@marylandmom I have not been willing to give up my “real” books yet. My H has ipad and a generic no name tiny tablet, but my experience reading on those devices was less than impressive.
I figure I will eventually give in and get some kind of lightweight reader, but may hold out for a few more improvements/price decreases before I make a purchase. My H would love for me to read in bed without my lamp on, so when I do decide, he will be eager to purchase for me.
Ease of travel, having my books with me when I have to sit in a waiting room, and above all, being able to read in bed with one hand won me over long ago from my love of ‘real books’, and I’m a booklover from way back. Heavy paperbacks and hardcovers hurt my hands too much when I read in bed. I still read real books bc I love to buy them, and I use the library, but the Kindle (I bought the very first model long ago and have had pretty much every model since up until paperwhite) has really been wonderful for me, and upped my reading from about 60 books per year to over 80. I love having more than one book going at a time and being able to change from one to the other any time.
Reading on an e-reader is far superior to reading on a tablet. Lots of research has gone in to making the experience less fatiguing on the eyes. And for H, the ability to change font size on demand is a huge plus - if he doesn’t have a pair of reading glasses nearby, he just increases the font size to where he can read without magnifiers.
I never thought I’d give up real books, but the convenience, light weight, and ability to get books on demand are tremendous benefits. No more packing several paperbacks in my suitcase when I travel, or deciding which books to leave behind because I don’t want to lug them all. Also, there’s a huge library of classic books available for free, and some libraries loan e-books, so the cost of the reader can easily be absorbed depending on your reading habits.
S and I read a lot of the same series, and now we can both read new books as soon as they come out (we share an Amazon account) rather than one having to wait until the other finishes.
Not at all! I love my nook Glow-light. Perfect for reading in bed, it’s the main reason I bought it.
I also have a nook HD (I do not have a any other kind of tablet though…) for magazines.
I loved having 3G on my original Kindle, but balked at the price of 3G when I got my latest paperwhite. I have found I am fine without it.
I do most of my book shopping on the express bus and love madly to browse all of the Amazon offerings. I am that person who can spend hours reading through the depths of the lists of books and finding obscure things that I have loved. Things that I would never have found with the limited selection in a store. The Paperwhite has a light(!!!) and adjustable font (!!!) and fits in my purse and is comfortable in my hand, much more so than an ipad. I find it to be the one truly perfect thing I have ever owned. I would change nothing about my PaperWhite. One of the fun things is that I gave my kids access to my kindle password information and we all read books together as a little book club, and the best present I got for my 50th a couple of weeks ago was my D gifting me a book every day for a week from my own personal wish list. For me, nothing is better than that.
I have a Paperwhite; it was a gift from my H and at first I didn’t think I’d use it or like it very much as I really enjoy holding a real book and turning real pages. But I actually use it quite a bit and in fact I am reading more since I got it.
I may be weird, but I have yet to buy a Kindle book. I have a few free ones. If I’m going to buy a book, I still want to buy a physical copy for some reason.
But here is where the Kindle has been great, and how I have done most of my reading on it—the library. True, they don’t have everything, but I go on the e-branch site, make a wish list, put things on hold, and check out Kindle books from the library online. I love it!
I don’t have an iPad.
I don’t think it’s weird at all to prefer physical books. For my cookbooks I think I’ll always buy hardcopy.
But I’m a voracious reader and several years ago I realized I was drowning in (physical) books. So one day I said to heck with it and hauled all of my books (except the cookbooks!) to the used bookstore. Since then I’m kindle only and perfectly happy with it. Another factor is that as I’m getting older I need more light to read and I also prefer a larger font than you get in a standard paperback. I’ve gotten so spoiled with the paperwhite screen that I don’t think I could go back to paperbooks anymore. Even my physical magazines are kind of a pita to read now, but I suppose that’s another physical thing like the cookbooks that I don’t see giving up.
One thing I really like is the free borrowing for certain books through the prime program. There’s a ton of really terrible books in that program, but some decent ones. But they’re free and satisfy my need to be constantly reading something, so I think I’ve been saving a ton of money borrowing the free prime books vs buying paperbacks from the local bookstore.
Probably the biggest downside of going electronic is that I no longer have a big wall of books at home to browse when I’m bored. It was fun to see all the old titles and pick out a few treasures to re-read. That’s one aspect I really miss.
Thanks so much everyone. You are amazing.
I’m a Prime Member, so I went ahead and ordered the Paperwhite. Now I just have to decide whether it’s going to be a Christmas gift from my husband, or whether I should start using it on arrival!
There’s an interesting editorial in today’s NY Post regarding Amazon’s brand new brick-and-mortar bookstore, which just opened in Seattle. Apparently hard copy books have not disappeared into the dust bin of history, as was predicted earlier this decade.
I can’t wait to hear how you like it @missypie!!! Happy reading!!!
Wait till Christmas? Nonsense?! You could read a few books by then!!! 
I like to tell people that now I can hide my book buying habit ;).
Seriously I bought a real book and wished I had bought the kindle edition. It’s so easy to read at the table or take the kindle places that I miss that in the book I bought and am getting through it slowly.
I was reading books on my iPad for several years, but got a Fire during that big promotion Amazon had earlier in the summer. I like it a lot, and when I travel I take the iPad and the Fire. It’s still a lot lighter than taking my laptop!
The big advantage over having an e-reader is that you have multiple books on it and can switch around.
Like an iPad, scissors are multi-functional. But there’s value in using a specialized tool for a specialized task like cutting your fingernails.
I still buy cookbooks and reference-type books in print. But for novels and travel guides, etc., e-readers are ideal - and now I don’t have to buy a new house to fit in more bookcases!
Amazing deal today on HSN on 7in Kindle fire 2 for $99 with cases. On tv they are saying Amazon prime membership included.
http://www.hsn.com/todays-special
I will just say that while I prefer books in print, it is wonderful to have the e reader option for travel. When we went to Europe last summer I loaded 8 books on my Nook app (iPad) and had plenty for the long plane rides, etc.
Love my Paperwhite. I first started reading on my iPad. But switched to the Kindle and the difference is amazing.
Welcome to e books! Open it asap and get going. One reason- any warranty issues can be dealt with in a timely fashion- especially before the holiday rush. I prefer some books in print but appreciate it when I do not need to put some books on hold, wait and go to the library branch for them. It really made a difference when traveling- saved luggage space!
I got my first Kindle Paperwhite the Christmas after it came out when son gave me the one we gave him for his fall birthday. We asked him what he wanted for his birthday and H thought of the very recently release of this e reader. Bought online, sent and received by son. His thank you included the fact that he actually hadn’t opened the box because he bought one for himself two weeks prior and already was familiar and liking it. He never returned it in a timely fashion and so gave it to me when he traveled the thousands of miles. Son isn’t exactly unfamiliar with dealing with Amazon- he works there.