Kindel

[b322da]

It's tomorrow and it's Mrs. Oldgringo's 69th birthday.

She now knows about her Kindle and she is excited. She said she can load it up before we head to Montana for the summer and not have to take a crocus sack full of books. (It's not like there isn't a library in Kalispell or Lakeshore ???)

Tomorrow, my beloved can read upon it and be ready when the device is delivered Monday afternoon.

Thanks, y'all.

PS:

We're kinda' proud of our 69th birthdays. Cemeteries, all across the country, are full of people who didn't make it to 69. You listen'...

Congratulations, OG.

I have purty close to 10 years on you. It gets better. You can see why the dear wife and I have not all that much time to read the books we didn't read as youngsters. We always had something else, usually much less important, to do.

Elmo

[Kythas]

Congrats!

I have a Nook, which I chose over Kindle because Kindle doesn't support the .epub format, which every other reader on the market does. This means you are limited to .mobi or .azw file formats natively and can only purchase books from Amazon.com. Readers that support .epub can purchase books from any other source other than Amazon.com.

The earlier suggestion to download Calibre is excellent advice. I use this to convert .pdf files to .epub to read on my Nook. You could use this to download .epub books and convert them to .mobi. Be aware, however, that you can only convert non-DRM (digital rights management) files.

I absolutely love my ebook reader and everybody I know who has one also loves it. The only kickback I get are from people who have never used one and would rather have a bound paper book in their hands. I personally prefer ebooks to paper books now. In addition, I've found that most ebooks are 25-50% less than the printed version of the same book. As an example, President Bush's book "Decision Points" is currently $19.26 for the paper version and $9.99 for the ebook version at Barnes and Noble.

[WildBill]

In addition, I've found that most ebooks are 25-50% less than the printed version of the same book. As an example, President Bush's book "Decision Points" is currently $19.26 for the paper version and $9.99 for the ebook version at Barnes and Noble.

In a few months you will be able to find the paper book at half-price books for $5.00. Once you are done with the e-book, is there any way to resell it to another e-book owner? That is one disadvantage that I see.

[Oldgringo]

In addition, I've found that most ebooks are 25-50% less than the printed version of the same book. As an example, President Bush's book "Decision Points" is currently $19.26 for the paper version and $9.99 for the ebook version at Barnes and Noble.

In a few months you will be able to find the paper book at half-price books for $5.00. Once you are done with the e-book, is there any way to resell it to another e-book owner? That is one disadvantage that I see.

I noticed that too. I looked up a book that I recommended to TAM yesterday. The e-book is $15 and a used paperback is $5.00??? Well, as my old buddy Julius alledgedly said, "alea iacta est."

[WildBill]

In addition, I've found that most ebooks are 25-50% less than the printed version of the same book. As an example, President Bush's book "Decision Points" is currently $19.26 for the paper version and $9.99 for the ebook version at Barnes and Noble.

In a few months you will be able to find the paper book at half-price books for $5.00. Once you are done with the e-book, is there any way to resell it to another e-book owner? That is one disadvantage that I see.

I noticed that too. I looked up a bookthat I recommended to TAM yesterday. The e-book is $15 and a used paperback is $5.00??? Well, as my old buddy Julius alledgedly said, "alea iacta est."

It's kind of like how software sales evolved from floppies to CDs to downloads. At least if you had the software on a disc it had some resale value. If you want to buy some, I have a load of it in my garage.

[b322da]

SNIP [Kindle users] can only purchase books from Amazon.com.SNIP

This is often said by Amazon's competitors, Kythas. But, said with the greatest of respect, it is absolutely untrue, and it libels a fine product. I do not intend to debate this as I simply do not have time to do so, and the other sources are so widespread I would never finish. Once again I will just refer readers to the Kindle forums I cited above.

Should there be any suspicions here, I own no Amazon stock, but I wish I owned a ton of it to go with my 3 Kindles.

Elmo

[Abraham]

"As an example, President Bush's book "Decision Points" is currently $19.26 for the paper version and $9.99 for the ebook version at Barnes and Noble"

... and it was/is free at the library - so I downloaded it into my Ipod clone and listened to it at my leisure as I mushed my way through many a tedious chore.

