Just got a Kindle.

RobRoy said:
I wonder if there isn’t currently a lending system out there that you can sign up for. Similar, in some respects, to the file-sharing systems like Napster of old, but lending books to each other.
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I saw a site for just that kind of thing the other day... It was still in beta mode, though.

I should have bookmarked it but didn't. I'll look for it again.

ETA: Hey, it looks like I did bookmark it!

http://www.booklends.com/
 
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Number Six said:
It's dawning on me how if you're a person that is in the habit of getting books from the library and reading them and returning them, a Kindle isn't such a great deal. I called the local public library before and now I just called the University library and neither of them do e-lending to Kindles. Some books on Amazon do e-lending but I"m guessing it's mostly not the newer ones in high demand.

In the past I would check a book out from the library, possibly having to wait to get it since someone else may have it already. But when I get my Kindle my options will be to buy an e-version of it or else not read it. Or wait for what will probably be a fairly long time before Amazon e-lends it.

For instance, one book on my list was Bill Carter's "Late Night Wars." It is about the Tonight Show and Conan and Leno and how all that went down. I doubt it's some scintillating masterpiece but when I saw it promoted on TV I thought it looked interesting and I decided I'd add it to my list.

Well I'm about to get my Kindle and I now realize that my options are to pay $12.99 to Amazon have it on my Kindle (as opposed to $15.03 on Amazon to buy a physical book) or else not read it. Yes, if I buy it for my Kindle I'll get to keep it forever but while I anticipate enjoying the book I don't anticipate ever needing to access it again after I read it once.

They ought to have all books available for e-lending but have a fee for newer ones. I'd gladly pay a dollar or two to be able to rent this book for a month on my Kindle and then have it disappear. But $12.99...I kinda balk at that. I've been going to the library to get books for so long rather than buying them I'm realizing that going back into book buying mode is going to be hard for me, as well as expensive.

ETA: It occurs to me that by current my reading habits (borrowing and returning) I'll never fill up my 3,500 Kindle library. Now and then I'll want to buy books to keep for good but mostly I want to use them like I do at the the library...borrow it, read it, give it back and then not have access to it anymore unless I want to borrow it again someday. In addition to having an option of paying a buck or two to e-borrow a book for a month or so, to fit people with habits like me they could also have a version of the Kindle that holds a lot fewer books, assuming that would lower the price. I'm under no illusion any of this will happen, I'm just sayin'.
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You might actually be better with a Nook or Kobo if library lending is high on your list. The book loaning feature is different than library lending.
 
Number Six said:
It's dawning on me how if you're a person that is in the habit of getting books from the library and reading them and returning them, a Kindle isn't such a great deal. I called the local public library before and now I just called the University library and neither of them do e-lending to Kindles. Some books on Amazon do e-lending but I"m guessing it's mostly not the newer ones in high demand.

In the past I would check a book out from the library, possibly having to wait to get it since someone else may have it already. But when I get my Kindle my options will be to buy an e-version of it or else not read it. Or wait for what will probably be a fairly long time before Amazon e-lends it.

For instance, one book on my list was Bill Carter's "Late Night Wars." It is about the Tonight Show and Conan and Leno and how all that went down. I doubt it's some scintillating masterpiece but when I saw it promoted on TV I thought it looked interesting and I decided I'd add it to my list.

Well I'm about to get my Kindle and I now realize that my options are to pay $12.99 to Amazon have it on my Kindle (as opposed to $15.03 on Amazon to buy a physical book) or else not read it. Yes, if I buy it for my Kindle I'll get to keep it forever but while I anticipate enjoying the book I don't anticipate ever needing to access it again after I read it once.

They ought to have all books available for e-lending but have a fee for newer ones. I'd gladly pay a dollar or two to be able to rent this book for a month on my Kindle and then have it disappear. But $12.99...I kinda balk at that. I've been going to the library to get books for so long rather than buying them I'm realizing that going back into book buying mode is going to be hard for me, as well as expensive.

