This isn't going to be a whine about the Kindle per se. I like books in paper... I enjoy holding the book in my hand and having the flexibility to bring it with me in the bathtub without fear of major electronic damage, but I definitely see the benefit of the Kindle. It's lighter than even one hardcover book and I like the idea of being able to change the font however I want. Someday when my kids are older, I'll probably buy one.
But what annoys me is how much books cost on the Kindle. And this is after you've already shelled out a bunch of money for the Kindle itself.
You can't get Kindle books at the library, so the free option is out. You can't buy Kindle books used (I get Amazon used books for about $4 or less). So you basically have to pay the "new" price for Kindle books, even though there's zero production costs.
For example, take the new Sophie Kinsella book I've Got Your Number. It's in hardcover, so it costs about $15 new. Yet the Kindle version is $13. So even though there's zero production cost and Amazon made you pay for the Kindle, you only save $2. Kind of ridiculous.
Moreover, if I wanted to get Kinsella's older book, Confessions of a Shopaholic, published four years ago, the paperback is the exact same price as the Kindle version. WTF?
Kindle books need to get cheaper. Like, now. Until then, I'm officially boycotting Kindle books. Which is pretty easy, since I don't own a Kindle.
I tried to install Kindle for PC with wine but all of the screens from Installation to splash to function have no text. Have you gotten Kindle for PC to work?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I have. It actually works very well and I use it a lot.
DeleteI think some libraries do have a way for you to "rent" books on the Kindle. It might be worth looking into for you.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I love my Kindle. I like not having to hold pages open with my hands -- a BIG plus when breastfeeding. I like that I don't have to wait for the book to be delivered. I like that you can change the fonts. I like that I can now take 10 books with me on vacation (not that I ever go on vacation anymore, but still) and only carry my Kindle. I like that I don't have all these copies of my old books lying around the house collecting and creating dust.
I agree though -- the cost is annoying. On the other hand, obviously I'm willing to pay it since I have multiple times in the past.
When I first had my baby, I was reading constantly (paperbacks). In the last several months, my baby has gotten into a phase where she rips any book out of my hands. So I'm not going to attempt a real Kindle right now. Maybe in another year or so.
DeleteI did try the library option for my virtual Kindle on my computer, but there were these huge wait lists with like 200 people ahead of me. But someone told me the wait lists move fast, so maybe I'll try it.
Oh yeah, I haven't been able to do ANYTHING else while breastfeeding for about 2-3 months now. At first it was that she'd get distracted and forget to nurse. This quickly progressed to ripping things out of my hands. So yeah, no reading while breastfeeding for me either at the moment.
DeleteOMDG encouraged me to get a kindle when I blogged about making the leap. I love my real books, I love holding them and touching them and remembering when I first read them. But, traveling to India with my mom and weight restrictions meant that the Kindle was the single smartest purchase I made.
DeleteBut, I guess I haven't really been buying books which cost so much-I remember bitching about the Hunger Games being so flipping expensive for (honestly) a not very good series. So, I see your point. And it's not Amazon's fault, I think it's more the fault of the publishers, if I'm not mistaken.
Try lendle - lendle.me. There's also a way to loan books to and from people in your amazon account. Not all books are lendable though.
ReplyDeleteyes, you actually can borrow kindle books from the library for free. Wait times for new, "hot" books can be long, but there's usually a lot of other reading material (esp non-fiction) available.
ReplyDeleteI have an amazon prime membership and can borrow a free kindle book (certain titles) for free each month. Plus, I've gotten books loaned from friends, including one with a huge kindle book library.
The iphone app for the kindle is great for times when I'm stuck in line or stuck waiting for something. I ended up getting an actual kindle (oldest style, refurbished, but new from amazon) for $50 w/ an amazon local deal and that's been great for something w/ better battery power and for flights.
Pretty much, although I still love old paperback books, I love the portability and instant gratification of kindle books. I read a lot more now in general due to kindle books since I can read during odd times and don't have to have the forethought to bring a book.
It seemed like at the library, all the books had huge wait times... even the ones that weren't "hot."
DeleteIf you use a Kindle app instead of a real Kindle, you can't "borrow" books from Amazon Prime, unfortunately. Also, of the Kindle books I bought, none of them are lendable. So I'm guessing you can't lend very easily, unless there's something I'm missing.
My library lends Kindle books. That is the only way I will read them because I totally agree with you, it's insane how $$ they are to buy!!
ReplyDeleteI borrow from the Free Library of Philadelphia on my Kindle all the time, FWIW. Also, you can put personal documents on the kindle. There are tons of free book archives online where you can get indie freebies or promotional freebies or classic-out-of-copyright freebies in PDF or mobi format, easily able to send to your kindle or kindle app's email address :)
ReplyDeleteThey have a Kindle Deal of The Day and the books are always under $2. I have gotten many best sellers that way. They have 500 books under $3.99 and there's something for everyone. Also, they have tons of free books; many of which I have downloaded as well. At one point I would allow myself $30 a month for books. And if I planned well, some months I got ten books and some months two. If I didn't see what I liked, I rolled the money over to the next month. Sometimes I did that on purpose because a new favorite was coming out. You can share books w/ others and it's "green" too. I don't really buy any books because I have so many on my Kindle still to be read. But once those are read, my budget will be back in place. If I am not sure that I am going to like a book I will not buy it and watch for it to go on sale list. Just a suggestion. Maybe you can buy one, try it out; buy a few books and see what you think after a month, if you don't like it, return it! I have converted at least a dozen people who felt the same way as you to Kindle lovers. It truly is awesome. But, I understand everyone and their needs are different.
