Should I ditch the books and get a kindle?

[Sciencebod]

Sorry if this thread is in the wrong place, but I thought book lovers would be the best to advise!
I have run out of space for books and have not got a kindle. Do you recommend, and can a dinosaur like me who likes real books ever be converted?! Please advise how you got on if you are a convert, and which kindle is best (I don’t like glaring screens) Thank you.

I have had a paperwhite for a while and it's great for holidays and commuting but I prefer a real book. They both have their place.

Thank you so much @EatSleepRantRepeat I had no idea you could do that. I'll definitely have a look and do this!

@Forshorttheycallmecomp

But also: don’t forget your local library!

I love my kindle, when I was young I used to go to the library every week. Now, the thought of reading books that loads of other people have handled fills me with horror. A bit OCD I know!

@EatSleepRantRepeat I don’t seem to be able to get book cover as screensaver on mine, is it just on the newer paper whites do you think? I’ve just looked at the settings on mine and I ve had it since December 2013! I had an earlier version at first with a keyboard to type on and buttons to turn the pages.
I love my pink leather cover almost as much as my kindle......

I haven't bought a book since getting Kobo 7 years ago, I buy all my books online & I can read on either my phone or tablet. It is tidier, my home is no longer constantly piled up with books & I can read wherever I am. I often used to read waiting for ds to come out of school or in the doctors & now don't need to keep on thinking where is my book or being fed up when I forget one. I can also read in the dark which I love.

I love my kindle for fiction as I read really fast, and wouldn't have space for the amount of books I go through. I do also especially like non fiction in a hard copy and I still have hard copies of other books. It doesn't have to be one of the other.

[quote Knittingnanny2]@EatSleepRantRepeat I don’t seem to be able to get book cover as screensaver on mine, is it just on the newer paper whites do you think? I’ve just looked at the settings on mine and I ve had it since December 2013! I had an earlier version at first with a keyboard to type on and buttons to turn the pages.
I love my pink leather cover almost as much as my kindle......[/quote]
I've had a 4th generation one and now a 10th generation one, I'm not sure about other versions, sorry. If you have already paid to have the ads taken off, or bought it without the ads on there, my settings are as follows:

1. Go to 'all settings' cog icon (after my latest software update, this is in a drop down menu at the top, not sure about yours)

2. Click on Device Options

3. Display Cover - turn this on. (This is the menu option that only showed up after I paid amazon the £10 to turn the ads off, it wasn't in the menu before then)

Mine is 6th generation and doesn't have "display cover" as an option. It never had ads.

It had a software update late last year IIRC.

Updated in January 2022 apparently

OK, from Google The Display Cover feature is available on the without-ads versions of select devices, including Kindle (8th Gen and above), Kindle Paperwhite (7th Gen and above), Kindle Oasis and Kindle Voyage.

@Sciencebod

Thanks for that tip. Just looking at them now and the options seem to be 8gb or 32gb - finding it difficult to estimate the number of books!

How many books do you want to be able to take when you travel and will you want to hold audiobooks? Its usually bout 50 quid for the extra memory but 8Gb can hold hundreds of regular books, its audio which kills the space.

I have ridiculous numbers of hardcopy books at home. The kindle serves a different purpose - it enables me to take a selection of books wherever I travel without the weight.
Over the years I've found I use :

• fiction/textual books on my kindle,
• audiobooks on my phone
• illustrated/colour and library books on the iPad or phone.

I have also found the books I still buy in hardcopy tend to be non fiction/illustrated types with nearly everything else being in e-copy.

I wouldn't be without it. I have a Voyager and when it dies I'll replace it with an Oasis as the successor device because for me the extras around the lighting etc are more than worth it. However as a new user I'd suggest an entry level paperwhite and see how you go.

Yes I think mine is too old. It doesn’t have ads though

I've had my kindle for 12 years now and still love it. I lie on my side to read and it's just so much easier to hold/read/turn pages than an actual book. But I do find I forget the titles and authors of books I've read because I'm not looking at a book cover. But I can get over that.

