Aussie Readers discussion

I have a kindle which i bought last year. Since i bought the kindle- i read far less. For a while i went through a stage where i didn't read at all.
Now i have started to buy paper books again- i cannot stop reading!
I think that i have missed the experience of buying a book, going to bookshops, turning the pages, the pretty covers etc etc.
What is your preference when it comes to Ebooks and Paper books?

Tara, I love to have/hold/read 'paper' books or REAL (IMO) books. I don't have an ereader yet, I have looked at them, and thought about them, but haven't done anything yet. I absolutely hate the thought of never being able to buy one, one day:(

Well, I've never used a Kindle as an ereader but I've got one on order so it'll be interesting to see how my habbits change when it comes to reading over the next couple of months. I'll never stop purchasing books though I'd miss the cover designs too much..Plus I read graphic novels and comics quite a bit..Those I never want to change into tablet form :s


On a side note someone needs to come up with that 'paper smell' so when you're using an ereader you can spray it and get a wiff of that good ol'smell! ehehehe

Haha!!! But how do you 'flip the pages' when you're reading a kindle, Laura? ;D

Hiya,

The feel and smell of a real book will never be able to be replaced. The e-book readers are trying to make a 'real feel' with page flicks and the sounds of pages turning, but, that will never be the same as the tactile feel of a paper book.

In saying that, the e-books have the advantage of instant downloads, usually cheaper cost to the end reader and can be bought from anywhere that has an internet connection, not just in a bookshop or variety store.

I personally think there will always be paper books in print. Even if only POD, but they will be available, just like you can still take a ride in a horse and cart even though motor vehicles now dominate the scene.

You can even download mobile phone apps now that allow you to read on your phone. I tried it, thought I would hate it, but was actually quite suprised at how readable it was.

My personal experience with my own book is that e-book sales are far outweighing paperback sales at a ratio of 10-1 and the profit for me is approx the same for each.

Sorry, I'll stop raving on now lol.

Grant

Wow Grant, thanks for that insight. You're right about the 'never to be replaced' feel and smell, and I hope you're right about there always being books out there to be bought:)

Glad you're having success with the sale of your e-book as well..that'd make you happy:)

Brenda wrote: "Haha!!! But how do you 'flip the pages' when you're reading a kindle, Laura? ;D"

Place a book next to me and flick those pages so I can still hear the noise..lolol

Laura wrote: "Brenda wrote: "Haha!!! But how do you 'flip the pages' when you're reading a kindle, Laura? ;D"

Place a book next to me and flick those pages so I can still hear the noise..lolol"

You'd need too many hands :O!!! ;D

Lol! Have feet :D

thanks for your comments!

I must admit- i am kind of glad that some books aren't available as ebooks on kindle. It means that i do get the opportunity to purchase real paper books with that smell and usually a nice cover to look at.

I do live in a very small apartment with a tiny bookshelf so my books storage space is very limited. The kindle is handy as i have most of my favorite books on one device. I also have an iPad and iPhone so if i don't have my kindle with me and i have to read a chapter whilst i am out because i am addicted to the book- it's very convenient. The iPad and iPhone syncs and will remember the last page you were up to on your kindle.

There are just so many for's and against's with the kindle/e-reader and the paper book, aren't there!!!!

Oh, I forgot..We've got two iPads-gen 1 and 2...But I found each time I've used either of them I've NOT enjoyed reading magazines on them..Something felt very, very wrong. But I did like building my bookcase on them..lol

It'll be interesting seeing the iPad/kindle work together as I never knew they could, I look forward to seeing that in action :D

I have a Kindle and LOVE it! We have heaps of books all over the house. Heaps! LOL! I love them equally. I don't think I need to tell you why I love our paper books. It's for all the same reasons we all love them. ;o) So I'll tell you why I love my Kindle and just bought one for my daughter for her 11th birthday and plan to buy one for my hubby for his birthday.

We live in an itty bitty town in an itty bitty house. We have no room for all our stuff and storing books has become a problem. To buy a book, I need to drive over an hour to the nearest bookstore. I may go to this town maybe once a year. If that. It's really out of our way. It's a huge effort and lets face it, costs a lot of $$ in petrol these days. That book I want to buy suddenly becomes very expensive.

We have a mobile library that visits the town on Wednesday during school hours. When I'm at work. (sigh). The other librarys that are in nearby townships are again, only open during my working hours. I can't get to them. (double sigh).

For the past 10 years, I have been buying books online. Prior to that, I barely read. If you can't get your hands on books, you can't read.

