Nooks or kindles and what are the pros and cons of owning these?

[JadeOrchidSong]

An 8 yr old girl at my little church has a nook as Christmas present from grandparents and showed me what she has on it. All the classics and the Bible are on it for free!

Do you or your dc have nooks or kindles? What are the pros and cons of owning these?

I really want to get one or two. Should I get one for each of the children or just one for them to share? It will come in handy when we travel for a month away from home.

Thanks!

[joannqn]

The con of owning just one is sharing. We gave one to my daughter for her birthday. Dh and I have been borrowing it from her. Trying to figure out the logistics of three people reading the same book at the same time has been interesting.

[usetoschool]

I have a Kindle Touch 3G/Wifi - I wasn't sure I would love it but now that I have one it goes with me everywhere. I am a piecemeal reader and I like having all the books in one place, book marked where I left off. I can read whatever I am in the mood for at the moment. I also love that I can send any pdf file to it (and convert it to Kindle format if I want). I have a lot of lists and school work on it now in addition to books.

 

I also like looking up words and people as I am reading instead of making a note for later.

 

My son has a college textbook on it and takes it to class. I think we may end up with more than one. But my younger son has an iPod with a Kindle app and even though it is small, he reads on it. I also have a Kindle app on my laptop. Even though they aren't e-readers, we have multiple places we can read and share books. I already have physical copies of most of the books we will be reading for school since we have been doing this so long, so my son mostly reads the hard copies. If you were just starting out and didn't have many books it might be nice to have multiple Kindles. As I come across free versions I get rid of the hard copy and get the Kindle version. Some books we will keep because we like the illustrations.

 

I have a cover with a light built in so I can read anywhere, anytime.

 

Wifi is hard to come by around here so I got the 3G and wifi model.

 

(Can you tell I am kind of excited about it? :lol:)

[SailorMom]

My DH, my DS, and I all have our own Nooks. Mine is a "Simple Touch" Nook, and DH and DS's are the original Nooks.

 

They are wonderful. I would never be without one now.

We don't go for the Color ones (or Kindle Fire) as to me that's a small, under-functioning IPad with a different name.

The whole point for us was to have a dedicated e-reader with an e-ink screen that didn't give us headaches (as a back-lit screen will do).

 

You can get great deals on books, lend them out, libraries are now have lending programs, etc.

 

I thought I might miss the feel of a book - but once you've had a Nook for about a week, you don't even notice it anymore :)

[Starr]

Everyone needs one if you want to share a book. I like to read with my kindle at night. I can adjust the print size for tired, old eyes. But I was looking at a book to buy and realized I wouldn't be able to share it with my dd unless she took the kindle for a while.

[Word Nerd]

I have a Kindle Keyboard and love it. I have the Kindle app on my iPad and use it too, but I prefer using the Kindle device for reading everything except books with color or illustrations. I assume the Kindle Fire and Nook Color would have similar issues as my iPad with glare, especially outside.

[LNC]

My 12yo wants one for her bday to look up vocab while she's reading with one click!

[melmichigan]

My MIL has one of each. She uses the Nook for magazines and to play games on. The Kindle is what she uses to read. I and my 3 oldest DC all have Kindles, specifically because they are not backlit. I am limited to how long I can read on a backlit screen, it bothers my eyes and gives me headaches. I can read all day long on my Kindle.

[merry gardens]

I love my kindle. One of my favorite features is the built in dictionary that can scroll down to get the definition of words in whatever book I'm reading on my kindle.

[Forget-Me-Not]

My son (almost 9) loves to read on the Kindle. We were having trouble getting him to read much, but the Kindle changed that. I'm not sure if it's the technology (he loves to read in bed with the booklight :D) or if it's the fact that it's lighter and less bulky than a chapter book and he can increase text size, but we're going with it for now :)

[Forget-Me-Not]

I love my kindle. One of my favorite features is the built in dictionary that can scroll down to get the definition of words in whatever book I'm reading on my kindle.