ETA: It occurs to me that by current my reading habits (borrowing and returning) I'll never fill up my 3,500 Kindle library. Now and then I'll want to buy books to keep for good but mostly I want to use them like I do at the the library...borrow it, read it, give it back and then not have access to it anymore unless I want to borrow it again someday. In addition to having an option of paying a buck or two to e-borrow a book for a month or so, to fit people with habits like me they could also have a version of the Kindle that holds a lot fewer books, assuming that would lower the price. I'm under no illusion any of this will happen, I'm just sayin'.
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I am not familiar with other e-readers, but it seems to me that they are now similar to the Kindle in terms of features. If library loans are important to you, it seems like it would make more sense to look at one of the other devices which the public libraries support. However, before you do, check out the list of books which are available for e-lending. The selection my library has contains almost nothing of interest to me, so it wouldn't help anyway.

Linda
 
Keeper said:
Thanks Psi. You're dead right, I used the wireless last weekend and forgot to turn it off. I understand the whole power thing now - although still surprised there was no low battery warning. Not exactly a problem though as I love it.
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Thanks. Could explain MrsB's discharges. Wait, let me rephrase that .....
 
The thing is, I want a big screen (not for indulgent reasons but because I prefer bigger fonts) and AFAIK the Kindle DX is the only big screen e-reader.
 
Number Six, it is because almost universally the library uses EPUB format as those can be shared with many e-readers. Kindle books are a modification of MOBI format, but Kindles can read MOBI just fine. New books published by Amazon are in the modified format which is encrypted with the device's key so you cannot directly share them, hence libraries cannot loan then out.

But many of the EPUB books libraries loan will convert to a MOBI using Calibre.

And many libraries are getting MOBI format books.
 
Number Six said:
It's dawning on me how if you're a person that is in the habit of getting books from the library and reading them and returning them, a Kindle isn't such a great deal. I called the local public library before and now I just called the University library and neither of them do e-lending to Kindles. Some books on Amazon do e-lending but I"m guessing it's mostly not the newer ones in high demand.

In the past I would check a book out from the library, possibly having to wait to get it since someone else may have it already. But when I get my Kindle my options will be to buy an e-version of it or else not read it. Or wait for what will probably be a fairly long time before Amazon e-lends it.

For instance, one book on my list was Bill Carter's "Late Night Wars." It is about the Tonight Show and Conan and Leno and how all that went down. I doubt it's some scintillating masterpiece but when I saw it promoted on TV I thought it looked interesting and I decided I'd add it to my list.

Well I'm about to get my Kindle and I now realize that my options are to pay $12.99 to Amazon have it on my Kindle (as opposed to $15.03 on Amazon to buy a physical book) or else not read it. Yes, if I buy it for my Kindle I'll get to keep it forever but while I anticipate enjoying the book I don't anticipate ever needing to access it again after I read it once.

They ought to have all books available for e-lending but have a fee for newer ones. I'd gladly pay a dollar or two to be able to rent this book for a month on my Kindle and then have it disappear. But $12.99...I kinda balk at that. I've been going to the library to get books for so long rather than buying them I'm realizing that going back into book buying mode is going to be hard for me, as well as expensive.

ETA: It occurs to me that by current my reading habits (borrowing and returning) I'll never fill up my 3,500 Kindle library. Now and then I'll want to buy books to keep for good but mostly I want to use them like I do at the the library...borrow it, read it, give it back and then not have access to it anymore unless I want to borrow it again someday. In addition to having an option of paying a buck or two to e-borrow a book for a month or so, to fit people with habits like me they could also have a version of the Kindle that holds a lot fewer books, assuming that would lower the price. I'm under no illusion any of this will happen, I'm just sayin'.
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You would probably be better off getting an Android ereader. Then you can get apps that will allow you to read just about any format, including Kindle's.

This is the one I have: http://www.cruzreader.com/reader.php. It's not as big as the Kindle DX, but it is bigger than a regular Kindle. If you go to the Cruz Market, there are free apps for both Kindle and epubs. Don't bother with the Borders app unless you have wifi access where you'll be reading -- you can't even open the thing unless you're connected to the internet. Despite what you might read online, there is an app for the Android store available at the Cruz Market. Shop around: it's sold at Borders, but I managed to get mine on sale at Best Buy for only $99.
 
icerat said:
I've never turned off my wireless and it last several weeks before I, yes, get warning dialogues about a low battery.
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Had mine since last Christmas and I leave wireless switched on all the time and I've never had to recharge mine. Probably because I transfer some files via the USB and it's been getting enough recharge from when I plug it into my PC.