Enter my Kindle last Christmas. I haven't stopped reading the darn thing. I'm so excited about reading. I love it so much. It has taken over all the other hobbies I had in the past and I'm thrilled by it. Since I've bought my Kindle, my ludite husband (who didn't want a barr of it) has read many, many books on it. He drives me mad as it's mine (damn it!!) LOL! I hinted that I was going to buy him one and he seemed very interested. Six months ago, he said "I'm not interested".

Ultimately, it's about reading. It's given me a way to access books easily that I have never had before. If we lived in a bigger town with a bookshop, I don't think it would have worked as well for us. Like so many others, we adore our real paper books.

I am a happy Kindle owner and we are very much on the way to becoming a Kindle family.

Oh, also wanted to mention....

Mum has an iPad and loves reading on it. I gave it a go and hated it. I searched high and low and ummed and ahhed for 2 years before making my Kindle purchase. Even since, I've looked at other brands but everytime I look at books for other devises, the cost always seems so much more expensive that buying books from Amazon. They appear to have the biggest range at the best price by far from what I can gather.

I've downloaded countless free books. Some are fantastic and some are fizzers but hey, it's free and I've lost nothing but an hour or two reading.

Did I say I love my Kindle?

Thanks Dot:) You had me smiling a lot through your explanations there:) It most definitely works for you, and that's wonderful. Fancy not being able to read! You've also given me a lot more to think about too:)

I agree Dot! I think a lot of readers put down ebooks and ereaders, but to me if it means more people are actually reading, that is always a good thing.

Plus at the end of the day (I know, what an annoying saying), it is about the stories that are written and reader's experience with the those stories, rather than what format they come in.

I love my paper books and I love my kindle, but more importantly I treasure my favourite stories!

Amanda, that's a wonderful way to think about it:) So true:)

I like both. I like my Kindle because of the incredible clarity of e-ink (which is far better quality than many of my aging paperbacks). It doesn't hurt that I never run out of book on the train, either!

I like paper books because I won't use an ereader in the bath. Not entirely because I'm afraid I'll drop it, but because I don't think steam and electronics mix well.

So I buy both.

Dot

Thanks for your great detailed response.

I am similar to you in that i live in an ittry bitty house- with very minimal room. I already have a bookshelf filled with books and i just don't have the room for books. I don't like clutter either. Once i have read a book i don't really see the point in hanging onto it collecting dust in my shelf.

I am quite lucky- i live right near the city so books are easily accessible to me but i still buy from the book depository anyway. I do love paper books but in reality, i just don't have the space i'd love to have for them.

Not all books are available on kindle so i still do need to purchase those from a book store. I have made the decision though to only buy books on kindle now. If it isn't available, i can use that opportunity to read the paper book.

This discussion is great. i love hearing different opinions.

And I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE NEW KINDLE TO BE RELEASED! Yes, that did require caps lock!

Bought my first Kindle last week with wi fi & 3 g – I downloaded my first book & started to read.
The one thing I have had to do is adjust my position when reading in bed. I have a cover on the Kindle,with the light, which is very good when my wife wishes to sleep, but it has increased the weight of the machine and I like to be on my side when I read (the table lamp casting light on to the paperback page) but the Kindle, with cover, is heavier than the average book and a little more cumbersome for when I am on my side –I am aware of not gripping too close to the page turn button.
The above was the first couple of nights until I found a position that was comfortable and now I am engrossed in the story and the fact that it is a Kindle, as against a paperback is not even noticed.

Be aware that the new 3g version allows internet searching, e-mailing, text to speech & music. I showed my new reader to two ‘geekish’ friends, and as soon as they realised that they could log on to the net, and not pay, (Amazon pays), the Kindle became a ‘must have’. I have not yet used it for music or text to speech. I'll wait for a quiet time so as to play with it on my own.
When I first plugged it in to the computer to charge it ‘up’, it automatically recognised the free book I’d downloaded from Amazon (Rudyard Kipling), but it didn’t
recognise my own book ‘Ice King’which was in the same file as the Kipling book. I had downloaded Ice King from Smashwords – although ‘Ice King’ is available on the Amazon sites worldwide. I thought I’d have to buy a copy of my own book, until it dawned on me to download from the computer using Windows, rather than the Kindle program – how else was I to download music except via Windows? This came to me about 3.00am the other night - obviously I'm a slow thinker.It worked and I now have two free books. :-o)

Polk,
Do you feel closer to the author or the characters in the story after finishing a paper book ?

Just had a thought, can one use a Kindle during take-off and landing ?
Perhaps yes, if you have switched off the internet link.
I must try and find out.

All these responses are great. It is certainly an interesting topic.

Does anyone know if when the new kindle is released- can we load previously purchased ebooks on there without any issue? I am hoping Amazon allows us to load them all on there as i would hate to lose my books that i have paid for

I've read a few books on my iPad and quite enjoyed the experience - no huge difference from a book in terms of the actual reading. It was quite good to be able to read in the dark and I loved the dictionary. On the negative side I missed the book cover. I love to look at the cover art, not that I would read a book just for the cover!

