How many people use e-books as opposed to traditional books?

[chc]

We first ran across a Kindle in Charleston, SC while travelling on the ICW. "Nah we'll keep reading paper books". That from my wife. I was gifted a Kindle for one of my B'days a bit ago, then acquired a Samsung Galaxy tablet as well. The Kindle has become my wife's reading tool, while I use a Kindle app on the Samsung. Our local library is the source of the majority of our books. Truthfully, we still hit the swap shelves in marinas to borrow/swap paper books, but the electronic units are nice to have on board.

 

[dannc]

One of the big advantages of an eReader, in my case a Kindle, is that my bad, slightly old eyes can read a Kindle better in a darkened room than a physical magazine or book. Some of the magazine editors needs a kick in the head when they have a dark, photo with dark print on a magazine page. With a Kindle I can read in bed and not disturb SWMBO with the lights on. Without the Kindle I would have to turn on the lights and I would be in trouble.

Being able to book mark and highlight text in the eBook version is a big plus. I refuse to high light or dog ear a real book page! That is book abuse!

Later,
Dan

 

[Sailor of Fortune]

I like the "Paper White" version of Kindle. I can read it in the dark with no lights or bright wheelhouse setting. Hobo crew got me hooked up with calibre library over a year ago and am still working through them.

 

[Lollygag]

I never got used to my Nook. Sue loves hers. I guess I just like the feel of a book in my hands. That may have to change when we cruise if the fleet is exchanging e-books.

 

[MikeM]

We tried reading on the iPad. It was too hard to hard in sunlight. So we both got Kindles. I have hardly read a paper book since. My wife definitely hasn't.


Mike Metts
KK 42-165
Virginia Beach, VA

Sent from my iPad using Trawler Forum

 

[Nomad Willy]

Chris got a Nook reader a few years ago and liked it at first. But she was buying quite a few books and the prices weren't as reasonable as the used book store. I intended to do e-reading on my I-pad but never got around to it. E-reading had the obvious advantages while living in Alaska but as soon as we moved south we picked up our old habit of regularly going to the used book store and have been happy doing that ever since.

I read hard back books at home mostly but carry paper back books always. Read at Starbucks (when I'm not on TF) and in other resturants and waiting rooms of all kinds. It's amazing how often one needs to wait for something but I almost always have a book.

I could always find room for a dozen or so books so I can't relate to the coments above about trouble w space .. and I've got a small boat compared to most. Many have a need to do things just because they are new. Maybe the cost of e-books has come down and we should look into it again. It could be also like the trawler skipper that's been using a Danforth or Claw anchor for twenty some years and aren't motivated to do anything different. Some think having all the new things is a badge of honor. For now I still like my paperbacks.

What I/we read plays a part in this too. We read mostly fiction. Like stories. I just bought the hard back book "An Accidental Superpower" by Peter Zeihan .. not fiction. I learned about the book on the TV program "GPS" (Global Public Square). I read books in college about "what made America great" and this book is re the same question but it's about the future .. not the past. Very worth reading.

 

[Marin]

Maybe the cost of e-books has come down and we should look into it again..

The price of e-books varies all over the map. I've bought some for 99 cents. Newly published books tend to cost more, but they are usually at least ten bucks less than the printed version.

I read both fiction and non-fiction. I would guess that the average price of an e-book is about ten bucks. But if one reads mostly older books, you get down into the five dollar to 99 cent range.

As I said, I resisted e-books for quite awhile. I had all the same arguments--- I like the "feel" of a book, I want to hold the book and turn its pages, all that.

Then I got a Kindle and in about five minutes all my reasons for preferring real books went right out the window. Today, I cannot think of a single advantage to reading a real book unless it's a specialty book like a big picture book or something where the physical size and actual presentation of the book itself is important. My most recent book is like that, and I doubt that it will ever become an e-book unless Jeff Bezos decides it should be.

But for reading "normal" books, the e-book is vastly superior in my opinion (and in the opinions of virtually everyone I know who's switched to e-books). I love being able to look up the meaning of a word as I read with the push of a button, or insert a bookmark with another push of a button, or have a whole library of books in a device that's half an inch thick.

The words are the same, the meaning is the same, the emotion is the same. The only thing different is all the hassles of dealing with and holding open and storing a real book are gone.

And even the issue small and unsharp photos is gone. If one reads a book on an iPad, double-tapping a photo on the book page blows the photo up to full size on the screen.

I prefer reading on a Kindle for the reasons I've stated earlier. But since all our devices are on the same account, any book on our Kindles is also on all our iPads. So if I'm reading an illustrated book and I want to see a photo more clearly I can simplyi bring up the book on an iPad, automatically go to the same page I'm on in the Kindle, and double-tap the photo for a full-screen, sharp-as-tack picture.

