Kindles and ebooks pros and cons

[Lzcutter]

I know it's all held remotely at Amazon and heaven forbid it would ever fold but stranger things have happened. I'd hate to think it might be possible.

Alison,

I sometimes worry about that, too, though I doubt Amazon is going anywhere any time soon. Film and history books that I want in my library, I buy hard copies of. I use the Kindle for books I don't necessarily want to own but do want to read. That way, if something ever happened, I wouldn't be completely heart broken at losing my Kindle files.

Of course, my attitude about that could completely change.......

Kingme,

For travel and reading, it can't be beat!

I got the Kindle case with the reading light which has come in handy not only on planes but also in Starbucks, restaurants and bars. I can read while waiting for friends to show up.

[RedRiver]

So you do need a light source? I thought the appliance might provide its own light. Like watching TV in the dark.

[Lzcutter]

Red,

The reading light is powered by the battery in the Kindle. The Kindle snaps into the case and the reading light can be pulled up from the upper right hand corner. Once you pull it up, the light turns on. When you push the light back into place in the corner, the light goes out. The light only draws power from the battery while it is on. No external power source needed.

[charliechaplinfan]

The covers can be really expensive, they sell for up to £50 on Amazon whereas a cover with a light can be bought for £6 on ebay. You have to be careful about how secure the ebay one is, some are just held in place by a couple of pieces of elastic but I've found the one I've got that has a full front cover absolutely fine. I went and had a look at Amazon's cover at a local retailer and there was little difference apart from the money. I would say a cover is essential though, especially if it's going to travel with you.

I don't think backing it up the content will be hard to do so if we ever did worry about Amazon it can be done. Amazon, at least here, is a retailer who is bucking the trend when it comes to profits and forecasts.

[charliechaplinfan]

Does anyone know this website

http://www.ebookr.com/search/

and is it common in the US to subscribe to book websites, like it is for music and movies?

[MichiganJ]

I found this thread at AMAZON, which discusses ebookr. They say it'a a scam, and I'm inclined to believe that, too.

http://www.amazon.com/forum/kindle%20bo ... YXH685I61Z

[charliechaplinfan]

Thank you, I read it with interest and will avoid at all costs.

I've noticed that there are plenty of dealers on ebay selling kindle books for £3 pounds or so for 15000 titles. This must be illegal which raises the question that why doesn't Amazon challenge ebay or ebay themselves to take these people down. I've added some of these vendors to my watch list and a couple have dissappeared but most are still trading, so where do they get their books from in the first place? They aren't free copyright works because I've asked the vendor questions for specific authors and lo and behold they have the titles. I feel sorry for the writers as it must be hard enough to make a decent living.

[mrsl]

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My grand daughter has a Nook and loves hers but only for certain things. For instance she wouldn't want a cook book on it, or other educational book because she doesn't want to take a chance on ruining the screen with ink or food splotches or fingernail scratches (for pointing out a certain place). I guess if I knew I had another 10 years to go for sure, I might get one for myself (they are quite reasonable usually ($99.00), but I don't read with the speed I used to. At one time, I could read 3 or 4 books in a week but now to absorb the info included, it takes a day to read one page. However, I still have all of my books, I just can't part with them. When I run out of real book cases, I cover trimmed down boxes with fake wood design contact paper and pile them up like book cases. After I'm gone, someone can dump them for me, I just don't have the heart. Like everything else though, I'm sure someday I'll accept the new way and start reading my stories on a Nook or Kindle, just like I pay my bills, send birthday cards, and find phone numbers, which I thought I would never do. No matter how old the dog, it's got to learn new tricks to survive today.
.

[charliechaplinfan]

I wish my Mum had a bit more of your attitude Anne, she doesn't even use a cash card, can't play a DVD and recoils from new technology, my Dad though has a kindle. I can't bear to part with my books either Anne, the kindle just gives me the ability to expand somewhat.

Nooks are part of Barnes and Noble I think and therefore haven't taken off very well, if they're being marketed at all, there is another reader called a Kobo but Amazon is such a household name that they have the market completely.

I can't actually imagine anyone buying a cookery book on the kindle, unless they are fastidiously tidy in the kitchen, whereas I'm more of the get all the ingredients out, make one hell of a mess whilst I'm cooking and then clean up at the end. It woludn't last for one recipe with me.

I do like the fact you can change the font size, I think that is one of it's main selling points above a book.

[mrsl]

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Charlie:

Use your fear for her safety and your love for her to get Mum to start using a cash card. I carry just enough change to make a phone call in case I forget my cell at home or it runs out of battery in case of an emergency. I don't know how your area accepts the cards but I use mine for everything. If a mugger tried to grab my purse, he could have it with no problem because I have no credit cards, no large amounts of money, and nothing particularly important in my purse except perhaps my drivers license, and kid photos. Say things just like when schools taught kids to urge their parents to quit smoking, e.g. Mommy, do it for me, please. That was the best one.
.

[charliechaplinfan]

She does carry a phone which is never switched on and a small amount of cash along with a cheque book and cheque guarantee card, we've all tried to advance her for years but she's adamantly stuck in the past, although she may weaken about the card as so many shops no longer take cheques. She never carries much cash, she's had her purse stolen twice, once was outside her house, so she's very wary.

[RedRiver]

If you spell CHEQUES that way in the US, nobody will take them. They won't know what they are!

[charliechaplinfan]

It is a strange spelling, I wonder why some of our words diverge so much.