I have a Sony Ereader Touch and love it! I also have an IPad, which I have ebooks on. I avoid buying paperbacks these days! I like the convenience of my Ereader. I find they are easier to read and I like that my storage problems are reduced. If I am away from home and want to read something I have a huge selection of books to choose from. As well as this I enjoy reading romance books and some of the book covers are too embarrassing to read in public and an Ereader allows me to read these books and not feel like I need to cover up what I am reading.

Paper! I have horrible luck with electrical stuff

I haven't gotten a ereader of any sort yet. I kinda like the experience of a paper book. Especially awfully old books like my family has an old family bible (not that we are religious but its been in the family for generations) I don't know if the feeling of history can be fully experienced by an electronic reader. Not that I have anything against them, I just don't think their for me.

When I buy second hand books (I guess its the romantic in me) I think "I wonder where this book has been. What joy or pain has happened around it. Has it travelled, has it lounged on the beach with its owner or been used as a crutch to get it's owner through a bed side vigil of a sick son or daughter, mother or father and husband. Am I a second owner or tenth?" All these sort of things I don't think I could ever get from a e-reader.

Jessy wrote: "When I buy second hand books (I guess its the romantic in me) I think "I wonder where this book has been. ..."

Has someone read it in a toilet? Ewww! LOL!

That's what I wonder about 2nd hand books. I know, I'm a worry.

Dot wrote: "Jessy wrote: "When I buy second hand books (I guess its the romantic in me) I think "I wonder where this book has been. ..."

Has someone read it in a toilet? Ewww! LOL!

That's what I wonder about..."

Well that is a little bit of a different spin on it but who am I to judge.............



hehehehehe :oP

Ha ha! Love it Jessy. ;o)

I also prefer to buy ebooks these days because it gives me the ability to read anywhere and to take my whole library with me when I travel.

I'm disappointed to see so many people raving about their Kindles, though. I have no desire to be trapped in Amazon's clutches for ever. My Sony Reader is fantastic in every way, but if another company brings out something better, I'll be glad that I can change devices and still keep all my books - legally.

Geoff wrote: "Bought my first Kindle last week with wi fi & 3 g – I downloaded my first book & started to read.
The one thing I have had to do is adjust my position when reading in bed. I have a cover on the Kin..."

Thanks for this, Geoff. I thought I would buy a Kindle with a light, but have decided after reading your email that I don't need one, especially seeing the light makes it heavier to hold.

Laurel, I didn't mean my comments to be negative about the Kindle, more that I had to change my position when reading. As for the light, it weighs next to nothing. I have just weighed the combined Kindle & leather cover (which contains the light) and the total for both units is 450 grams. Don't forget you don't need the cover to read the e-books. If you want to read using a beside lamp the weight of the Kindle is 220 grams - less than most paperbacks. Please don't let my comments influence you if you are considering buying a Kindle.:-o)

Another reason I purchased my Kindle was that I have a lot of problems with my hands and tendonitis in both arms. I cannot hold much more than a small paperback without pain. I always need to rest my books on something.

I bought the Kindle and a cheap cover from eBay and it was just wonderful. Then I decided I wanted the lighted cover for the Kindle. Whilst I like having the light and the cover is very sturdy and very nice, it does weigh a lot more than I expected it to and it has taken me quite a while to get used to that extra weight.

If I had of bought them at the same time, I might not have noticed how lovely and light the Kindle is on it's own but that's not how I did it. I am used to it now and don't think about it's weight any longer. I know I could go back to my originial $10 cover but lets face it, the cost of the lighted cover is significant and I can't bring myself to not use it. LOL! Now I'm used to it, I love it. I plan to buy the same cover (but not in pink as mine is) for my hubby if/when I buy him a Kindle. ;o)

Right now I'm plodding through Gone with the Wind. There is no way I could read this in paper form. It's just too big for me to hold. Now I'm able to consider all those much bigger books that I once knew I couldn't read due to the weight of the book. Too good. ;o)

Geoff wrote: "Laurel, I didn't mean my comments to be negative about the Kindle, more that I had to change my position when reading. As for the light, it weighs next to nothing. I have just weighed the combined ..."

thanks for your kind comments, Geoff. At the moment, I doubt whether I need a Kindle with a cover and light. I always read with a bedside lamp. It doesn't worry my husband. I read now on a laptop. I think a Kindle would be much better to cart around from room to room. Thanks for your information. It's been very helpful.

Murray wrote: "I also prefer to buy ebooks these days because it gives me the ability to read anywhere and to take my whole library with me when I travel.