The whole e-book concept is absolutely brilliant in my view. I have always been a fast reader and very often am reading two or three books at the same time. The Kindle (or any of these devices) enables me to read even faster and more.

 

[seasalt007]

+1 for Paperwhite

 

[janice142]

I love love loved my original Kindle however made a mistake in not insuring it. Because I'm a reader (at least two hours at bunk time each night)... well, I use a Kindle more than many do.

Amazon in their advertising seem to relate the average use as 30 minutes per day. Heck, I read that much before my first cup of caffeine is down the hatch!

My original concern was giving up the texture of flipping pages, and the satisfaction of the hunt (used book stores) however I'm now sold. 100% sold on owning a Kindle of some sort.

The books I read as a child are almost all free. And there are a ton of free ones on gutenberg.org along with Amazon.

What I like best is that mine is always with me. It doesn't weigh much and I never worry about being bored someplace. If I sit to wait, I'm reading. A Kindle I count as one of the best parts of this life afloat.

For instance, when reading Rushton (a Horatio Alger story) the author mentions Swiss Family Robinson, and I've got that one on the Kindle too. So I changed books for a bit.

Right now I'm reading about ten books simultaneously. I could not carry ten in my purse so the Kindle allows me to indulge. I'm grateful for it.

Though an extravagant expense, it's one I regret not making sooner. What is killer is the price of newer books on the Kindle. There are enough free ones that I don't buy, often. But I am weak... and look!

For Amazon, I'll save the ones I want to my shopping list s that I can tell when the price goes down. That's when I snap up the books. I bought Cheaper by the Dozen a couple weeks ago for $2. THat's a good book though I'll have to hold off on reading the last chapter until I pick up Belles on their Toes (the second/final book by Ernestine and Frank.

And i still have books for swapping and reading. I just have more, with the electronic versions on my Kindle.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Thanks Marin I'll look into the Kindle.

However "The only thing different is all the hassles of dealing with and holding open and storing a real book are gone." I can't relate to any of this except possibly books that don't have the copy in the right place on the page so one can't see words on the end or beginning of a sentence. Can one plug the Kindle into a cigarette lighter and charge or read as charging takes place?

What does the Kindle cost and where can I pick one up in person? I know I can get a Nook at Barnes and Noble but the Kindle???

 

[Marin]

Speaking of price, a lot of library systems (like King County here in the Seattle Area) are linked in to the e-book system so you can " borrow" books from the library to read on your Kindle (and I assume all the other e-readers, too). And it's free. If it's a popular book you have to wait for it sometimes, which has always baffled me since it's a digital file, not an actual book. So you would think they could have ten zillion copies of a popular book if they wanted to with a few taps on a mouse button.

So I don't get the waiting list thing for an e-book, but regardless, if you live near a library system that has this kind of program you can borrow e-books for free. I believe you have to have a library card of some sort.

We've only done it once to see how it works. It did, but at the time the interface and process was kind of clunky so we haven't bothered with it since. My video crew uses the library a lot to get books for their Kindles so I'm guessing the process has been greatly improved.

 

[Marin]

I can't relate to any of this except possibly books that don't have the copy in the right place on the page so one can't see words on the end or beginning of a sentence.

I've never had that happen on the Kindle. I have come across places where whoever digitized the book screwed up and used a wrong word or something. But it's always easy to figure out what the correct word should have been from the context. This seems to be less and less of an occurrence as e-books garner more and more popularity.

Can one plug the Kindle into a cigarette lighter and charge or read as charging takes place?

Yes, and you can read while it's recharging from an AC outlet, too. With "normal" use (whatever the hell that is) a Kindle can go several weeks before needing recharging. I use mine a lot, often with the LED light on the case turned on which draws power from the Kindle, and every time I have to recharge it I can't remember the last time I recharged it. As opposed to an iPad which with constant use won't make it through a day.

What does the Kindle cost and where can I pick one up in person? I know I can get a Nook at Barnes and Noble but the Kindle???

Don't know the current prices. Just get on Amazon.com and you'll find all this information.

As to seeing one in person, I know that Best Buy usually has all the popular e-readers on display so you can compare them in person. That's where we bought ours.

In your general vicinity there are Best Buy stores in Bellingham, Burlington, Marysville and Everett. I would guess the Burlington store would be the closest to you.

So far as I know, Kindles are not discounted in price by anyone. Whether you buy it in a store or buy it directly from Amazon.com, the cost is the same.