 

Me too! When I'm reading a regular book, I feel lost without that feature!

[Lolly]

I am about to purchase our 4th Kindle. For us, the real plus is just having to purchase one book for everyone to read for school. We each read it on our own Kindle, it holds the place for each reader. Of course, many classics are free on top of that. I also like that it doesn't weigh much and is easy to carry around!

[crazyforlatin]

There is no con! :D

 

No, really. Unless your daughter eats while reading, as mine does, then rules have to be laid down. DD enjoys her Kindle immensely. She's young so there are many books I will not allow her to read due to font size. Now however, there are so many library books available for us to borrow on the Kindle that I let her read to her heart's content. Within reason of course, or math would not get done here.

[KarenNC]

We have two Kindles (first generation) that were passed down to us from my in-laws. We've had them for a little over a year now and we almost never use them. I honestly couldn't tell you where they are at the moment as the last time we used them was when we went to the beach for a week with my in-laws in September. I like the e-ink quite a lot, and it is easier to read and hold, but it hasn't replaced regular books for any of us.

 

One thing I have not liked, but which may be only an issue with the first generation, is that there's no way to categorize the books so that it's easy to look in a specific genre, or for which ones have been read, etc. The first gen ones also won't play the games that are available. I do like that the first gen ones have the memory card slot, which newer ones don't have.

[Word Nerd]

 

One thing I have not liked, but which may be only an issue with the first generation, is that there's no way to categorize the books so that it's easy to look in a specific genre, or for which ones have been read, etc. The first gen ones also won't play the games that are available. I do like that the first gen ones have the memory card slot, which newer ones don't have.

 

I have different Collections (categories) set up on my Kindle (3rd gen).

[crazyforlatin]

I have different Collections (categories) set up on my Kindle (3rd gen).

 

The 3rd gen allows different categories and I am in the middle of reorganizing books into different genres. I didn't know that this feature existed until I started playing around with the toggle button. I had a 2nd generation one that recently broke, and was outside the warranty period, but amazon was really great at getting me a replacement for a substantial price reduction. I wonder if the 1st or 2nd gen Kindles have this feature.

[Brigitte]

I have a Kindle Touch. I love it, but it did take some getting used to. I can read to my heart's content in the middle of the night with just a book light. It is very easy on the eyes. The one draw back with the reading the Touch in bed is that I have two cats who love to cuddle and they invariably manage to touch the screen either advancing the page or turning it back. :glare:

[KarenNC]

The 3rd gen allows different categories and I am in the middle of reorganizing books into different genres. I didn't know that this feature existed until I started playing around with the toggle button. I had a 2nd generation one that recently broke, and was outside the warranty period, but amazon was really great at getting me a replacement for a substantial price reduction. I wonder if the 1st or 2nd gen Kindles have this feature.

 

The 1st ones don't (or so I'm told by my tech-loving in-laws who gave this to us when they upgraded ;)). I don't know about 2nd gen, but I thought it was a feature at least with the newest ones. You can also play games, etc on the newer ones. If I had the collections feature, it might be more useful to me. As it is, I have hundreds of books that I got for free, but still never use it. I'm personally drooling over an iPad, so it isn't that I don't like the new tech options, but I've also got an ancient cellphone, etc, so I may be outside the norm here. ;)

 

I have to say the battery life on the Kindle is great. I understand that that is not the case with the color versions of either the Nook or the Kindle.

Edited February 3, 2012 by KarenNC

[crazyforlatin]

 

I have to say the battery life on the Kindle is great. I understand that that is not the case with the color versions of either the Nook or the Kindle.

 

Very true. I have the Kindle Fire and I do have to charge it every evening. I think that as long as you shut off 3G on the Kindle Keyboard, the battery will last a lot longer.

[Lady Florida.]

There is no con! :D

 

 

 

:iagree: I love my Kindle Keyboard. Ds loves his Kindle Touch. DDIL loves her Nook Color. I just think e-readers in general are wonderful.

