One thing I would say though is that if you download a free sample onto your kindle, don't click buy now at the end of it - go back onto Amazon and check the price first because it might have changed. I bought loads of books in the Amazon 12 days of kindle sale after Christmas, at mostly 99p each, one of which is now listed at about £9.00. If I were you, I'd check out the Kindle Daily Deal (one different book for 99p each day) and check out the free book lists. Keep buying from charity shops too - let's keep them going .

BrianButterfield · 14/01/2012 09:28

I have a case which props mine up, and you can change the font size, the gap between words and the gap between lines to get more words on a page.

NormaStanleyFletcher · 14/01/2012 09:29

If you don't have enough words on a page have you looked at changing the font size?

(going to get laptop as can't type quickly on phone, back in a mo)

Eggrules · 14/01/2012 09:41

If you press the Aa button you can change the font size. You can also change the typeface, line spacing, words per line and orientation of the screen.

I have this cover and a normal booklight (hardly ever use).

I started off getting hold of the free classics. There are other free books that are a bit hit and miss. They are better than trying samples inho. I am now happy to buy books of authors I have always liked. Love Jo Nesbo, Harlan Corben etc but have only ever bought the ebooks. The kindle gives you access to a virtual library - the kindle/ phone device allows you access them.

I don't think the operation is intuitive and had to read the instructions. It is all second nature now; hope you have better luck.

NormaStanleyFletcher · 14/01/2012 09:41

Ahh brian got there before me.

The screen is about the same size as a paperback page, so if you don't have enough words you need to do what Brian said, maybe with a paperback next to it so you can see that the size is the same.

I don't understand why you are upset that it doesn't light up. It is like a book really, in that you need light to read it, so use the same lighting you would if it were a book you are reading?

BendyBob · 14/01/2012 09:42

Oh dear. I am watching this with interest because your op Piebald explains exactly the reasons they don't appeal to me either and I'm still umming and aahing about getting one.

I usually love gadgety things and part of me wants one for that reason, and yet there's something about Kindles that seem to detract rather than add to the pleasure of reading imho.

BendyBob · 14/01/2012 09:44

I also assumed they would be back lit. It seems an obvious feature to me

Bluebell99 · 14/01/2012 09:52

You can share books with people on your same amazon account. For example, when my dh got a kindle we added it on my account rather than his own so we could share books. Also I have a kindle app on my iPad, so can read my books on that. I remember reading somewhere that you could loan kindle books to friends but not sure how that works.
I still use the library a lot and tend only to buy kindle books on offer eg during the Christmas sale when a lot of books were only 99p. I still buy books from charity shops. When I bought my kindle the e books were a lot cheaper but apparently a lot of prices are one set by he publishers.
I always at the end of the sample go back and look at the price in the kindle store , which is an option, it says buy it now or view in store. You could always cancel your purchase? It says something like, purchased by accident, click here. Or go into your amazon account.
My dh buys fewer books and buys books at full price, whereas I read a lot and check if I can get it from the library first. I nearly got caught out when reading a book of the day sample and when I went to buy it it had back up to full price again!

BrianButterfield · 14/01/2012 09:54

You can get plenty of backlit devices to read on - iPads, tablets etc. But they strain the eyes. The e-ink of a Kindle is as easy on the eyes as the printed page, but you can't backlight it. No point complaining a Kindle isn't backlit, buy a different device if that's what you want, but you won't get the lovely Kindle screen which is really nice to read from.

NormaStanleyFletcher · 14/01/2012 09:56

It isn't backlit because it is a book replacement (with benefits) and books aren't backlit. Having it as e-ink rather than backlit means that you can read it in bright sunlight etc

DressingGownQueen · 14/01/2012 10:02

I love mine! I got a light for a tenner and it works perfectly well. I love not having to shift my position to turn pages and being able to read with just one hand out the cover when it is cold.