They have several models these days. Personally, I recommend getting a wifi-cellular model instead of a wifi only model. Assuming things are the same today as when we bought ours a few years ago. the cellular model does not require an actual cellular account like with AT&T or anyone. It has an exclusive cellular "account" with Amazon.

So when you turn the cellular on, it will connect automatically with Amazon no matter where you are on the planet as long as there is a cellular signal. So you can get into Amazon's bookstore and search for books or browse around and if you find one you want you can download it right then. This cellular service is free no matter where you are on the globe, but of course all it connects to is Amazon.

We never use the wifi in our Kindles, only the cellular connection. We leave it off unless we actually want to look for or download a book since the cellular connection uses power.

You pay more for the wifi-cellular models but in our opinions it's worth it because you can connect to the bookstore from just about anywhere.

You can get on the internet with a Kindle e-reader but at least with the older ones it's probably the most clunky, slow, limited and worthless process on the planet. So we never bother with it. We have iPads and iPhones for that. The newer Kindles may be better in this respect, I don't know.

PS-- And Eric, if you do get a Kindle I will recommend your first book. Get "The Boys in the Boat." It's terrific.

 

[Peter B]

Marin, you've just about said it all for me as well, re this eBook thing, although I just have it on the iPad. I like my pad being all those other things as well, including nav, so only have to cart one item around. However, it's in bed reading with the light out, so as not to bother the spouse it comes into its own in many ways. I get around the battery life thing and the backlight glare by using it almost exclusively in the night mode, where you can adjust the brightness, but it's white print on black background. After a time I even gave up using the sepia day version, as you get so used to it in the night mode.

Someone asked if you can have them on charge while reading - definitely yes to all models or readers or pads as far as I know.

As to issues reading in direct sunlight…I don't know why anyone would want to read in direct sunlight anyway, but as long as the sun is not shining directly on the screen it is not an issue with the iPad anyway. Even less so in the white on black mode.

I just wish these had become available before we accumulated soooo many paper books. At least its cutting down the speed they are growing somewhat.

 

[Marin]

As to issues reading in direct sunlight…I don't know why anyone would want to read in direct sunlight anyway,...

Here's a classic example we see all the time. Riding on a plane. Guy pulls out his iPad and begins to read. Girl across the aisle in the window seat opens her shade so she can look at the view. Big beam of light comes through the window and hits the guy's iPad square on the screen. He's done reading and puts it away.

If he had been reading a Kindle, all that would have happened is that it would have gotten even easier to read.

I don't like reading a book on a backlit screen. It's too hard on the eyes. And we have been hearing recently about studies that say that using a computer, iPad, TV, anything with a backlit screen before going to bed can make it very difficult to go to sleep or get good sleep. Something about the effect the backlit pixelated screen has on one's brain activity. By it's very nature, it's too stimulating.

A Kindle, at least the "magic ink" versions of the Kindle, don't have this effect apparently.

 

[Bay Pelican]

I never got used to my Nook. Sue loves hers. I guess I just like the feel of a book in my hands. That may have to change when we cruise if the fleet is exchanging e-books.

Exchanging e-books is now very common among the Caribbean cruisers. Legal issues are ignored.

 

[Larry M]

...a lot of library systems (like King County here in the Seattle Area) are linked in to the e-book system so you can " borrow" books from the library to read on your Kindle (and I assume all the other e-readers, too). And it's free. If it's a popular book you have to wait for it sometimes, which has always baffled me since it's a digital file, not an actual book. So you would think they could have ten zillion copies of a popular book if they wanted to with a few taps on a mouse button.

So I don't get the waiting list thing for an e-book, but regardless, if you live near a library system that has this kind of program you can borrow e-books for free. I believe you have to have a library card of some sort...

The library system is great. We can be anywhere and access books via the internet.

I asked a librarian though why the limited number of digital issues and she said it was the same as books in print. The library "buys" a set number of copies of particular book, text or digital.

 

[janice142]

I like the male cigarette lighter gizmos with the USB ports. If there are two, one usually charges at a faster rate. Thus I'm never without power for the Kindle. But mine generally is recharged once a day -- have I mentioned I read a lot?!?

Mine is on right now as a matter of fact. Between page loads on the computer I'm reading. Well, right now I've got nonograms up (it's a logic game that settles my mind much like the old Sherlock did in the days of Win95 through WinME) and active.

I'm on day four writing a piece on the cooling system and it's still not satisfactory. The Kindle helps keep my sanity. Honestly, I don't know how I ever managed without it.

And I'm very glad I did not get the Kidlet's old Nook. Hers, one of the first generation units, is very heavy. I would not have wanted to hold that whereas the Kindle is lighter than a paperback.

