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Original poster

I want to like my Kindle

31 replies

Matildathebrave · 01/09/2012 18:45

but it just feels weird reading on it. Does anyone else feel like this?

Also the price to download a decent book is expensive.

The five I seached for on Amazon were cheaper to buy in Sainsbury's than to put on my Kindle.

It just seems such a pointless gadget.

But I really want to like it as it was a present.

OP posts:
aimingforthesky · 01/09/2012 18:56

It feels weird to start with but I love mine now. Had it for 20months so far. I rarely never buy full price. I use the free best sellers list on amazon and get a daily email from httpwww.eReaderIQ.co.uk/ . Never short of things to read.

LongWayRound · 01/09/2012 19:01

I love my Kindle. I can't comment on the price of downloading recently published books because everything I have downloaded onto it has come free, mostly from Project Gutenberg, mainly nineteenth and early twentieth century fiction, which might not be to your taste. I don't have any problem reading on the Kindle, and find it easier to hold than a hardback. (I have carpal tunnel syndrome, so holding a heavy book can be painful.)

Lucyellensmum100 · 01/09/2012 19:02

I was worried i was going to feel like this, but my lovely DP bought me a kindle for my birthday the other week - OMG, i love it, i mean, i actually love it! It doesn't feel weird reading on it and i love not having to turn the page and get into all sorts of cramped positions reading in bed.

WAS hoping for more free stuff as i usually only buy from charity shops but haven't had it long enough. I downloaded the third part of the dragon tatoo books, not because they were that great, but i wanted something easy to read to check out the "feeling" of reading on there. So far so brilliant. Have downloaded a free childrens classic and did pay for one this morning as it was recomended to me and DD is poorly, we downloaded the sample and she wanted the whole book. HAve downloaded a free classic, well you have to make the effort don't you! Am totally smitten.

Lucyellensmum100 · 01/09/2012 19:03

longwayround how do i find project gutenburg? There is a "classic" i want to read but i coudlnt find it for free on amazon.

Shoshe · 01/09/2012 19:06

Lucy if you go to settings and look up your kindle email adress then PM me it I can send you loads of books.

Bluebell99 · 01/09/2012 19:09

It's worth looking out for kindle sales and the book of the day, as it has introduced me to some new authors, like Diane Chamberlain. they often do sales at Christmas, Easter etc. I still get a lot of books from the library and as you say books are often cheaper at supermarkets. I don't like the fact you can't just flick back to find something like you can in a real book.

LongWayRound · 01/09/2012 19:11

www.gutenberg.org/ is for books which are out of copyright. Some of the books I've downloaded are now out of print, and would be too expensive for me to buy second hand. There's also a self-publishing portal at self.gutenberg.org/ but I've not tried it.

As someone whose house has been filling up with books until there is nowhere else to put a bookcase, I really appreciate the Kindle!

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 01/09/2012 22:53

I love having my newspaper on mine, you don't get the pictures, which is not so great for the weekend editions, but being able to wake up in the morning and read the paper without getting out of bed is lovely.

ProudNeathGirl · 01/09/2012 23:05

I don't like my kindle either. It was also a birthday present, but I never wanted one, and can't get to like it. I use it, but every time I download a book I feel guilty that I am putting another nail in the bookshops' coffin.

wouldratherbeonthebeach · 01/09/2012 23:09

I don't love mine and then we went on holiday and it was great there as I didn't have to take books with but nothing beats a proper book. It annoys me that I can't read it in the dark. Good thing about it is I have an app on my phone that it is synced to so can read at night and anywhere. Also it encourages the kids to read, they love it and fight over it.
Good luck Wink

peanutMD · 01/09/2012 23:13

I wanted a Kindle until I tried one out in Tesco then decided I really didn't like it.

I do however have the Kindle app on my phone which I use to read freebie books from Amazon when I'm bored or caught without a book.

I still use the library and buy books more though.

ProudNeathGirl · 01/09/2012 23:14

I took mine on hol too. But because all the books are in the kindle, you can't pass them on to anyone else when you've finished reading them.

MysteriousHamster · 01/09/2012 23:24

You have to accept that the kindle book market and print book market are slightly different - they have offers on at different times.

