Kindles worry me

[GreatNorthRoad]

It's the way books are "mine" and not for sharing.

Actually I don't have a Kindle, but DH does. As a teenager, when stuck for something to read, I would browse along my parents' (or siblings') bookshelves and pick something. Or at my Grandparents' house I wold do the same. It probably would be something different to I would have picked if I'd had a wider choice to choose something just for me iswim.

Same thing on holiday. Often rental properties will have a few of the owners' books. They might not be what I would usually read, but I've discovered some good books this way.

DH is gathering a biggish library on his Kindle, but I, DC, or any of our friends/guests are never going to read them.

DS1 is an avid reader, but he reads the same things over and over. The books he buys and that he asks people to buy for him are very similar and as the Kindle thing becomes more widespread there won't even be other books lying around for him to have a look at iyswim.

A concern or do I have too much time on my hands?1

[CoteDAzur]

"DH is gathering a biggish library on his Kindle, but I, DC, or any of our friends/guests are never going to read them"

Get a Kindle for yourself and share everything in his Kindle, free of charge.

[sashh]

Two people can read the same book at the same time, in the same account, on different kindles. You have to be careful not to synch up your place.

Or on a phone, or on a tablet

[bymoonlight]

I don't have a kindle.

I use the libary so I return the books each week and don't have books lying around the house.

Your argument could a be a reason for shutting every libary in the country. Its daft.

Most of my books come from recomendations, I use twitter, newspapers and many other sources to find new books. I am an avid fast reader, I read new books, old books, fact and fiction.

I don't need to have other peoples books lying around to do this. I compile a list and work my way through that list depending on whats in stock in the libary. Much the same as I would do with a kindle, except it wouldn't be free and I wouldn't have to wait for books.

I don't have the time to browse in the libary so I use a list and am in and out within minutes.

I don't need to browse books, I need to browse book reviews. I actually think this would be easier on the Kindle because of the samples.

I would buy a kindle if it wasn't for the fact that reading in the bath is one of lifes greatest pleasures.

[LifeHuh]

I read my Kindle in the bath,bymoonlight! Just not when I'm tired....

[grabaspoon]

My mum has a kindle app on her tablet signed into my account so she reads her kindle and can also access my books if she uses her tablet

[marissab]

There's good and bad sides to it. I love my kindle but i worry that my kids won't have the pleasure of a good book shop. I worry that when i die, my kids may not be able to inherit my kindle books. And one of my best holidays was a week of miserable weather in scotland. In the cottage was a battered copy of chocolat, which i would never have bought myself. I sat watching the rain in a window seat and devoured that book :D

[JonesH]

are they relatively easy to set up? I'm not sure why but they don't seem so straightforward! I want to purchase one for my mother although she's very pro a good old book, so not sure how she will respond to new technology. Also is it necessary to get the newer versions that are in HD or is the basic kindle good enough if it's just for reading purposes?

[tywysogesgymraeg]

That is exacty my point about Kindles!! Yes, it's much easier to take as many books as you like on holiday, but only you can read them - unless you want to loan out your Kindle, and read nothing yourself.
In the good old days, we all took a few books each (DDs are old enough to share books with us), and swap around when we'd finished our "own" books.
DH bought me a Kindle for my birthday last year - even though I'd said quite strongly several times that I thought they were a stupid idea and couldn't see the point (he thought I'd change my mind when I saw it).

I think there is a way of sharing, but you can only share with someone else who has a Kindle. Most of my friends don't, and we share books round a whole group of us.

I also feel that everytime I do download a book to Kindle, that I have personally put a nail in the coffin of the local bookshop, and hate myself for days after.

[tywysogesgymraeg]

JonesH - I have the basic keyboard kindle, and it's fine. It's not possible to use it to surf the interweb or anything though. You access the kindle bookstore, and select books to download to it - quite easy.

[mummytime]

In my family.
DH has a Kindle on his account. His books are mainly in langauges other than English - the rest of us tend not to borrow.

I have a Kindle, as do DS and DD1. DD1 and DD2 also have access to Kindle on their ipods, I also have it on my iphone. We all share one Amazon account. Their kindles have parental controls activated so they can't buy without my say so.
They only tend to get books when I push them onto their Kindles.
Ds and I have read the same book at the same time, we just had to be careful not to synch. On the other hand another book I read on both my iphone and Kindle, and I synched all the time.

We also have lots of books.

If I had a good local bookshop I would browse, but I don't have that luxury (Waterstones killed our good bookshops, and is nothing like it used to be). I do buy more books as ebooks are often so cheap.