It was also available at the library via Epub - That being said would a Nook be able to accept it?

Also, how does a Nook stack up against a Kindle for readability, overall quality, etc.

Thanks!

[hangfour]

I love my kindel ... I can't imagine how I got by without it. By the way, the iPhone app that lets me read all the e-books that I've purchased. I like to read at night while my wife is sleeping. The iPhone (with the brightness turned down) is perfect for reading in bed.

[b322da]

SNIP Once you are done with the e-book, is there any way to resell it to another e-book owner? SNIP

No you cannot, WildBill. You do not "buy" the book. Just another case of language unfortunately used loosely.

You purchase from Amazon a limited and defined license to download, keep, read, and, lately, loan the book. You do not own the book.

Of course you can loan someone your Kindle if you wish. So far as the Kindle is concerned, most ebooks, after downloaded, can be accessed from as many as 5 different devices registered to your Amazon account. I, for example, have 5 -- 3 Kindles, and "Kindle for PC" (free) on both my and my wife's laptop. The latter 2 are in color and greatly improve pictures, maps, and graphics of all kinds.

One must make one's choice. However, as said before, more than half the books I have access to on my Kindle were free. Many persons do not care for eReaders, for one reason or another. I would be the last person to criticize them. On the other hand many others, like me, are obsessed with the eReader, particularly for its convenience.

Elmo

[WildBill]

SNIP Once you are done with the e-book, is there any way to resell it to another e-book owner? SNIP

No you cannot, WildBill. You do not "buy" the book. Just another case of language unfortunately used loosely.

You purchase from Amazon a limited and defined license to download, keep, read, and, lately, loan the book. You do not own the book. Elmo

Thanks for the clarification.

[Crossfire]

You have to wonder how long it will be before schools no longer issue books, just an e-reader already loaded with all the books needed for the semester.

And then you have to think of the ripple effects.... backpack makers will go bankrupt. Chiropractors and other back docs will be closing in droves.

We will tell our kids and grandkids about how, "back in the day", we had to haul a 20 lb backpack to school just to carry our books. It was 5 miles, in the snow of winter and the scorching heat of summer, uphill both ways.

And the kids will say "books?" What are "books"?

[Oldgringo]

Each post seems to open another door. What is "Kindle for PC"?

EDIT:

Nevermind

[WildBill]

You have to wonder how long it will be before schools no longer issue books, just an e-reader already loaded with all the books needed for the semester.

And then you have to think of the ripple effects.... backpack makers will go bankrupt. Chiropractors and other back docs will be closing in droves.

We will tell our kids and grandkids about how, "back in the day", we had to haul a 20 lb backpack to school just to carry our books. It was 5 miles, in the snow of winter and the scorching heat of summer, uphill both ways.

And the kids will say "books?" What are "books"?

It's a Brave New World.

Seriously, I have wondered about this whole thing with kids and their backbacks. When they get older there will probably be a disease for deformed spines called "YCWCOBS" Young Child Who Carried an Overweight Backback Syndrome.

[Shoot Straight]

Seriously, I have wondered about this whole thing with kids and their backbacks. When they get older there will probably be a disease for deformed spines called "YCWCOBS" Young Child Who Carried an Overweight Backback Syndrome.

It's good training for the manual labor jobs they're qualified to work after graduating many public schools.

On the subject of lending, b322da makes a good point. There's nothing stopping you from lending your Kindle to a friend while they lend you theirs, like people used to lend physical books to each other back when people had more IRL friends than online "friends" they never met.

On the subject of schools, I'm taking a night class at community college and the textbook is offered as an e-book. However, they charge half the list price of a real book, and there's no resale value. I bought a NEW textbook online for LESS than the CC bookstore cost of a USED book, so I may be able to sell it next semester and recover most of what I paid. The publishers really need to get e-textbook costs down to 10-20% of the real thing to make them competitive.

[WildBill]

The publishers really need to get e-textbook costs down to 10-20% of the real thing to make them competitive.

I think that it's more about royalties and licensing fees than the true cost of "manufacturing" and distributing.

Look at iTtunes and similar products. They "sell" one download song for $.99, where you can buy a CD for the same amount if you purchase the whole thing.