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Just got a Kindle.

I'm an avid reader. At one point my book collection reached around 850, all of which had been read multiple times. I finally got tired of not having room and donated them all to a nearby library. Fast forward a few years, and I'm up to 600 again. I'm in the midst of hauling them all to the library as well. Now I got a kindle. Now I can take all my books wherever I go without the use of a forklift.
 
Add me to the list of Kindle fans. Just have had mine a few weeks but am loving it. E-ink is amazing, and it's great to be able to start reading a book less than a minute after I order it.

I am less enamored of reading magazines or newspapers on the Kindle. I don't think the device is as good an alternative to the physical ones as it is for books.

I don't think anyone here has mentioned the games, but those are fun too to pass the time. :)
 
One feature that's caught my attention is that it can handle PDFs. I'm often downloading pdfs of things like newsletters, short articles, etc., printing them, and taking them with me to read on the bus. And reading a stack of letter-sized paper is not as pleasant as holding a book or even a magazine. The idea of being able to dump them onto a Kindle would be a boon in itself. (I imagine, though that it's not the only e-reader that handles pdfs.) Someone mentioned Tolkien. I read reviews that said the Kindle version of LOTR does not include the maps. The pdf capability got me thinking of scanning the map to a pdf and keeping it handy.

I have a couple questions for anyone who can answer:
1. Does it keep your place in more than one book, or only the last book you had open?

2. Is there a quick way to jump back and forth between two books or do you have to drill down through the list each time?
 
Psi Baba said:
1. Does it keep your place in more than one book, or only the last book you had open?
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It keeps your place in as many books as you want, plus lets you add additional bookmarks in each book as well.
 
Psi Baba said:
2. Is there a quick way to jump back and forth between two books or do you have to drill down through the list each time?
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Caveat: I have the original Kindle 2, rather than the newest, but there is a 'back' button to take you back. And you can order the list in various ways including 'most recent' so that whatever books you want to go between are at the top of the list anyway.

Linda
 
BenBurch said:
Just put several of the PDF references I use onto it, and this feature works just fine, but the text can be a bit small.
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I drag them over to Calibre and convert them first. It seems to make the text darker and more distinct. I can't stress the usefulness of Calibre too much here.
 
I love my Kindle. I looked at other readers and the screen contraston the Kindle was the best out of all of them. I use a clip on booklight to read at night and it works well. Since I read at the pool and outside quite a lot, visibility was very important to me.

As far as the price is concerned, I think the 3rd gens are out at around $189 which isn't exactly chump change, but when I compared the money I spent on the Kindle to the money I have saved over months and months of paying (at the MOST) $12.99 for books I would have typically paid over $30.00, and more commonly $9.99 for books I would have paid $25 for... it made sense in the long run. Most of the classics are available for free and I get notification of plenty of current freebies, some of which are pretty good...

Also:

You can load any mp3s into the Kindle and play music while you read, which I thought was dumb at first because why the hell would I need music while reading? If I wanted to use my iPod, I'd use my iPod... BUT, trust me, when I have to wait in line somewhere or need to drown out some noise, it works like a champ.

And:

FREE GAMES! :) Every Word and Shuffled Row rulz.
 
BenBurch said:
These things are really cooler than I thought they would be.

Contrast is really good.

The cover with book-light is clever.

I think I am going be spending the weekend playing with it.

So Kindle-owners; Any cool things I should learn about it?
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so you've bought into a scheme where your "book" needs batteries and your books can be deleted on you. Am I the only who sees of the stupidity of the whole concept?
 
mikeyx said:
so you've bought into a scheme where your "book" needs batteries and your books can be deleted on you. Am I the only who sees of the stupidity of the whole concept?
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Well, of course an electronic device will need a battery, but the Kindle's is supposed to last a month on a single charge (with wireless off). I haven't gotten that far because it's so easy to charge--just like my iPhone.

I also didn't like the whole "deleting books remotely" incident, but Amazon apologized and said they wouldn't do that again. Whether you believe them or not, I am willing to live with the risk--I think it's relatively small.

The truth is e-readers aren't for everybody. But I really like the ability to carry a whole library in such a small, lightweight package, and the ability to purchase and receive books so easily and quickly. And the quality of the e-ink is really good--anyone who hasn't seen the latest screens should really take a look.
 
BenBurch said:
Yes. You alone.
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Yup. I would also point out that I pay less than half the price when I purchase an e-book (prices of books are inflated in Australia. It's $11 an e-book compared with up to $35 for a new release paperback).
 
AdMan said:
The truth is e-readers aren't for everybody. But I really like the ability to carry a whole library in such a small, lightweight package, and the ability to purchase and receive books so easily and quickly. And the quality of the e-ink is really good--anyone who hasn't seen the latest screens should really take a look.
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I have found this to be a con as well as a pro.

It's like living right downstairs from your coke dealer.:D
 
Susheel said:
Just noticed something...why does the Kindle have a microphone?
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Part of a new service Amazon are going to be rolling out, it will monitor your conversations 24 hours a day and if say something like "I'll pick up x at the shops" it will automatically order it for you.
 
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