Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Hi, folks....I'm getting ready to take the Kindle plunge and am torn between the second and third Kindles, the $189 version with the 3g and wi-fi and the larger DX version with just 3g and a pricetag of $379. If I'm going to make the investment I'm willing to spend more but is it really worth it? Is the $189 version sufficient? I like the idea of the bigger screen but is it too big and cumbersome? And would I miss the wi-fi if I didn't have it? We seem to have good 3g coverage where I live...Please help!!!!!

Maybe I can help...I have had my Kindle 2 for 2 years, and I love love love it! It is 3 g. For Christmas I got a Nook (for different reasons) and it is not 3g. Just wifi. I got spoiled by the 3g in my Kindle because I could get a book anywhere anytime. If you are not an instant gratification girl like me, then wi-fi is good. But...

Also, I think the DX is too big (IMHO) and if you wanted big, go i-pad and get amazon kindle books that way.

Stay simple, stay small, go 3 g. Hope this helps!

Hi Cathy. I own the latest Kindle wi-fi version and it's worked out great. I have wi-fi in my home and at a zillion other places if I need to purchase/download a new book. Once it's downloaded you don't a connection anymore. The convenience of the standard model (vs DX) is part of what makes the whole thing useful for me. Also, you can bump the font size on any of them.

I agree with Liz, I have the Kindle 3 wifi and 3g and love it. I am eventually going to get the Ipad, but will read my books on the Kindle.

Cathy:
You will love it!! Go with the K3 regular size is my advice. Unless you plan on replacing daily newspaper reading or plan to use for textbooks, the regular size is just right - so convenient and portable. If you like reading trade paperback books, it is a great experience with a similar size in your hand with the regular Kindle.
As for 3G, I love the anytime anywhere connection to get a book, however if you have WiFi at home and work, the WiFi only model could be ok. DD's wireless connection at home is "blinky" and she can still get a Kindle book with her 3G model even when her wireless needs a reset.

I recently bought a new cover for DD's Kindle. She got a K3 for Christmas and wanted to decide on her cover style later. After getting her new cover, I decided to go for a new one myself as I really liked the style we got her over the style I had originally purchased. (and rarely used)
My new one opens the cover back to the left like an open book and I have found it to be more comfortable in my hands than the first cover I got that folded back like an easel from the top.

Cathy, I have the $189 version and I love it! I don't think I would like holding the larger DX version for regular reading. The one I have is the perfect size, and I love just being able to adjust the font. Let us know what you decide ;)

Also casting my vote for the regular size with 3G. It fits in most purses, is not too cumbersome to hold while reading and is a great reading experience.

Regular size is best to put in your purse. You can always increase the font size.
There are discussion boards about the different kindles and accessories. Here is the one I visit daily:
http://forums.delphiforums.com/kindle...

Marcy wrote: "Also casting my vote for the regular size with 3G. It fits in most purses, is not too cumbersome to hold while reading and is a great reading experience."

i agree. another thing to consider is the DX is much heavier than the "regular" kindle.

All right, folks. I bought the $189 version. I'm a little overwhelmed though! I'm not sure where to start.

Cathy wrote: "All right, folks. I bought the $189 version. I'm a little overwhelmed though! I'm not sure where to start."
Maybe you should crack open a good book. You must have an uneven table somewhere that needs the Kindle.

woo hoo! I take it you have it at home with you already!My advice, browse the Kindle store on amazon.com and send a bunch of samples of books to try!
Cathy wrote: "All right, folks. I bought the $189 version. I'm a little overwhelmed though! I'm not sure where to start."

Now Barry! LOL, there are plenty of good books available on the Kindle!
Barry wrote: "Maybe you should crack open a good book. You must have an uneven table somewhere that needs the Kindle. "

Barry, I don't plan to abandon print. I just can't always get to the library. And I need to try to declutter my house. I'm hoping the Kindle plus the library will be a good combination.

CT has a pilot program for NOOK loans. It is not in my part of the state yet, but I view it as a hopeful sign for the future of e books. The part I would like is to be able to give my e books to the library after my friends and I have read them.

Maybe someone knows this answer. I tried to see on a book I wanted in eformat from the library for the Nook. It said that the book had not been returned by the borrower and was charged to their card. I thought, and B and N said this, that it automatically disappears from your Nook and is therefore returned after a certain time period. So how did this person keep the book on their Nook?

Ann, I bought one like this when I bought my Kindle, and it also has a built-in light at the top for when needed. It isn't as snazzy as some of the others but I like the "holding a book" feel and I like having a light if the conditions warrant it.

Ann wrote: "My new one opens the cover back to the left like an open book and I have found it to be more comfortable in my hands than the first cover I got that folded back like an easel from the top. .."

Cathy, good luck with that decluttering plan. Just don't ask me how many books I've been able to clear out of the house since I got my Kindle, LOL.

Cathy wrote: "Barry, I don't plan to abandon print. I just can't always get to the library. And I need to try to declutter my house. I'm hoping the Kindle plus the library will be a good combination."

Carol:
Possibly more important is how many fewer books you are having to find shelf space for! I know I was surely out of room so the Kindle has helped immensely; you just can't tell from the overflowing shelves! ;)
Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Cathy, good luck with that decluttering plan. Just don't ask me how many books I've been able to clear out of the house since I got my Kindle, LOL."

Its not like electrons are weightless. You may wake up one day and find your Kindle in the downstairs apartment.

I had some immediate glitches with my Kindle but I think I've figured that part out at least. I didn't turn the wireless off and my battery ran down. However, I didn't realize that was the problem and thought I had a defective unit. I finally left it plugged in all night and once the battery was recharged and I knew to turn the wireless off, the problem seemed to be solve. Whew!