I'm disappointed to see so many people raving about thei..."

You're disappointed? That's kinda a shame. Pretty much each to their own..If people are happy with their Kindles there is no need to feel unhappy by other peoples happiness? Afteral everyone is doing the same thing getting to read books ;)

Dot wrote: "Another reason I purchased my Kindle was that I have a lot of problems with my hands and tendonitis in both arms. I cannot hold much more than a small paperback without pain. I always need to rest ..."

You are right Dot, I got the leather cover with the light at the same time I was given the kindle, and i don't notice the weight.

I took the cover off to test out the difference and for some reason I prefer reading it with the cover, I think also that it does a good job protecting the kindle from marks, scratchs and fingerprints.

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/b...

An interesting article in toady's SMH

for toady (very un pc) please read today's :-o)

I have just set up my kindle info in my goodreads account.

I don't actually know how it all works.

It says the kindle can sync with goodreads about what books i have read etc.

Can anyone confirm how it all works? has anyone set it up?

I'm late to the discussion, but thought I'd throw in my two cents anyway.

I'm one of those with a foot in both camps. I love (and will always love) tactile books, but I must admit I love my Kindle when I'm travelling - so much more room in my suitcase! - and it also means I always have a selection of books in my handbag at any given time, which is very comforting.

Also... having a Kindle makes it that much harder for me to flick ahead to check if certain characters are still around (a bad habit of mine when the tension gets too much!)

That said, I'm still reading 90% of books the old fashioned way.

Tara wrote: "I have just set up my kindle info in my goodreads account.

I don't actually know how it all works.

It says the kindle can sync with goodreads about what books i have read etc.

Can anyone confirm..."
Oh wow it can? I never knew they could work together...This will be something I'll look into once I get my Kindle :)

Geoff wrote: "http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/b...

An interesting article in toady's SMH"

Good article, Geoff. I wonder why many publishing houses charge nearly as much for ebooks as they do for the same book in print. I suppose they are doing a King Canute and trying to hold back the waters of progess.
http://aussieauthorsatwork.blogspot.com

Ah! - I know what you mean, but poor old Canute, he has been misrepresented for a thousand years. He never tried to hold back the tide all he wanted to do was illustrate his limted powers as a man.
'Let all men know how empty and worthless is the power of kings. For there is none worthy of the name but God, whom heaven, earth and sea obey.' King Canute's quote.

I agree with you that the publishing houses must adapt or die and to beg His Majesty's permission –
‘Let all publishers know how empty and worthless is the power of publishing. For there is none worth of the name, but those who sell books in e-format and much cheaper printed copy.’

cheers
Geoff

Geoff wrote: "Ah! - I know what you mean, but poor old Canute, he has been misrepresented for a thousand years. He never tried to hold back the tide all he wanted to do was illustrate his limted powers as a man...."

Thanks, Geoff, for your interesting answer. I like Kindle Books because it's so easy to download a sample and see whether you want to read the book. Laurel

When my web site was created the same facility of being able to download the first chapter etc was incorporated. What I should have added was a counting system so that I would know how many tyre kickers had downloaded :-o)
On Smashwords I allow 20% as a sampler.
Geoff
www.geoffwoodland.com

Geoff wrote: "When my web site was created the same facility of being able to download the first chapter etc was incorporated. What I should have added was a counting system so that I would know how many tyre ki..."

Great website, Geoff. Very professional. You sound as if you had a good holiday in Maylasia with your friends. It's a country I've never I wanted to visit. It seems to have a lot for the tourist though. Laurel

Laura wrote: "You're disappointed? That's kinda a shame. Pretty much each to their own..If people are happy with their Kindles there is no need to feel unhappy by other peoples happiness? Afteral everyone is doing the same thing getting to read books ;)"

It's not as simple as that, Laura. I wouldn't be happy with pedophiles just because what they do makes them happy. That's an extreme example, of course, but I'm just making the point that I don't have to support others' preferences.

I will continue to be disappointed by other people's happiness if it goes against my ethics and has the potential to affect me directly, though hopefully Amazon won't win the format war to that extent. I will also continue to feel bad for people who have locked themselves into one brand of reader.

Wow, what an extreme example, one that doesn't really compair at all.

Murray wrote: "I will also continue to feel bad for people who have locked themselves into one brand of reader. "
Totally agree. But at this stage my use of my kindle is downloading free books not from amazon, no wifi/3g used and 2 different backups of all my books, damn you amazon you'll never take my books! As ebook readers evolve hopefully there'll be a better market with good choices!

If i have a hard copy/on my kindle i always choose hard copy, kindle will never compare to holding (and smelling!) and of course reading a real book:)