I also don’t have to lug around several different books on trips anymore just because I’m uncertain about which book I might want to end up reading. Now I can bring however many ebooks I want (Sony Reader can potentially expand to 10 gb of space which is hundreds of thousands of books).

I wish I had the Reader when I traveled to India for two months. I ended up packing over 10 books, which was a huge strain. Though I read many of them during my trip, it definitely did not go well with my goal to travel light with a backpack. If I had the Reader, I could have taken way more books with me without the weight and space.

My only regret is that my local library can’t/won’t “rent” out e-books for the Reader (or the Kindle or anything else). Apparently these e-books can only be viewed on the respective site with some kind of login/password. I’ve never been able to figure out the weird system. So I admit that I generally end up downloading these books for free.

+ bookworms that travel
+ readers who want larger print
+ a handheld reader for free books
+ saving money on volume reading

I still buy regular books, audio books, pdf books, so the Kindle is just extra way to read and not a book replacement.

Jim

Until then, a real book, my scanner (with feeder) and http://textonphone.com and a few minutes’ work will get me much farther than the Kindle will.

Infopackets.com posted this link (warning: LONG url!): http://www.friedbeef.com/2007/04/09/best-places-to-get-free-books-the-ultimate-guide/
for the best places to get free books–34 sites submitted by readers. Includes audiobook sites and book exchange sites as well.

Thanks, Jason M. Blumer

I thought the menu system was pretty good for the limitations of the system. E-ink isn’t like a computer screen.

I would recommend that anyone considering a Kindle wait until they see one in person first. They are a quirky little device. I showed mine to a couple recently and they both liked it, and I expected them not to like it. So there’s no telling how you’re going to react.

I don’t know much about the Kindle and haven’t used one by Scobleizer gave it some bad reviews when it first came out.

Check it at: http://scobleizer.com/2007/11/25/dear-jeff-bezos-one-week-kindle-review/

Has it changed, or does it still seem to be easy to use? Just curious.

Thanks, Jason M. Blumer

They are good for collecting hundreds of classics in one place and jumping over to other books to just get the feel of how another book reads for comparison purposes.

And like you said, electronic readers aren’t good for the beach or the bath. I consider mine a magnifying glass or instant larger print book maker. I have a very specific need.

I’ve yet to connect my Kindle to my computer with the USB cable. I keep meaning to, but it’s much easier to pay Amazon a dime, or is it quarter, and send it by email. But that’s only for documents you create yourself or download from the web. For instance a free Gutenberg book.

Jim

keep telling myself that part of that money is for unlimited cell phone access to Amazon.

What do you mean by this? Are you talking about the ability to browse the Amazon store from the Kindle?

The text on the Kindle is sharper than the eBookwise Reader, and can be larger. Although if you are happy with the eBookwise Reader, I’d stick with it until it breaks. $399 is a lot of money for a reader. (I keep telling myself that part of that money is for unlimited cell phone access to Amazon.)

The eBookwise reader is heavier, but the Kindle is full of buttons, making it harder to hold. I put mine on a reading stand and just reach up and press the next page button when needed.

Jim

It is not unusual for me to buy a book, read it, and donate it to my local, criminally under-funded, library. It’s also not unusual to borrow a book from the library, then go out and buy a copy for myself. Either way, the library is a large part of my reading “cycle”. When I can borrow books for a Kindle from the library, I’ll get one. Until then I guess I’ll stick with ink and paper.