Kindling

I've got Kindle software installed just about everywhere now--on the iPad, on my phone, on two laptops.  Heck, I've even got an actual Kindle.  Now that I've been kindled for about a year, what's the result?

1.  I use it for books I wouldn't normally keep.  I've yet to think of Kindle e-books as mine--since, strictly speaking, they aren't mine at all, just a lease that permits me to access them.  Ergo, my Kindle purchases have been almost entirely of the "read it and toss it on the free books table" variety: genre anthologies, detective fiction, etc.  The obvious downside is that students are no longer inheriting random anthologies involving zombies or the latest Charles Todd mystery. 

2. It's more convenient for hefty texts.  It's far easier for me to lug around the latest Datlow/Dozois/etc. genre anthology on, say, the iPad than it would be for me to pack one of those monsters in the flesh (er, the paper).  Presumably, a Norton Anthology would be less liable to cause permanent bodily harm in e-book form. 

3. It has yet to be worth investing in monographs on Kindle.  Sure, there are some recent instances of academic e-books (e.g., from Continuum, or what used to be Continuum) retailing at $14.95, and I just saw a book of interest for $9.99.  But...$60+ for a book that I won't own? And that I can probably get at half the price if I just wait around for a secondhand seller?  Whatever for?

4.  Search vs. browsing.  On the one hand, the search function is helpful, especially when I'm trying to write a blog post.  On the other, casual browsing around in the text feels far more difficult.    (In general, I don't find that e-books affect my actual reading speed.)

5.  My hardcopies don't run out of power.  Requires no explanation. 

 

Comments

[Laura Vivanco]

Re "the search function is helpful," if something's available for the Kindle but you have a hard copy have you tried searching it via Amazon's "search inside" feature on the page where the book is offered for sale? Obviously you can't always get the full quotes that way, but if you have a hard copy then you can use the "search inside" to locate the right page in the hard copy and that can be more helpful/faster than using the book's index.

You can do the same thing at Google Books if an excerpt's available there.

[Mr Punch]

In Brockport you presumably miss out on one of the greatest advantages of the Kindle: use on public transportation. On my daily commute by bus and subway I find the Kindle much easier to handle than a book, while reading and in my pocket.

[Catherine Pope]

I find one of the greatest boons the ability to increase the text size, especially when my eyes are tired after a hard day's reading.

[Miriam]

LV: I've done that occasionally, although Amazon's search function is sometimes less helpful than it appears.

Mr. P: True, but it's helpful for long airplane rides...