Do You Own/Regularly Use an E-Reader?

[Benjamin Sobieck]

I don't, but that doesn't mean I'm not interested.

Wait, let me re-write that. Too many negatives.

I don't, but I'm interested in them. (That's better)

So I want to know if you use an e-reader to digest your crime fiction. My main means of doing so is still paper and the local Half Price Books. If you're not like me, which e-reader keeps your room glowing at night?

Please note, this is an anti-iPad thread. Meaning, don't argue the merits of the iPad. That deserves its own thread. Besides, I've already decided it's a clunker. And it's my thread. So there.

[John McFetridge]

This guy says the tipping point is still 18 months away. So maybe you'll continue selling more and more e-books, Eric. Here's hoping.

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/114921-digital-reading-tipping-po...

[I. J. Parker]

To the best of my knowledge, it didn't start taking off until last year, and it wasn't until last year that Amazon heavily advrtised the Kindle and the books on Kindle. I'd never heard of it until 2009. For tht matter, didn't the first Kindles become available right around Christmas time? 2009.

[Eric Christopherson]

Kindles have been selling since November, 2007. In fact we're on the K2 model already. But it could well be that Amazon spiked its marketing this past year given ereading was heating up, given the ereader competitors emerging.

Also, I believe it wasn't until 2009 that Amazon starting making Kindle apps so one could read Kindle books on the computer or via the iPhone (and now via the iPad), etc. Oh, and over the past year they lowered the price for a Kindle substantially.

[Benjamin Sobieck]

Let's cut to the heart of why I asked this question. Should I get a Kindle, a Nook or a Sony e-reader?

I'm hearing good things about all of them. This makes it hard to choose. Tell me some bad things.

[John McFetridge]

This site might help:

http://ereaderresource.com/

[Dave Diamantes]

I've had a Cybook ereader for a couple of years. I did a lot of research and decided against the Sony and Kindle based on the proprietary software, and I didn't need/want wireless access. I buy a lot of inexpensive ebooks that probably never would have been published if not for epublishing. Some are good, some not so good, a few have been exceptional. I can also download library books for free, and play audiobooks on it. I still buy paperbacks though. I'm glad I purchased it.

[Stacy]

I make love to my Sony Reader until it screams my name. If it weren't a law against marrying electronic devices in Texas I'd marry it. If I can't read it on my reader, I don't want it. I don't read print anymore unless it's a book I must read and it's not available in ebooks. Fortunately all the books I could ever want come in ebook form. If it's just in print, I skip it. I'm the opposite of those who say they love print because it is print. Give me the e-loving baby. Mmm!

Think I'm kidding?

Best Wishes!

http://www.stacy-deanne.net

[J W Nelson]

I griped when my wife got me a Kindle but now I prefer it. Much easier to transport than hardcovers/paperbacks and I can pick it up and read just about anywhere.

[Camille LaGuire]

I read on a iPod Touch. I have apps for Kindle, Stanza, Eucalyptus (a great reader for Gutenberg), and a few others. Reading on a handheld is a much different experience than reading on a computer screen. I prefer my Touch to an iPad or even a Kindle, because it fits in my purse and therefore is always with me. Having my whole library with me at all times is COOL.

If you're looking to buy, you should check them out in the stores for weight and whether you like the look of the screen, adjustability of font size, etc. Also, as I mentioned above, an iPod Touch or iPad has apps most other readers - in that you can access every store but (I think) Sony as if you had their device. Plus a few independent apps. But, IMHO, the iPad is too big for anything but armchair reading, and many people find the Touch too small.

The main reason I still read on paper at all is because often a used book is cheaper, or the book isn't available in electronic format. I buy hardbacks of my favorite books, though. Hardbacks are more than a book - they're an artifact. A memento.

[Jim Thomsen]

I like both.

I like my Kindle because it's a good way to find inexpensive, promising crime fiction that's been self-published. And there are some gems in there, priced anywhere from 79 cents to $2.99. I like supporting those authors, and I hope they'll do the same for me when my time comes. I also like my Kindle because it's an easy and convenient way to read on the go.

I like printed books for the obvious reasons, but I BUY them because I want to support my local independent booksellers, particularly the struggling but utterly awesome Seattle Mystery Bookshop, as often as possible. When I want a new traditionally published book, I suck up the expense on principle.

[Jim Thomsen]

I should also add that even though I'm historically a Mac partisan and am writing this forum post on my PowerBook, I chose to buy a Kindle over an iPad a couple of months ago because I simply believe that Amazon will remain better-positioned than Apple to capture the e-book market (look at the stats on how many people are downloading iPad's Kindle app instead of Apple iBooks app, for instance).

That, and I see the iPad, with all its added functions and bells and whistles, as being somewhat redundant with my 12-inch PowerBook, which is plenty portable enough for me. I like, perversely enough, the fact that Kindle is JUST an e-reader.

Also, I find the Kindle reading experience an easy translation for a lifetime dead-tree-lover like me. (I'm 45, so I'm not one of those raised-on-computers kids.) I probably spend as many nights reading on my Kindle in bed before I turn out the light as I do reading a book-book. I'm glad to find that in middle age, I'm still adaptable with stuff like this, that I can live comfortably in both camps.

[Miriam Pia]

[trembling]....Gosh Mr. you mean you might even want the one I wrote? Its a good story and you can get it through Kindle. An Adventure in Indianapolis. Its about how a lawyer, a fighter, a burglar and priest fight drug traffickers in Indianapolis.