(And I use mine extensively - probably a few hours of reading and browsing the store every day on average.)
 
Piscivore said:
That's the question on my mind, too. What can it do the other can't?
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It can pick up an Edge signal in western Kazakhstan that lets it download books from Amazon's site, on a drilling rig where there isn't a wifi router within 50km.

This may have limited appeal to many here, but I'll admit I was impressed.
 
Number Six said:
The thing is, I want a big screen (not for indulgent reasons but because I prefer bigger fonts) and AFAIK the Kindle DX is the only big screen e-reader.
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I'd suggest an Android tablet, you can get one with a 7" or 10" LCD screen and install Kindle for Android or other ebook software. Android has support for less common ebook formats that the eReaders can't display so I prefer it.
On the negative side currently there isn't an Android device with an eInk screen so battery life isn't as good. On the plus side you get access to an awful lot of apps and excellent video playback capability along with more storage options (I'm waiting for my 128GB SD-XC card).

Soapy Sam said:
It can pick up an Edge signal in western Kazakhstan that lets it download books from Amazon's site, on a drilling rig where there isn't a wifi router within 50km.

This may have limited appeal to many here, but I'll admit I was impressed.
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It's part of out cunning plan, as soon as you get used to the service it'll end.:biggrin:



And on a related note, another ebook site for those with particular tastes:
http://kinkforkindle.com/
 
AdMan said:
I saw a site for just that kind of thing the other day... It was still in beta mode, though.

I should have bookmarked it but didn't. I'll look for it again.

ETA: Hey, it looks like I did bookmark it!

http://www.booklends.com/
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It's too bad I'm not an early-adopter, I might have been able to leap on this concept and retire early. :D

Thanks for the site though. It's now bookmarked on my computer as well!
 
AdMan said:
I didn't know there wasn't a warning, but didn't you notice the little battery icon get lower and lower?

I think at some point it also shows that the battery is too low to power the the wireless.
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Personally, I think the battery power icon doesn't have enough contrast. It's a little difficult to make out unless you really take a good look at it. It kind of goes from gray to not-so-gray.
 
Anyone looking for a nice cover for their eReader, I came across this Wired.com review: Cover Stories.

I had actually been searching for a way to contact Artsci, as I loved his Leonardo leather book adaptation. But to no avail. However, another of the cover-makers featured, Randy Belyk of Vintagecovers, said that he would do it if I supplied him with the book. I did find a cheaper version of the book Artsci used at Strawberry Hill, but I would still be looking at over $150 with shipping to Randy, then back to me, plus his fee (which was a very reasonable amount).

I ended up settling on one of Oberon Design's covers, which are quite nice, at about half the cost. They can't do any personalization, but the covers are fairly individualized already, so I think I'll live.

Sometimes it's not easy being this diva about books.
 
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Darat said:
These covers look great: http://www.oberondesign.com/Kindle3.php - anyone got one?
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RobRoy said:
I ended up settling on one of Oberon Design's covers, which are quite nice, at about half the cost. They can't do any personalization, but the covers are fairly individualized already, so I think I'll live.
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I didn't realize you had me on ignore.

Oberon Designs is on the companies that Wired.com features in the article. It's how I found them.
 
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That's a duh moment - I got to the Oberon site from your link but didn't look at the name of the company! So what are they like - how light are they and can you fold the cover back so you can hold the kindle and cover in one hand?
 
Darat said:
That's a duh moment - I got to the Oberon site from your link but didn't look at the name of the company! So what are they like - how light are they and can you fold the cover back so you can hold the kindle and cover in one hand?
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This is the official video from Oberon Design for their Kindle 2 cover (it's also on their site). The only difference is the dimensions, so they haven't bothered to update for the Kindle 3. It's about as heavy as the Kindle itself, so you're packing about as much weight as a paperback book.



Here is a customer review, where she shakes the cover with the Kindle inside around 3:20.

 
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