Amazon Kindle discussion

Hi everyone - I am new to this group because my mother just allowed me to borrow her kindle and I am really enjoying it. I have to give it back next month but there is currently a sale on amazon for the Kindle. I am writing here to ask if you would recommend buying a kindle. I probably read one or two books a month and I usually buy these physical books from the bookstore. What are the pros/cons of the kindle? Additionally are the books on the actual kindle cheaper? Thanks :) appreciate any / all input.

Some Kindle books from the "big" mainstream publishers are hugely expensive (in my never humble opinion) at USD 12-13-14.99. But there are an incredible number of books (at least in the genres I read) at AMZ for USD 2.99 - 7.99.

For years I resisted ebooks, as I had about 10,000 physical books in my library at the time I finally bought my first Kindle. (I've had many, many years of building up that collection.) Since then, except for some particular series I want to finish out in hardcover, I've gone all ebook. I read about a book a day, and take a Fire tablet with me everywhere (not the huge screen) because I read in lines at the store, waiting in an office, etc.

The advantage of a Kindle is that it's reasonably priced, it's easily portable, and you can store hundreds of books, if not a thousand or more (depending on how much memory you buy), all immediately available.

Um...can you tell I'm a reading addict, and have an addiction to ebooks now as well? *s*

However, if your life only permits 1-2 books a month, you might go to Amazon, and see if there are Kindle prices of the books you've bought in the last 6 months or so, and compare the total costs. If the ebook costs are equal to your book purchases, then the Kindle might still be advantageous, and more so over the long haul if the ebooks are less.

Okay, end of lecture. *carefully steps down from soapbox*

Just my USD .02.

Eric

i've had a kindle since they were released in 2007 so yes I find it worth it.

I'd recommend looking at your local library system to see if they offer kindle book loans - then you have the option of buying or borrowing books - there are also services you can sign up for to notify you of ebooks on sale

I had an old kindle keyboard. I loved it. Definitely worth what I paid. Unfortunately it broke five years ago.

I'm on my third Kindle, so I'm a bit prejudiced . . but I do believe in the value of Kindle reading. To begin with, if you're a dictionary person who has to look up unfamiliar words even when you're right in the middle of a book . .. well, a Kindle lets you click through to a dictionary without ever getting out of your chair! There is also the note & highlight capability, if you enjoy doing that. And, as someone has already mentioned, many libraries let you check out ebooks for Kindle -- i.e., free books in 60 seconds. I'd say an inexpensive Kindle might be well worth trying.

plus Amazon has daily deals on books as well as monthly deals. I bought the Complete Outlander series for a grand total of $1.99 (it was a half day sale). You can use ereaderiq.com and add books there to your watch list and then you will be notified when they go down in price

also, it makes my suitcase when I take trips incredibly lighter.

plus, for the last two moves I made, it was a relief not to have to move books. It was my husband's idea that I get one to save his back.

the dictionary, as Ann states is wonderful. I read a lot of Irish and Scottish mysteries and it is a big help in reading them.

and I can carry over 300 books around with me and they weigh less than 1 paperback

and oh, it's useful to be able to increase the size of the font if you need to do so,

I read even more after buying a Kindle (I regularly use two on them - one for my purse and one to read in the house), so you might find the same is true

I was given an old style Kindle in about 2012 and was so sad when it packed up earlier this year, leaving me without access to all the books I'd downloaded over the years. It was so easy to operate, tho' I discovered that the books were sometimes cheaper on Amazon's website than the details brought up on my Kindle.

I had to bring into use a Kindle Fire I've had for some time and it's OK but I don't really like it so much. It's an older model so rather heavy and it's a devil of a job to get the books to download to it. It's backlit which is an advantage since I like to read in bed in the middle of the night sometimes.

But I also now borrow library books on my smart phone, also backlit, and easy to use.

Getting it set up was a struggle but Suffolk Libraries helpline helped me with that. Of course they're traditionally published best-sellers, not like those indie authors would tend to promote on the Goodreads Kindle groups so you'd need a Kindle device to read them. Also you can download a Kindle for PC program, tho' it's difficult to take a PC or laptop to bed!!!

But overall, I'd yes, get a Kindle of some sort. Wonderful devices and you can watch the TV etc on a Kindle Fire..

I have a Kindle Paperwhite (I used to read ebooks on an iPad). All I will say is, I can't imagine life without it now. I also think you will be reading more than 1-2 books a month once you have a Kindle.

Thanks, CBRetriever, for the tip about ereaderiq.com

I have owned a kindle since 2014. I have a kindle fire and I am on my second fire as I just bought a newer one back in December of 2020. I cannot imagine not having one as I love my kindle. I have a slim one that is not heavy and my storage space is 16GB, but with any type of kindle from Amazon you also have unlimited free cloud storage as well. I have over 5,000 ebooks in my Amazon cloud with about 450 ebooks on my actual device.

I don't feel there are any cons to having a kindle really because everything about them is just easy for me. I can read it in the dark as it has the automatic backlight - you can adjust the size of your text, lighting (make the lighting bright or not), background color (my fire has light green, white, black, and beige which is suppose to be easy on the eyes) and just some other different things you can do all within the settings.

With ebook deals you are able to buy books cheap that you would normally pay more for if it was a paperback. I also get books through my library app which is nice.

Also I have moved a few times and now I don't have to worry about packing up thousands of books to transport them. All my books are easy access right on the kindle. :)

as regards the Fires vs the Kindles: Battery life is better on the Kindles and they are easier to read in direct sunlight. The Fires have color though and can play games

Thank you all for the great advice!

yep super convenient on trips for bringing ali g multiple book