ReplyDeleteA good site for Kindle info is: (http://kindleworld.blogspot.com/).
ReplyDeleteFor complaints about the high prices of ebooks, read this article: (http://kindleworld.blogspot.com/p/lawsuit-against-apple-big5-video.html)
I downloaded the free Kindle app onto my iPhone and iPad. That way I didn't have to buy one.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there are a lot of free books on Kindle, that are still damn good. So I have a lot of those. Things that are long past their copyright, such as Jules Verne, Lewis Carroll, etc. I'll take "20,000 Leagues" or "Hunting of the Snark" any day. And I have no idea how many times I've read them.
I love my Kindle, and there are tons of free/cheap books, but it does annoy me when I want to but a book and I am forced to pay more for it than I would if I bought a used book. The price I pay for convenience I guess.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine is giving me her Kindle (she never uses it) and I'm excited to use it for my textbooks this year. I can get them for around 1/2 the price and I'm losing 10lbs out of my backpack. However, in general, I prefer the feel and smell of a real book.
ReplyDeleteNot only are there tons of free Kindle books, there actually IS a production cost. I have a friend who is an author, and she tells me that the book has to be formatted and edited completely differently for print and Kindle editions.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes pay for Kindle books, but often stick with the freebies. It's a great way to try things you aren't sure about, without feeling like you wasted money if you hate it.
Yes, but the formatting only has to be done ONE TIME forever. So the price of editing a single version of a Kindle book somehow equals the price of millions of pieces of paper and printing hundreds of thousands of copies? I don't think so.
DeleteI'm going to play devil's advocate, and I think this plays into our jobs as physicians. Author's are selling us their intellectual property when they sell us a book, in whatever format. A Grisham book is worth more than a Joe Nobody book because people are willing to pay for Mr. Grisham's intellectual property. Regardless of the true costs involved in "producing" an ebook, the author has a right to payment for their work product. Physicians too are often selling their intellectual property as their work product (yes, I know there's other stuff we sell, but we often are simply selling our expertise and knowledge). We'd be livid if someone came up to us in the park and said, "Can you tell me about..." and expected us to give free medical advice.
ReplyDeleteNow we can argue about the exact price, but I'm pretty libertarian in my economic views, so a book costs what it does because the publisher feels that's the way to maximize their profit. If the product isn't worth (to you) what they're charging, don't buy it. A book isn't food, clothing, or a true necessity like healthcare, rather it's something we choose to buy with any dispensable income we may have.
I don't think we should get the books for free just because there's no printing cost. I just feel that the savings of not printing are not being passed on to us. For example, why does a brand new paperback cost the exact same amount as the Kindle version? Whatever the printing cost is, that amount should be subtracted from the cost of the book. I'd imagine it's got to be at least a few dollars.
DeleteI love the smell and feel of real paper books and I used to live in England where buying or shipping books was easy and not particularly expensive. However, now that I live in New Zealand where paperback books can cost upwards of $30 and there are few bookshops offering little choice the best thing I did was invest in a kindle. No more horror at realising shipping a book here would cost me $60, and I like to be able to jump around in 2 or 3 books at a time, not to mention all the out of copyright books you can get for free!
ReplyDeleteI think some of this depends on your public library. I get most of my Kindle books from the library. (They do have the Kinsella ones, I got one after that post of yours.) I really like it because I can take a bunch with me when I go places. Also, if you do spend time out of the US or Canada, it's a lifesaver to be able to get what you want at American prices, without a month long shipping wait or whatever.
ReplyDeleteAmazon has tons of free ebooks. I go on about every two months or so and download all the free ebooks that sound interesting to me. The free ebooks change once in a while. I have lots of unread stuff on my kindle, have only every purchased one book and for all the others if I start reading it and it truly isn't very good - I just delete it. Most libraries now lend ebooks too, but I haven't tried it.
ReplyDeleteMy parents both got e-readers (kobo and sony) and they both get ebooks from the library only.
Ever since (2 years ago)I started a new job with 100% electronic records and am on computer 9 hours a day, my vision declined 50%. I have no doubts it is a computer screen. My vision has been stable for 20 years prior to that. One of my sons plays computer games, while the other does not (at all). Guess who wears glasses? The computer games son. For that reason I avoid reading on line/screen. Plus it is such a special joy to hold book in your hands and flip pages. I am old fashioned.
ReplyDeleteLately, I've been getting most of my e-books from Project Gutenberg. They have thousands of free books that you can download to your kindle, kobo, etc. None of them are new books, but there are some really good ones on there. http://www.gutenberg.org/
ReplyDeleteI use the Kindle app on my iPad and iPhone, as well as my laptop. I bought Mrs. Dalai a Kindle recently and assigned it the same Amazon ID. Thus, we CAN share books, at least within the family. I haven't yet read the Fifty Shades trilogy...but she has!
ReplyDelete