You also should accept (imo!) that books aren't necessarily cheaper just because they're not printed. The majority of the money goes to editorial, author and marketing costs. Though there is a cost to printing books on paper, there is also a cost to setting up files as ebooks.

I find ebook prices tend to change a lot week to week. If there is a book you want but it's too expensive, just wait a bit and see what happens. Or accept that there's a price you pay for the convenience of having it in the format you want.

I generally buy books that are on offer, and buy them faster than I can read them anyway, but if there's a book I really want I don't mind paying the same amount as a print version costs, or even a pound or two more if I'm desperate!

Myliferocks · 01/09/2012 23:30

You have to pay VAT on ebooks.
I tend to compare ebook prices to the price printed on the back of books rather than the supermarket price.
I also tend to buy Kindle books in bulk and vary between free ebooks up to about £5 for a book. I then add up how much I've spent in total on the ebooks and then find the average price for individual books within my bulk buy.iyswim.

peeriebear · 01/09/2012 23:40

I like the Kindle for the convenience of being able to buy a book straight away, and it's easy to read in bed. However I read a proper paperback book last week and using the Kindle afterwards felt so unnatural. I like being able to flick back to a previous page with ease, I like the very act of turning the pages. I will never move on from paper books!

Jellyrollgumdrop · 02/09/2012 00:14

get yourself to www.tuebl.com & download free books epub format then use calibre to convert & send to your kindle! easy!!!

valiumredhead · 02/09/2012 19:16

I thin the books are far cheaper on Kindle than in the shops and if you wait a few weeks they come down even more.

Frawli · 02/09/2012 20:45

The best thing about a kindle in my opinion is the free books. I downloaded lots of out of copyright ones from project gutenberg, but there are newer ones that you can get free. I have a massive wishlist on amazon which I check every day (takes literally about 2 mins to check it on my iphone app) and the prices change often, you can very often get even new books free or very cheap if you swoop in to take advantage of a special offer. I've had some books on my wishlist which have been £6.50 one day, and then free the next.

Also, if you sign up with ereaderiq you can track a list of books, either enter the books manually or you can sync your wishlist and then put in your desired price and it'll email you if it gets to that price. Also, as others have said, you can get a daily email where it'll highlight some free books, or you could check their website for free books. As for the price difference between print and digital, it depends what books you like, some are much cheaper digital, others only about 50p per title on a £6 or so book and others are £8 print and £2.50 kindle, it varies so much.

elspethmcgillicuddy · 03/09/2012 16:54

Maybe just give it time. I got mine for Xmas 2010. I was desperate for one but once I got it I only read a couple of books on it then decided I didn't like it. It sat in my drawer for most of 18 months. Then kindle books were all of a sudden cheaper than print and out of the blue I am back in love with it. I'm currently going through my highbrow phase of the year and reading all the booker longlist. It's so easy and quick to download them. I'm also well into the bargain deals of the day Grin

Ephiny · 04/09/2012 13:18

I love mine - I do miss not being able to easily flick back and forth, but otherwise it's great.

Some of the Kindle books are expensive, I agree with that. But sometimes I'm happy to pay for the convenience of being able to think of a book and have it in literally minutes (I just find it amazing that I can do this :)) I do still buy paperbacks sometimes though.

juniorant · 04/09/2012 17:57

one thing that drives me mad is that when you look through your books you have no idea if you read them or not!
is there a way to get the blurb on the back so you can tell?
its annoying if you can't decide what to read as well as it's just a list of titles with no clue to what the book is about and you don't know if you are in the mood for it or not.
(I always buy loads in one go then forget about them)
I do like it though :0)

SoupDragon · 04/09/2012 17:59

I've set up a collection called "Read". Wen I have finished a book, I move it to this collection.

valiumredhead · 04/09/2012 17:59

Make a collection of 'read' and 'unread' books.

SoupDragon · 04/09/2012 18:01

I love mine BTW. It really earned its keep on holiday - you can read it one handed, the paged don't blow over when you read it lying on a sun bed, you can download the next one in the series when you decide you absolutely must have it NOW.

I love books and couldn't see the appeal of a Kindle. I am a convert and got mine in June I think. It won't ever replace the sensory nature of a book but [shrug]

Ephiny · 04/09/2012 18:04

They can't be very memorable books if you can't remember whether you've read them or not!

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