When I got mine I was a bit underwhelmed. Mainly because when you get a new gadget there is normally loads to do and look at but with the kindle all you can do is read. I now love the simplicity of it.

I think the not being backlit is am amazing feature, and really well thought out.

hadagutsfull · 14/01/2012 10:15

Another one who was undecided at first! I'd decided not to buy one for the same reasons above - the feel of a book, feeling guilty about bookshops & charity shops etc etc. DH bought me one for Christmas though and I'm really enjoying it! I will still buy books but just not so many.

I really don't understand why people say you need to buy a light for it - I just read by the lamp that I use to read books while in bed .... and as Dressing says, it's great being able to read one-handed & keep the other hand under the covers

TheFoosa · 14/01/2012 12:20

You can get a refund for the book you purchased by accident

I love my kindle, but it hasn't stopped mebuying paper books. I buy whichever is the cheapest format.

Original poster

piebald · 14/01/2012 20:01

Lots of good points there--I will keep working withit. The problem is really that i am such a dinosaur and hate change! I didnt realise you could change line and word gaps, ti think that will help. I have got it to the font that is nearest to a line in a paperback and i have been studying how to pass on books.
I did go and cancel the expensive bookonly to discover that the paperback hasnt been released yetsoo, well i was looking forward to the rest of it!! OOps bought it again.

OP posts:

juneybean · 14/01/2012 20:24

I did feel the same as you at first, but I still sneak into charity shops (it's charity, I'm giving money for a good cause is what I tell myself) but it means I can have one book for the bath and my kindle for work.

The light thing never bothered me because my books don't come with lights

ninjanurse · 14/01/2012 20:44

I look at the Kindle as being an addition to normal books not instead of. So I buy cheapies in the sale for kindle and therefore have ended up buying a lot of books I wouldnt normally buy and therefore widening my reading. But I still love a good old rummage in the charity shops for books and am very pleased when I come out with some bestsellers for 50p each. And of course, the Kindle is fab for holidays and travelling.

IloveJudgeJudy · 15/01/2012 01:14

I love, love, love my Kindle. Got it for Christmas. Looked at Amazon for 100 free books then signed up for Ereaderiq website which will send you an e-mail for the freebies for that day. Also, sometimes look at the Discussions on the Amazon Kindle Shop webpage.

You can easily adjust the typeface, size and gaps between the words. My Kindle doesn't leave my side now.

dinkystinky · 17/01/2012 09:38

Stick with the clun piebald

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 17/01/2012 15:03

Aaah, see, this is why i dont want a kindle. I love my books, love going into a bookshop browsing and thumbing through them...I cant see that I will ever want a kindle but hey, you never know.

I am sure once you get to grips with it you will love it :)

nickelhasababy · 17/01/2012 15:08

the reason they aren't backlit is so that they are more like real books.

and because the main reason that no-one wanted e-readers before is because their main worry was that it'd be like a computer screen, which would give them headaches.

Vintagepommery · 17/01/2012 16:34

I got one from DH for xmas too- am currently reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (cost £1.40) and really enjoying it and reading it at the same rate I'd read a book.
One thing I like about it is that I can't skip further on to find out what happens (a bad habit of mine).

Didn't expect to like it - pleasantly surprised.

alison222 · 17/01/2012 16:47

Just to say that I think that the sharing between friends only works in the US.

JiltedJohnsJulie · 18/01/2012 10:31

It does work much more easily in the US but there is a way around it in the UK, hence the MN Kindle reading club.

Just don't ask me to explan how it works as I could never get my head around it! .

Would be really grateful though if someone could explain it again......

Katisha · 18/01/2012 10:37

Yes the not being able (or only with much faff) to skip ahead thing is annoying, but it IS a bad habit of mine with real books...

It's not an either/or thing - you are still allowed to have real books f you have a kindle. As others have said, I use it for things I would never have bothered to buy, like free classics - I am wading through Barchester Towers on the train - would never have read it if it hadnt been free on kindle.

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