Lovin my Kindle.. what about you? whats on yours?

[annaraven]

I love books. Paperback, hardback, electronic. When we relocated from Italy to Sillycon Valley, we moved 1000 books - the bare minimum. The rest got put into storage. And then, of course, we started buying books. Bookshelves took over all the walls.

Then, the Kindle arrived. And now, instead of packing a carryon just for my books, I can take my kindle. Instead of buying new books that take up space in the house, I buy new books in e-book format. And used books, at my used book store. I am able to spend money to get the books that I *really want* to keep in my house, in paper form, and the rest, I buy in Kindle form. And I have the kindle app for my laptops, and my phone. So regardless of where I am, I can pull out my book and read. My book just happens to be electronic as often as not, these days.

BTW - if you read in the tub - just put your kindle in a gallon ziploc and it's safe from water splashes.

 

[Illia]

Rozzie - Exactly. To me, there are SO many books (nonfiction especially, which are the truly important ones) that I doubt will ever see Kindle. . . And, of course, your Kindle at some point (sadly within a couple years) will go out. The books won't.

Not meaning to hijack or crash a party

 

[Rozzie]

Kindle books do not disappear just because your kindle quits. They stay in your archive at Amazon. You can redownload them on your new Kindle or other compatible device.

Since I have hundreds of books I've gotten for free, my device has long since paid for itself. The 100 or 150 books that I've bought, well, I'll risk it.

Some were inexpensive (under $3). A few were higher ($10-15). If Amazon goes out of business and there is no legal way for me to access my purchases then I'll just have to rebuy the 5-10 most urgent books.

 

[Illia]

No, I'm talking about the Kindle itself.

 

[annaraven]

Quote:
That's the point Illia. The Kindle itself isn't where the books "live". It's backed up in servers across the world. And also on my computers and my phone. I have access to the same book across multiple pieces of hardware, and can re-download it at any time to whatever hardware I want. THAT's the beauty of e-books. THe Kindle just happens to be a particularly well-designed hardware interface to the e-books.

 

[Rozzie]

and, it doesn't cost anything to redownload the books you already bought.

You've already paid for the digital rights to the book.

If Amazon went belly up, or quit making the Kindle, then who knows...I'll risk it.

 

[Birdcrazy]

I love my kindle

The bookstore in town isn't that big so its great I have a bigger access to books and its small plus I can get books and read them where ever

I confess, I'm a bookworm

 

[justuschickens59]

I'm a bookworm and I read constantly. I've been considering getting a Kindle, but I know absolutely NOTHING about it. I am very electronically challenged - no cell phone, no GPS thingy, no MP3 player I have a computer and that is it.

Can somebody "educate" me about a Kindle and tell me exactly how it works?

Thanks !!

 

[Rozzie]

You go to your account on Amazon and buy a book. Or, you can shop directly from your Kindle. Amazon's computers magically send the book to your Kindle. (This is assuming you have the 3G connection. I bought mine before they made the newer, cheap ones that don't have 3G).

Then, a minute or two later, you can start reading your book.

With my model, you press HOME to get the list of books. You have a next page and a previous page button to scroll through looking for the one you want. You just select the book then start reading, using the next page and previous page buttons to move around.

I can teach someone the basics of using a Kindle (in person) in 2 minutes even if they are tech challenged. They do have other functions, as well, but most of those are not really necessary. I almost never use those and wouldn't worry about teaching them to someone.

 

[Goose and Fig]

I got the "kindle for PC" for my laptop. You can buy all the same books and sometimes even get free ones. Of course my laptop isn't as portable, but it'll do for now.

I finally finished the "Dragon Tattoo" trilogy, haven't decided what to get next.