OK, next question...After you've read a book, how do you delete it? I finished two short Ross Macdonald book in record time and am really enjoying the immediate gratification!!!!

On mine, I move the toggle switch to the right(from the main menu, with book highlighted), and it gives me a few choices, and at the bottem of the list is Remove from Device. That puts it up in "storage" and whenever you need it you can re-install it, at no cost of course.

Cathy wrote: "OK, next question...After you've read a book, how do you delete it? I finished two short Ross Macdonald book in record time and am really enjoying the immediate gratification!!!!"

i don't remove mine. i put them in a folder labelled "READ"..LOL

Sherry wrote: "Cathy wrote: "OK, next question...After you've read a book, how do you delete it? I finished two short Ross Macdonald book in record time and am really enjoying the immediate gratification!!!!"

i ..."

Me too Sherry...mine's called "FINISHED" ;)

more questions: 1. Kindle connects with Facebook. Does it connect with Goodreads? if so, how?

2. how do you log "percent of progress" into Facebook and/or Goodreads in the middle of the book? I see how you can rate a book at the end and it goes to Facebook but not how to note progress in the middle...

In update status in good reads if you chose the e-reader edition it will give you the % option.

Nancy,
I haven't tried library books on the nook yet but have borrowed lendme books from people and they are supposed to go back to the person who owns them after 14 days. From what I know with library books it depends on how many days. And Is saw on the nook board that maybe some people might have problems with books not returning. I've never did. I would call B&N customer service. They are very helpful. Or go on you computer under your B&N account under my library and usually it lists all the books you have. You can turn the books early then delete them from your acct that way also. So far the ones I borrowed from people I finished early and was able to turn them sooner that way. From what I can tell the only way you buy a book is click buy then it asks you if you want to buy it and you have to click ok.

Cathy: sometimes I use an e-book edition to post reading status progress here in percents, sometimes I just convert my Kindle percents to pages and use those on a regular edition. I do have a Kindle shelf for the ones I read that were a Kindle version so don't worry about the edition too much.
I don't know for sure what you mean by the question "is Kindle connected to Goodreads", but yes. I can click from a book page here on Goodreads right to Amazon - is that what you mean? I use the Buy a copy link below the header info and you can customize what shows as a link and Amazon and my local library are my two default links. The Amazon link doesn't always go to the Kindle page for the specific book but that is easy to go to once on Amazon on that book's page. If you hover your mouse on the Buy a copy 'button' it shows you the list of option to buy as links to those sites.
Cathy wrote: "more questions: 1. Kindle connects with Facebook. Does it connect with Goodreads? if so, how?
2. how do you log "percent of progress" into Facebook and/or Goodreads in the middle of the book? I ..."

Article in today's Ft. Worth-Star Telegram paper:
Even with boom in e-books, overall book sales slumping
Posted Thursday, Mar. 17, 2011

NEW YORK -- The e-book boom has reached new heights, but not high enough to boost book sales overall.

Helped by millions of Kindles, Nooks and other digital devices given for holiday gifts, e-book sales jumped in January and surpassed purchases of hardcovers and mass-market paperbacks, according to a new survey. The Association of American Publishers reported Thursday that e-sales more than doubled from $32.4 million in January 2010 to $69.9 million in January 2011.

Hardcover sales fell from $55.4 million to $49.1 million, and mass-market paperbacks, a format that's declining as baby boomers seek books with larger print, fell from $56.4 million to $39 million.

Total sales, which include the education and professional markets, were $805.7 million in January, slightly below the $821.5 million reported last year.

Not all association members participate, but the survey includes results from Random House, Simon & Schuster and other leading publishers.

The new numbers "pretty much reflect reality," Simon & Schuster Chief Executive Officer and President Carolyn Reidy said Thursday, although she cautioned that e-sales tend to be especially high in January as new customers test the format.

She said e-sales likely dropped after January but will settle at a level that's still substantially higher than last year. Reidy said e-books were around 8 to 9 percent of the general trade market at the end of 2010, and she expects them to reach 12 to 15 percent of the market this year.

"When people start out with e-books, they like the convenience and the ease," Reidy said.

Reidy said e-book sales were as high as 50 percent of the total for some works, not just for commercial fiction, but for so-called "midlist" books that depend on reviews and word of mouth. She cited Mira Bartok's well-regarded memoir The Memory Palace, which came out this year.



Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/03/...

Thanks for sharing Lorraine!
The media likes to point out anything with slumping sales.
I understand the publishing houses can't be happy with less revenue, (the recording industry is another that has seen sales decline over the last several years) and it seems to me that there is plenty of reading (and listening to music) going on. We as consumers are just adapting to changes in the delivery. The revenue models will adjust and hopefully we'll have plenty of options to keep us busy reading. ;)
Brakedrum wrote: "Article in today's Ft. Worth-Star Telegram paper: Even with boom in e-books, overall book sales slumping Posted Thursday, Mar. 17, 2011
NEW YORK -- The e-book boom has reached new heights, but..."

Ann wrote: "I don't know for sure what you mean by the question "is Kindle connected to Goodreads", but yes. I can click from a book page here on Goodreads right to Amazon - is that what you mean? I use the Buy a copy link below the header info and you can customize what shows as a link and Amazon and my local library are my two default links. The Amazon link doesn't always go to the Kindle page for the specific book but that is easy to go to once on Amazon on that book's page. If you hover your mouse on the Buy a copy 'button' it shows you the list of option to buy as links to those sites.
..."
No, what I mean, Ann, is can you update your Goodreads from your Kindle. You can update Facebook with Kindle....

Cathy:
It turns out that you can update Goodreads from your Kindle. I have not tried it.
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...