Plus a Kindle is like StarTrek -- imagine having five hundred books with you at all times?!? Life does not get much better. I started reading when I was three so books are an important part of my life.

All that said, I do not want Calder's on my Kindle. Being able to write notes in the margins and flip through the pages is more comfortable for me with the hard-cover. Ditto my bird and shell books. Flipping the pages is easier for me to spot the bird I'm trying to identify.

Like others mentioned, sorting and searching on the Kindle could be better. You really must know the first word of the title and for a series? Well, I could search all day for Mammoth Hunters, book 3 in Jean Auel's series. However if I didn't know the Cave Bear series was titled Earth's Children I'd still be lost.

These are quirks however they are not deal breakers. And book (plus DVD) swap shelves are in any marinas. That hasn't changed.

And having that Amazon connection is nifty as all get out.

 

[RCook]

I have an old e-ink Kindle, and it's great for books downloaded via the library, even when I'm wandering around SE Alaska. Also for ordering a book I've heard about via radio or another cruiser.

But I always take along a dozen or so real books from the used book store, and exchange them when finished with them, at the harbor office bookshelf - kinda fun, and you never know what you'll find.

 

[Northern Spy]

I see no-one has chimed in from Canada. Unfortunately, the cost here is too high to really justify them. I believe a lot of it still works out to copyright issues. I purchased them for my kids years ago from the States, before they were available in Canada. A bit ironically, as I worked at a paper mill that makes newsprint and book grade (paperback) paper at the time. As it turned out, outside of free content the cost of purchasing a newer book was 20% higher than the equivalent paperback, if it was even available.

That said, my kids did use them on the boat all the time. Although one Kindle did get squished onboard.

I fly a lot. Now that airlines are allowing small electronics to be used gate to gate, E-readers would make sense to me as a commuter. But it still comes down to cost and selection. I have a few books as backup on my Android tablet as Google books has some great sales at times, but none on my I-pad. Both of which have the Kindle and Kobo aps.

Is it the same in Australia?

 

[BlueYonder]

Nice thing about using the Kindle app on a tablet. You can quickly look up things on the web. I'm currently reading a novel that has a Boeing 314 Clipper as a primary player. It's great to be able to quickly look up photos/info while reading the novel on my iPad.

 

[Marin]

I see no-one has chimed in from Canada. Unfortunately, the cost here is too high to really justify them. I believe a lot of it still works out to copyright issues.

So I'm confused. I've downloaded books to my Kindle while traveling in Canada and it is no different than downloading books in China, Australia, Europe or at home. Same connection (cellular), same "bookstore," same prices.

Is it because I have a US account?

 

[Northern Spy]

Is it because I have a US account?

Yup.

 

[Marin]

Ahhh. So if you have a kid in the US you get a Kindle, put it on his or her account, buy whatever you wanted without the Canadian price penalty, pay the kid back for what you bought (or not), and nobody would be the wiser, right?

 

[Peter B]

People are getting up to all those kinds of tricks to get around this favoured status the US seems to have re things purchased on the iNet. The same applies for say Apple products. We always pay more than the US, even though purchased from a US site, and that's allowing for the exchange rate and delivery charges. The second that you use a non-US account, the price jumps. It's totally unfair, but hard to get around without resorting to tricks like Marin suggested. Ie a 'friend' in the US, with US account.

 

[Marin]

The second that you use a non-US account, the price jumps. It's totally unfair, but hard to get around without resorting to tricks like Marin suggested. Ie a 'friend' in the US, with US account.

Can I work it the other way? Like, can I use my friends in the UK to get me free health care? That would be way cool.

In all the work I done all over the world and meeting people and observing what's going on across the planet I've come to the conclusion that in the end, it all works out pretty equally for everyone within the basic poor, middle class, and wealthy categories.

You and Spy have to pay more for Kindle books, I have to pay more for health care. You have to pay more for fuel, I have to pay more for stupid projects like light rail and and ineptly-run things like highway tunnels that don't work and stadiums we don't need.

And so it goes.

 

[Peter B]

I don't think you can compare the relative costs of services and infrastructure with simple products which are the same wherever you use them. Sure the former items tend to have a swings and roundabouts evening effect, but what does seem a bit on the nose is when say a simple iPad, made for Apple in China anyway, costs more bought over the internet in Australia, by a significant margin, than in the US, when ordered using and Aussie card account, but if ordered from Australia using a US card account, it is cheaper, although ordered and obtained from the same source, and even when the exchange rate was significantly in our favour for some time. Certainly not the case now, so the exporters are cockahoop...