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Has anyone gone from using a kindle or other e-book to reading physical books again?


madteaparty
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For me the medium usually disappears

 

Yes. If it's a good book the medium doesn't matter. Well, it does because I prefer reading on my Kindle, but I'm reading the author's words, not the paper or electronic pages. For me it's about the author's ability to make me want to continue reading.

 

unless:

 

1) The print is too small or the page too yellowed or the typeface weird - I love being able to control size and style of typeface on the Kindle.

 

Being able to change the font size or adjust the light (on my Paperwhite) is a big plus for me.

 

...I would think in a Zombie Apocalypse, I'd want a Kindle (and its charger!) to take in the car w/me as we drive off for some place of safety... but for a prolonged power outage (or, for our family, Shabbos and holidays) hardcopies are essential!

 

Good points. I think both an ereader and some physical copies of favorites should be a part of everyone's Zombie Apocalypse emergency kit. :D

 

I see an expansion of options, rather than a replacement of existing options for reading/studying/interacting with books... and I find that exciting and encouraging.

 

:hurray:

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I basically only got a nook in order to be able to get books from the library that they only have in electronic format - and most of my reading is books from the library, so I read paper/nook depending on what I can get (and whether I can be bothered to go out to the library if the weather is foul!)

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I received a free Kindle with the purchase of my son's computer so even though I refuse to buy one until the point that they stop publishing paper books I decided to try it out. Filled it up with books I don't care to own physically, and took it to India. Didn't realize you needed not only an Indian adapter but also a step-down-converter to charge it. Fried. My daughter's Nook was also fried, but B&N kindly replaced it. So it is not exactly a foolproof lightweight travel device.

 

For the few weeks I had it, I hated reading from the screen. It hurt my eyes no matter what setting it was on, and always felt like it was going to trigger a migraine. I hated the imprecision of the page turning, sometimes it took three taps to turn the darn page. Hated not being able to hold, smell, feel the real book. It was a small kindle and there were too few words per page. Also being so small, I found it very hard to hold. I usually lay my books across my lap with my knees up, didn't really work with the kindle, so my hands tired quickly. 

 

PLUS and this is a big problem. You don't really own any books you buy on an eReader. They are technically rented and Amazon or whatever store you got them from can remove them at any time or block your account. You cannot transfer them to others as a gift or through sale. I fear this trend is going to negatively affect my library used book sale haul in the long run. :-(

 

I have no desire to replace the fried Kindle. None.

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Over time, thanks to several cross-country moves, physical books have lost their allure to me. I love the idea of an in-home library, but I don't like the clutter and weight anymore. I read on my Kindle almost exclusively now and if it's not available on Kindle, I'll check it out from the library. It's rare that I purchase a physical book anymore.

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PLUS and this is a big problem. You don't really own any books you buy on an eReader. They are technically rented and Amazon or whatever store you got them from can remove them at any time or block your account. You cannot transfer them to others as a gift or through sale. I fear this trend is going to negatively affect my library used book sale haul in the long run. :-(

 

I have no desire to replace the fried Kindle. None.

 

This is why, after I purchase books, I strip the DRM and keep them in my Calibre library.  I paid for them and they are mine to do with as I please, just like a physical book.  I can also change the format of the book to share them or use them on another device with Calibre. 

 

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This is why, after I purchase books, I strip the DRM and keep them in my Calibre library.  I paid for them and they are mine to do with as I please, just like a physical book.  I can also change the format of the book to share them or use them on another device with Calibre. 

 

 

I agree with Apprentice Alf's take on the ethics of this in theory (keep backups for yourself, but don't be a pirate or a parasite) but it gets muddy at times. When I've got a paper book on my shelf that I'm not reading and a friend needs it and can't afford a copy, I can just lend it to them without a lot of soul searching and questioning my own morality. I have bought paper copies for the sole purpose of being able to lend a good book that I already have on Kindle.

 

I also question my morality in giving money to a corporation that is actively trying to prevent me from sharing information with low income families.

 

I'm not judging you and I certainly don't consider myself some sort of a perfect person who knows the "right" thing to do about DRM. I love my PW and ds's Nook ST as hardware and enjoy the advantages of being able to own all my favourite books instead of waiting for my turn at the library and worrying that the library is going to decide that John Holt and the Moores are too old fashioned to deserve space on the shelves. I love not having to worry about paying for a storage unit of lifting all those boxes on and off the UHaul. Sometimes I'd still rather buy the paper copy than wrestle with my conscience, though.

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This is why, after I purchase books, I strip the DRM and keep them in my Calibre library.  I paid for them and they are mine to do with as I please, just like a physical book.  I can also change the format of the book to share them or use them on another device with Calibre. 

 

 

Yes, I love Calibre. I know the ethics are iffy, but I do this for me so I don't have to worry about an ebook disappearing. I didn't own a lot of books before (we have a great library system for being little more than a mid-sized county), plus most of my friends often read different books.They read much more twaddle than I do so I didn't really have anyone to lend books to anyway.

 

 I read on my Kindle almost exclusively now and if it's not available on Kindle, I'll check it out from the library. It's rare that I purchase a physical book anymore.

 

Before I got a Kindle, I rarely bought books because I mostly checked them out from the library. When I found myself checking something out repeatedly I would buy it, but for the most part I just borrowed. I started buying more books when I first got my Kindle because library lending of ebooks in general was still new and my library didn't do it. As soon as my library offered ebook loans, I got on board. Now I'm back to rarely buying books, except that I borrow electronic versions rather than paper versions.

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Yes, I love Calibre. I know the ethics are iffy, but I do this for me so I don't have to worry about an ebook disappearing. I didn't own a lot of books before (we have a great library system for being little more than a mid-sized county), plus most of my friends often read different books.They read much more twaddle than I do so I didn't really have anyone to lend books to anyway.

 

 

Before I got a Kindle, I rarely bought books because I mostly checked them out from the library. When I found myself checking something out repeatedly I would buy it, but for the most part I just borrowed. I started buying more books when I first got my Kindle because library lending of ebooks in general was still new and my library didn't do it. As soon as my library offered ebook loans, I got on board. Now I'm back to rarely buying books, except that I borrow electronic versions rather than paper versions.

Really? One's purchased books can disappear from the cloud according to the whims of Amazon??? I'm a new kindle user and I assumed that once I'd purchased a book it was mine. Not true?

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Really? One's purchased books can disappear from the cloud according to the whims of Amazon??? I'm a new kindle user and I assumed that once I'd purchased a book it was mine. Not true?

 

Unfortunately not. Can and have.

 

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/some-e-books-are-more-equal-than-others/

 

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2012/oct/22/amazon-wipes-customers-kindle-deletes-account

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Really? One's purchased books can disappear from the cloud according to the whims of Amazon??? I'm a new kindle user and I assumed that once I'd purchased a book it was mine. Not true?

 

It's actually quite rare but gets a lot of press when it happens. In one instance it had to do with a licensing fight between Amazon and the publisher. In several cases where individuals said their accounts were deactivated, further research has shown that the individuals weren't completely blameless.

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