[Mergath]

I have a Kindle Touch, and I love it. I take it everywhere with me.

[NittanyJen]

The con of owning just one is sharing. We gave one to my daughter for her birthday. Dh and I have been borrowing it from her. Trying to figure out the logistics of three people reading the same book at the same time has been interesting.

 

My boys each got a Nook Simple Touch for Christmas from Grammy. We set both devices to the same account (perfectly legal). Buy a book, it appears on both Nooks; if they both read it at the same time, it even keeps their bookmarks separate.

 

My 8YO figured out shelves, and has separated out his books, brother's books, and shared books.

[Elizabeth in MN]

I own a Nook because I find the business practices of Amazon to be questionable. When I need a book *now* I go to Barnes and Noble. When I need a book at some point and cheep I go to Amazon.

[Forget-Me-Not]

The 3rd gen allows different categories and I am in the middle of reorganizing books into different genres. I didn't know that this feature existed until I started playing around with the toggle button. I had a 2nd generation one that recently broke, and was outside the warranty period, but amazon was really great at getting me a replacement for a substantial price reduction. I wonder if the 1st or 2nd gen Kindles have this feature.

 

My 2nd Gen allows for subcategories, but it was a software upgrade that showed up after I'd owned it for several months.

[anewday]

I have a Nook - just got it this past summer. Meh. It sort of drives me batty. At least half the time, I can always find a book I want on Kindle and they don't even offer it on the Nook. GRR. And I haven't figured out the secret code for how to borrow library books on my Nook. From what I can tell our whole library system (which is huge) has like, 11 books total on the Nook. :glare:

 

I rarely use it.

[mamajag]

I have the kindle app on all of our iDevices, and we have saved enough in books since Thanksgiving to pay for my oldest daughter's iPod Touch. When we go through WWE, if an excerpt looks interesting, many times it is in the public domain and free. If I had to pay for a dead tree book it would be much more expensive and I would have to be much more cautious about which books to get because of monetary and space considerations. We are going to get her a Kindle, though, because she reads so very much on it and I am worried about her eyes on the iPod Touch.

[weddell]

We love our kindles! We bought one for 6yo dd this Christmas. She is a good reader and can really go through books quickly. I love that I can choose higher level books but make the font a larger size so that it is easier for her to read. I used the dictionary feature once when she and I were reading together on her kindle and now she uses it on her own to look up words or pronunciations while reading! She really liked how the dictionary broke down words into syllables for you! We are using AAS and have been talking about syllables.

 

Our situation is a little out of the ordinary, although I know other people on the board are doing something similar. We are American but are in the middle of spending 2.5 years in India. We did bring a lot of books with us (mostly kid books), but having the kindles is SO NICE when you are traveling! It's perfect for dd (and us) to only need to bring one, thin "book" and have endless reading material.

 

The differences between a Nook and Kindle aren't really as big as most people would have you believe. You want the grayscale "e-ink" model of either. Amazon has a few different e-ink models. Both can check out library books. To see if your local library has downloadable ebooks, check their webpage for something like "ebooks" or downloadable media and see if they use Overdrive as their provider. I love the library feature!

 

Some people like the nook because they can get help directly in any Barnes and Noble store. People like to point out that BN does a free book every Friday, but I have found that as soon as BN marks the books free, Amazon almost always does the same but doesn't advertise it. You have to check for the identical edition though.

 

Amazon does sometimes have better prices and selection, but the vast majority of prices are set by the publisher and are the same for all ebook stores. Amazon does run some deals that BN doesn't seem to match. Both sites run an ebook deal of the day.

 

One reason to choose a kindle is that if you get one of the 3g models you can download internationally (and of course within the US) without wifi. Most people gt by just fine with wifi only and in fact the kindle we bought dd is wifi only while ours have 3g.

Edited February 3, 2012 by weddell

[Candid]

The con of owning just one is sharing. We gave one to my daughter for her birthday. Dh and I have been borrowing it from her. Trying to figure out the logistics of three people reading the same book at the same time has been interesting.

