Does anyone have an Amazon Kindle?

[paranoidmother]

Dh gave me a Kindle for Christmas and I have managed to get a few books via Amazon.com although a few authors are not signed up for this yet.

Doe anyone have any hints or tips on using a kindle.

So far I love it and am thrilled to have one. It's meant I will be able to take loads of stories with me everywhere as I can get through a book an evening sometimes if there is nothing else to do.

At the moment, my kindle, which has a fully charged battery, will not respond to any switch flicking to switch it on. It seems to be frozen on its pretty-cover-page. Won't re-boot that way. Will take it out of its cover this evening when I get home though, and see if that works.....

(fingers crossed)

I have a question:

with a book you can photocopy a page obviously, what can you do with a Kindle? Can you print off a page somehow or copy and paste into a Word document? I should explain that I'm a teacher so being able to photocopy bits of texts is important.

A new cover has stopped my Kindle crashing. But it was doing it a LOT. If it happens to you, push th eon switch to the right, and hold it there until a green light shows next to the switch. It will then reboot and you will be OK until the next time...

It does seem to be only the Amazon leather covers without the built in light that have problems, so your best bet is probably a different cover.

Kindle! If people love books so much, why not buy the actual book to have and to hold.... and not a computer pad.
I rather love seeing the books that I have loved and read on my shelves, being able to share them and pass them on is a treat. A book does not go out of date and is not updated to a book1.0! And there is always room in the bag for a book, it does not need charging up and if I loose it, I only loose the book I am holding, not the others down-loaded into it!

Luddite

im not sure about the whole kindle thing, how much does it cost to download the books? I can't imagine being able to read onscreen, and you definately can't take it into the bath!!!!

There is just something about opening a book, the smell, the texture, its pure indulgence

If people love books so much, why not buy the actual book to have and to hold.... and not a computer pad.

I love books so much that I'm running out of space. I have about 3000. I could fit all of them on one Kindle, should I decide to. In fact, if I had the money, I'd do just that and free up most of the space they currently take up. Then I could just have the really beautiful books on display that actually need to be in a physical form (art books, cookery books, dressmaking books, design books, antique books) and keep the ones where the value lies in the words alone as words alone.

I can't imagine being able to read onscreen, and you definately can't take it into the bath!!!!

The screen isn't anything like a standard screen. Honestly, after a very short time, you forget you are reading a screen. It looks like slightly greyish paper. It's absolutely nothing like reading a computer screen.

As for the bath, I don't personally read there, but I hear ziploc bags work well. And you can actually buy a case that is waterproof to 5m, should you have a really deep bath!

Need I add that I adore mine? I can't believe how lovely it is to read and I think it's already paid for itself in the (perfectly legal) free classics I have already put onto it which would probably cost at least a quid or two each if I were to buy them.

Oh I love mine, and I love books but struggle holding them because I have wrist problems so it's great.

Also I can try out books for free, and then buy it if I like it.

I have a Sony reader and download e-books from the library. Only problem is they don't have a big selection and only one person can borrow a book at one time which puzzles me as surely you can download an unlimited number of times?

Also, you can't 'hand a book back' - you have to wait till it expires and then borrow some more (limit is 3 at any one time).

I love the privacy of the e-book reader - I could be reading anything and no-one would know

My DH gave me one for christmas and am loving it - not sure if he regrets it slightly now as spend time glued to it;-)
Only thing i can think of negative is that new books still pricey - but am still catching up on books/authors not yet read. I stick to the specials.
I hate parting with books so at least now what little space i have in the house isn't being consumed by the ever growing library/
My favorite gadget - love it.

angels3 - I love books too. But like Horton, I haven't got room for any more!

Also, I'm getting increasingly concerned about the amount of books that I buy and read only once, as that is environmentally very wasteful.

If a book is real 'keeper' for me, I'll buy the actual book. However, otherwise, the Kindle is a brilliant device to allow me to read, on the move/waiting for an appointment/on holiday - without having cart around all that weight.

