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A great many volumes are free or very low cost.

I have a volume "The Unabridged Mark Twain" I've had for years. I have to be careful while reading it. You don't want to drop it on your foot, and the binding has been used so much the pages are coming out.

I found substantially all of the material in that version in a Kindle version for $3, only because a cheaper version had no search or table of contents capability.

Many of the classics are free.

chasfm11 wrote:I've been researching Kindles, etc and have spent a fair amount of time reading the customer ratings. Those ratings seem to indicate:

1. The newer devices are sometimes (often?) worse than the old devices. The newer Kindle Fire seem to have developed freezing problems among others. The negative reviews seem to consistently recommend "keep your old device, don't try to upgrade." Any comments?
2. The use of storage on the device seems to be an issue for some. On the Kindles, only the base memory can be used to store books. I guess this isn't an issue if you are planning to only keep a book or two on the device with the rest in the cloud.

.....

To this latter point, I want the device to be able to store a pile of books that I can read without having to deal with wifi. ......

I can't speak to newer models, but it isn't true about base memory only for storage. I put an 8GB card in mine, figuring that could store just about everything ever written in English. I probably misunderestimated that, I now imagine.

You don't need wifi, can't use it on this one. If you are out of the cellphone area, like I was in France, you download your book on a laptop, wifi, or hardwired to the internet, etc, then use a cable to transfer it to the Kindle.

You can store other than Kindle books sourced from other than Kindle. You e-mail your material to an address that is youname@kindle.xxx or something like that. I have done that but not in some years. It's not as easy as mere downloading, but it works.

ammoboy2 wrote:I have an early Kindle about 2007/8. I find it still lighter than many hard cover books and the screen is great. It is easy on the eyes compared to back lite screens. The paper white display is very easy to read in a wide range of lighting conditions. They take up very little space and can be used most anywhere. Mine has the US 3g connection for book downloads and I have also directly loaded books from my PC. Battery life is still good, especially if you turn off the wireless connection. My kindle is nearly full, I guess I will have to get a new one when I run out of memory space. It is great for taking on trips to read on the plane. Much better than having to cart two books because you are just about finished with one and need a second on the road.

I have that one. My wife surprised me with it for my birthday when they first came out. I'd never heard of them. What a terrific idea!

I loved it. Every time we went to her village in France, I got stuck paying overweight charges to haul my reading material. No more! It doesn't weigh any more full than it did empty! I put an 8 GB card in it for additional space.

I seldom use it anymore, since I got this iPad. I have the Kindle app, and it works quite well. I have it in my iPhone too. No more reading 30 year old or People magazines in doctor's offices, or standing idly in line cursing at some government office when you can carry most of your library with you.

I used to prefer books, but now not so much. The bio of Harry Truman I just finished was heavy, and I was apprehensive about losing the bookmark. Not a problem on Kindle, or iPad. As long as you keep an eye on charge level, you're good.

Now, I never get sweaters, ties or underwear for gifts. Everyone knows to get Amazon Gift Cards, always my favorite color and never too large!