Sunday, February 27, 2011

Kindle: Pros and Cons

A little over a month ago I mentioned I was starting to become interested in an e-reader and asked opinions. Then, Eric's mom let me borrow her Kindle over my vacation last week. After reading 2 1/2 books on it (still working on the 3rd) and using it for over a week, I thought you might be interested to know my pros and cons of the Kindle.


Before you read you should know that I was a little bit against e-readers because I love books and I am sick of electronics and all the dang cords they carry with them. So I guess you could say I was a skeptic. But alas... I was also once anti-Uggs and anti-Vera Bradley..




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Pros:


1. For travel, an e-reader is clearly the way to go. They take up almost no space in your suitcase and you don't have to plan ahead what you are going to read. Just start reading, and download another book when you are done. Never again will you carry 3 hardcover books and only get through 1 of them... or one hardcover book and have to find a bookstore to buy another one.


2. The Kindle is really convenient to hold and you can easily be doing something else while reading. For example, when I got to the airport on Saturday, I was easily able to eat my bagel with cream cheese while reading my Kindle on my lap. No table necessary. There is also no page turning if you want to read the Kindle on an elliptical machine at the gym. We know I love to multi-task.


3. I love the library and I love bookstores, but it is pretty awesome to have the instant gratification of downloading a book in a matter of seconds. Maybe this would be less of an issue if I didn't have a habit of always sending library books to the wrong library. If I send it to the library near work I will without fail want to pick it up while near home, if I send it near home, I will without fail be doing errands near work.


4. I read faster on the Kindle. I attribute this to the fact that having shorter "pages" makes me think I can read "just one more" and then "just one more." This was a good thing on vacation, might not be so good when I'm back to work haha.


5. Other random things I like about the Kindle include: not needing bookmarks (that I forever lose), how easy it is to see it in the sun (nothing like a computer screen), and being able to see what other people have highlighted in the book (you can also turn this off if you don't want to see it).


Cons:


1. I still do not love the idea of another cord. The Kindle supposedly lasts for 30 days without being charged, but I get edgy about these things. Also, the Nook does not last as long.


2. I do not like paying for books. The books I read over vacation cost me about $15 total, including 1 of the books was a steal at 99 cents! I normally don't buy books often, so that's $15 more than I would've spent. The Nook does allow you to take books from the library on it which is why if I buy an e-reader I will probably buy a Nook. It's shocking to me that the Kindle doesn't allow this yet.


3. It does bug me a bit that I can't go back to a previous page easily. This didn't really bother me until I was reading the book I'm reading now that skips a year or so between each chapter and I like to try to figure out how old the characters are based on the dates... confusing!


Overall I am definitely a fan of the Kindle now, especially for traveling. I probably won't run out and buy one right now mainly because I can't decide between the Kindle and the Nook. I am comfortable with the Kindle and like it now, but the no library books is kind of a deal breaker for me. If you are considering buying a Kindle or a Nook (or an Ipad), I've found some good articles on how to choose between them: Kindle vs. Nook and Which E-Book Reader Should You Buy?


Do you have a Kindle or Nook? What do you think of them? Do you ever get scared that computers are slowly going to take over the world?






15 comments:

  1. I have been debating a kindle for a few weeks now.

    I am not the biggest fan of paying for books either - the library fits in my budget.

    Perhaps another day - or I will ask for one for Christmas - maybe by then the kindle will let you borrow books.

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  2. I don't have one, nor have I used one. I'm sort of still against it. I just want to be a book purist!

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  3. My absolute favorite thing about the e-reader is how easy it is to use at the gym! I used to always try to read a book while on the elliptical or treadmill and would almost always end up annoyed. The gym is pretty much the only place I used it and I almost always have one book that I am reading while at the gym - gets me to work out if I want to know what happens next!

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  4. I've been thinking about getting a kindle, as well. This post was really helpful, I'm looking forward to checking out those articles. Thanks for sharing!

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  5. I was skeptical about getting an ereader too (I have the Sony) but hubs got me one for Xmas and I love it. It was so nice going on vacation with 10 books in 1! I agree on the cost though. :S

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  6. I have a nook and I love it. I agree about how it's annoying that you can't easily page back. also, I wish there was an easy way to see how many pages were left in a chapter! Other than that, I love it and I prefer to read books on it now v. real books because I just love that it's so light/portable.

    And it was obv great for my vacation. I read nearly 5 books on my vacation and if I would have had to cart those around? No thanks! Great review!

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  7. I got the Nook color last weekend and so far I really like it. I like it because it has the internet, games and the ability to load music on it so you can do more than read books. I also love the fact that some libraries will loan books for the Nook so I don't always have to pay for books (I never buy books so it will be an adjustment to have to pay for them). I actually haven't started to read any books on it yet, but am excited to try it out soon!

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  8. I used to be against the idea of the e-reader as well - I didn't want books to disappear. However, I love my Kindle. As you mention, it's the best on long trips that you're going to go through a bunch of books on - I was able to read the entire Twilight series on it while I was in Australia last year and loved not having the extra weight. While you can't get library books on the Kindle, there are TONS of free books available from Amazon - mostly classics but a lot from new, unknown authors trying to get noticed (I've read a number of interesting ones by these authors). Also, just because you have a Kindle, doesn't mean you can't also get library books now and then! I do wish you could "share" your "books" with friends though, like I do with my non-e-reader books.

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  9. I'm awarding you with the 7 facts award!!!! Have a great week :)

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  10. After taking THREE hardcover books home with me at Christmastime I am very pro e-reader. Ha! If ONLY for the traveling aspect of it! But right now I need a new iPod more (only have the shuffle) so that will probably be my next electronic purchase.

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  11. I really love real books but I do agree that not having to carry so many when I travel would be nice! Hopefully I am going to get an ipad soon so that has an electronic book function too. I don't know how I will feel about highlighting and stuff for my textbooks. I wonder if it will be complicated???

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  12. My comment deleted AGAIN. I'm seriously struggling and this time it was actually a worthwhile comment. Oh well.

    I did my big research project on the Kindle vs. the Nook and I STILL don't know which one is better. I think I would pick the Kindle because of its connection with Amazon and the ability to get free books from there.
    If there is ever a time in my life when I'm traveling a lot, I'm definitely getting a Kindle.

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  13. I've told you how much I love my nook, but let me address some of the things that you said. THe nook has a function where you can skip to a certain page or bookmark a page so that you can easily go back to that page. Also, someone commented that they like the Kindle because of the free books. Barnes and Nobles gives away one or two free books a week for the Nook. Also for the charge thing. I don't know for sure if it's 30 days of reading time or 30 days or standby time, but it's super easy to charge (it actually uses the same charger as my Droid phone). I love technology so maybe I'm biased but I love the space that it gives me when i'm traveling and in my room and I don't have to go to the library to check out a book, I can do it from my computer. Just me thoughts ;-)

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  14. I've been seriously debating getting an e-reader but I'm about 90% going to buy a Kindle. (I have about $60 in Swagbucks + Groupons to put towards it.) I just think it's so much more convenient, but I get the most of my books from the library so actually buying books would be a hassle. (I do think they have a lot of free titles? Maybe I'm wrong.) Great review though, Kelly!

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