 

But wouldn't this be a problem with a regular book? I guess an extra part of the problem is the device resets the last page read to each changing person whereas in a real book, you could put three bookmarks in.

[Lizzie in Ma]

I have an original Nook, A Kindle 3 and an Android Tablet and phone and I've used them all for reading.

I vastly prefer my Kindle with keyboard to any of the others for reading.

There are tons of free books out there and you can add audiobooks onto any of the devices as well. You can also get some library books for the ereaders, though it is far more simple to do on the Kindle than the Nook, unless they've recently changed it.

They all have handy built in dictionaries, which is nice too.

My teen loves her ereader but my 11 year old refuses to use one, she is a traditionalist, lol.

The ereader Kindle also has some pretty neat games for an eink device, an often pleasant diversion though I mostly game on my tablet. The original Nook only had chess and Sudoku.

I highly suggest a case to keep whatever you get safe.

Feel free to ask specific questions if you have any more, happy to answer.

[Photo Ninja]

Con -

 

Each person needs his own. Well, this might not really be a con because they are great to own. I wouldn't want to have my dc share one. I envision arguments over who gets to use it.

You have to charge them. They hold a charge for a long time, so it's not bad.

Need to be linked to a cc, so you need to instruct your dc not to buy unless you give them permission. I don't know about the Kindle, but with a Nook you don't have any option to remove the cc even if you always purchase with a gift card.

Depending on what you want to read, you may find yourself wanting ebooks of the same books you have on your shelves, for convenience

There are some unsavory ebooks available, often advertised. Set some ground rules on searching for ebooks.

 

Pro -

 

Easy to carry around, small, light

You can carry hundreds to thousands of books with you

Many books are available free

Dictionary feature

Gift cards make wonderful gifts for an ereader owner

 

I have a Nook Color (love it!) and two of my dc have Nook Simple Touch. We all use them a lot, and all are very happy with them. My dd is happy because she couldn't take all her books away to college, but she has many of them as ebooks, plus all the classics she can find. Two of her roommates, avid readers like dd, liked her Nook Simple Touch enough that they asked their parents for one for Christmas. Ds loves that he can carry around books on his Nook that are 400-500 pages long and very heavy in paper version, but his Nook easily slides into his backpack and takes up very little space. Plus, there are loads of G. A. Henty books available free as ebooks, and he likes Henty's books.

[Kim in Appalachia]

is that if my library doesn't have the book available for Kindle I don't want to read it. :tongue_smilie: (I do want to read it, but I really, really want it on the Kindle). I don't want to drag books around.

 

I travel a lot and I like being able to stick my Kindle in my purse and have it with me wherever I go. Almost everything I read comes from the library and being able to check those books out from home is awesome!

 

The other thing that could be a negative is that I am more tempted to buy a book I want. After all, it's only a click away. But I have fairly good self control and don't click. :D It is very tempting.

 

Otherwise, I think the thing is great. My sister has a Nook, I have the Kindle, both are nice.

[vonfirmath]

My son (almost 9) loves to read on the Kindle. We were having trouble getting him to read much, but the Kindle changed that. I'm not sure if it's the technology (he loves to read in bed with the booklight :D) or if it's the fact that it's lighter and less bulky than a chapter book and he can increase text size, but we're going with it for now :)

 

I LOVE to read. But somehow with my kindle I have found the same thing -- I'm getting more reading done. More books i may never have picked up otherwise.

[jewellsmommy]

I was very hesitant to take the e-reader leap. My mother had wanted to buy me a kindle Christmas 2010, but I wasn't sure that I would use it. Well, Christmas 2011, I gave the go ahead. I am so glad I did. She bought me the Kindle touch, and I really do like it. When someone mentions a book, I look it up and can get it on the spot. I have a game or 2 on there as well.

 

I love that I can put pdfs on the device. Our WWE is on my kindle now.