There is another way to browse covers, and that's in the app. I sometimes go on there just to scroll through the pretty colour cover art, although I don't use the app for reading.

@MaudOfTheMarches

There is another way to browse covers, and that's in the app. I sometimes go on there just to scroll through the pretty colour cover art, although I don't use the app for reading.

I have the app on my tablet - it's useful for reading things like guidebooks where there are lots of maps/illustrations, and magazines (though I mainly use Readly for that).

I'm hoping the next Oasis will be a colour one for that reason. The colour ereaders I've seen are fabulous - none of the glare/brightness of a traditional tablet screen, they still use the same e-ink Kindles use, just with colour.

That's interesting, I've not heard of a colour ereader that's not a tablet. I suppose Amazon have to go somewhere after the Paperwhite or people would hardly bother upgrading. I had a basic non-touchscreen model for ages, and only upgraded when they made the Paperwhite waterproof as I read in the bath.

[quote GalesThisMorning]@kanola if your library used overdrive its pretty instant. Borrow the book on your phone or laptop, sync your kindle and it's on! if your library doesn't use overdrive it's a few more steps, you need to download the book into Adobe and then plug your kindle into your PC and drag and drop the files.[/quote]
I didn't know you could do that with a Kindle. I bought a Kobo specifically to use for library books, my library doesn't use overdrive so I have to download to Adobe and copy to Kobo. Could I really do the same with Kindle?
I hate the Kobo, not a patch on Kindle.

Mine is the same as Soupdragon's. It's very handy. I still buy paperbacks occasionally and I borrow library books through Borrowbox and read them on my phone.

There's a useful app called Calibre which converts files between different e-reader formats. I've used that for books I've bought or work reading I've been sent in the wrong format, but you can't do it with borrowed books. If there's a way to read Borrowbox books on Kindle I'd be very happy!

I had loads of books, usually bought in the 2 for £7 deals in the supermarkets. Pain in the arse packing them when we moved! Loved the feel of an actual book. Tried a kindle and got on very well with it. Now I don't feel quite so guilty buying books as they aren't taking up physical space anymore.
The only downside you have to recommend a book now rather then passing it on!

I tried the method recommended upthread to load library books onto my kindle and it doesn't work. Perhaps the poster had a kindle fire which isn't an e reader?

@Kgutdfn

My kindle gathers dust, I'd rather read the kindle app on my phone as I can lie on my side in bed and the phone is smaller to hold and so easier to 'turn' the pages.

I can do this on my Kindle, and I have small hands. The one thing that has made this even easier is I got a case that has a strap so my hand goes through that which makes it even easier on my side (and less likely to drop on my head when I fall asleep).

The BEST thing is this new case allows the Kindle to stand up without me holding it so now I can read whilst eating with two hands and I have been known to put it on the window sill with a tea towel over my shoulder whilst washing up.

I've discovered lots of writers I would not have paid full price to read via my Kindle because of the 99p deals. Like most others, I still read paperback and sometimes hardback too. It is simply about expanding how I read rather than replacing, though I would say I do read more on Kindle now but still plenty of books.

One important thing to know, @Sciencebod, is that you don’t actually own the books you buy for your Kindle. You are buying the licence to read the books, but having looked at the Ts & Cs, I can’t see any guarantee that you will always have access to the books you pay for.

I was considering moving a lot of my collection over to Kindle (gradually - I have a lot of books), but this has put me off. I do have a Kindle, and like using it - I especially like the way I can find a new book with a few clicks, and without having to get out of bed and trek downstairs.

Unlike PP I love my Kobo and much prefer it to the Kindle I used in the past

@SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius thank you for that, I did wonder whether the books would be on there “forever” or if they could disappear. I’m which case I’d definitely want to keep some of my physical books in my collection. Thanks for clarifying this!