DD 12 got one for Christmas and read 6 books in the first week - we didn't see her much! Big shock was how expensive e-books are for it - specifically thast HMRC are levying VAT on them!!! Now, as any fule kno, books are zero-rated for VAT so they are trying it on here. someone needs to challenge this pronto - and surprise surprise the book trade won't be taking up the cudgels will they?

The Good News though is the number of free, or virtually free books avaialable viz complete works of Shakespeare 74p and the Bible 72p (don't ask me why!)also complete works of Oscar Wilde. Many books have been uploaded by enthusiasts on condition that they are free - well done you. The fab Dr Syn series by Russell Thorndike (piracy and smuggling in Romney Marsh) my faves as a child and long out of print are available but not Harry Potter, Inkworld and many contemporary stuff.

Clearly it will be the thing for textbooks (students rejoice) as small print runs for huge books was always problematic so they are here to stay but still early days. Finally, for reading in the car in the dark we used my LED pencil torch that I keep in my handbag but the booklight would be useful. Amazon covers are exhorbitantly priced too which is disappointing.

IME, all4u, books for Kindle are a lot cheaper than other e-reader formats. You can buy a lot of titles for less than they are in the shops - I recently bought Jo Nesbo's 'The Redbreast' for £2.86. And, as you say, there are loads of free books. I assumed that they would be books that weren't selling - but there are loads of really good, classic titles available for nothing.

Thank you thank you for telling me about the Dr Syn books being on the kindle, I love you all4u

I really don't understand why everyone insists you can't read a Kindle in the bath.

why on earth not?!

I do't regularly dunk my paper books into the bath, nor my itouch, and have been known to MN form my phone in the bath... why wouldn't I read my Kindle in the bath?

Because you might drop it!

A book will dry out, the Kindle might not. And it's a lot more expensive to have to junk the Kindle!

I might do a lot of things, but i don't see that as a reason to not read it...

as I said earlier, I don't regularly drop paper books in the bath (actually, I can't rememeber the last time I did), and have happily read first editions and leather bound books in the bath.

I obviously see that it would be a costly mistake if one did drop it, bt to present it as "you can't read a Kindle in the bath" is a little extreme.

i take about 6 to 8 books on every 2 week holiday, thats between 48 and 64 a year. it saves me loads of weight as i usually bring them back with me unless they were rubbish.

Had my Kindle in September I just love it some books are free and others a small charge I have read books by authors that I would not have chosen if I had gone to the book store. Just be careful not to press buy button by mistake happy reading

may I ask a silly question re: kindle? is it possible to read technical books on it (ones which are in pdf format)? I'm looking to get my DH one for his birthday, and debating which to get - the basic or the 3G, and have just realised he mainly reads technical books, so had better check that out!

also, is the cover really worth 50 quid?!

You can get lovely covers from ebay for £15

crapbarry - search on amazon to see whether they have the books you need.

you can upload pdf stuff - not sure if there is a size limit, as have never done it.

you can check out other ebook publishers too, as if you download Calibre it willconvert the format for you, so you are not just stuck with Amazon.

my amazon cover is lovely. worth £50, hmmm. well, it is lovely

I have a Christmas present Kindle and really love it. I have downloaded a few free classics (enjoying Thackery's Vanity Fair at the moment) but am finding it difficult to locate other free or very cheap (under £3) books apart from Dickens. A lot of you mention these so please can you tell me how to find them.
Thank you.

Greenwing - go to Menu, and select 'shop in Kindle store', the select Kindle Bestsellers.

The first title, The Basement, is currently selling for 74p, including VAT.

(I have no idea if that's good/bad/your kind of thing, but it just shows that cheap books are easily available!

DuffyMoon - I am proud of being a ludite!

Horton - I see your point, but I'd rather have the library. But the point of them for students is something I have not thought of, and its a good idea...

All4u - I can't believe they are putting VAT on these downloadable books. Books are zero rated! So perhaps it is best to buy the real thing, and stop the Gov taking any more of our hard earnt cash?