ebooks

I live abroad and it is very difficult to obtain english books here so I always 'hit' the charity shops on my Uk visits in the hopes of be able to take enough books back with me to last us till our next trip. Now the charges are increasing for baggage, we've been lucky enough to be able to leave UK clothes with my son and travel 'hand luggage only'. This creates a double whammy for us -
1. the weight is quite restrictive, 10 kilos is the top wieght for some airlines or only 5 kilos on others.
2. NO liquids except 100ml. Did you know that tomato paste counts as a liquid?
So we've invested in a couple of tablet pcs and now mainly buy ebooks because I could transport up to 6000 books on one cd! I agree whole-heartedly with the view that there is nothing like the feel of a real book but this seems the only way to ensure we've always got reading matter available. The tablet pc also helps with the 4 hours of flight boredom!
I've also downloaded loads of free books off Amazon and take great pleasure in re-reading some classic books I read many years ago as well as some I've never tried.
I still haven't found a way round the tomato paste problem!

Yeah, I'm popping in and out of the kitchen. Will burn the spuds if I'm not careful!

Yeah - I could get quite carried away if I am not careful. Oh well, I suppose I had better go and actually do something instead of sitting with the laptop. Bye.

Oh, that's good. I downloaded two, and deleted them quite quickly. You obviously do your research better than me. Its so easy to clikc the" download now" button, isn't it?

Jangly - the new author books I have downloaded have been through Amazon and have been well reviewed - I have not had a problem yet, but I take your point.

I think you have to be careful with the self-publshed books. You can end up wasting money and time on some very weak material. I think its safest on the whole if a book has gone through a publisher.

I was given a Kindle for Christmas and I love it. We are off on holiday soon and it will be great to take just one thing and know that I will have enough reading for the week (I am a very quick reader and have been known to get through seven books in the week).

I particularly like the way you can download a sample chapter from Amazon for free - and then download the book if you actually like it. When I first had the Kindle I searched through all the free books and have had great pleasure in reading those old classics which I read years ago - how I enjoyed reading What Katy did, etc. (And I have subsequently discovered that there is another book in the set called, I think, What Clover did next, - haven't read it yet).

I have also downloaded for pence books from completely new authors - so I would say that the Kindle has expanded my reading experience. By the way, am I the only granny who likes science fiction and fantasy books?

I just went onto Amazon to buy Cold Comfort Farm (recommended in the favourite book thread). They want £6.99 for the Kindle version, nearly £2 more than the paperback. Guess what, I decided to buy a used copy from one of their marketplace sellers for 17p. Even with the £2.80 postage that's less than half the price. Its so annoying! grrr

Sony or Kindle? to be honest there's not a lot to choose between them. Both do a fine job and I regurlary use both of mine keeping different categories of books on each.
The Kindle is not tied exclusively to Amazon.
The Kindle ereader takes ''MOBI, TXT, PDF, or HTML" formats.
The Sony ereader takes "LRF, TXT, RTF and PDF" formats.
So any book from any source with any of these formats can be used on the respective ereader.
As long as the format is the correct one for that particular machine, you'll have no trouble at all.
I've not used a touch screen (Sony?) but pushing a button instead of swiping the screen doesn't bother me that much. I suppose the advantage with a push button machine is that you don't get finger marks all over your screen.
I usualy download my ebooks to my computer first, then transfer them to whichever ereader I intend to use them on.

@Liz08 Thanks for the 'heads up' on free library reservations for pensioners. I've been paying 80p for every book reserved so I must challenge them. I guess it depends which county we live in.

@Roger - as I'm considering buying a digital book reader I'd be interested to know the advantages and disadvantages of the Kindle and Sony ereader etc

An author I spoke to said that Kindle is tied to Amazon marketing which is a bit like Tesco - they screw down the price paid to the publisher and only promote the ones that come low enough. So some authors are not getting an airing on Kindle if they don't sell themselves cheap?

my other question is - touch screen or keypad?

I have.....'Kindle', 'Sony', 'BeBook', and 'Cool-er' Ebook readers.
I've not tried my local library yet, I'll have to give it a try.
In the meantime there are thousands and thousands of free ebooks available at a site called "gutenberg.org" or try putting "download free ebooks" into your favourite search engine. There are lots of freebies out there.

I have a Kindle and wouldn't be without it. I don't find the books that expensive and cheaper than the book shop. Most books are about five pounds. It's great when travelling on bus or train. I must admit,though, if I really love a book I will still go out and buy it just so that I have it on my shelves.

I still read 'proper' books but do find the ability to increase the size of texts on my ereader very good. Now I'm used to it I can't say I even notice it as being any different to holding a book...but then I am probably not in the least sentimental about objects...
Lots of free ebooks for sony too but not what I like to read...more modern thrillers are my favourite choice.

Apparently if you have a friend who has a Kindle, there are ways that you can lend each other your Kindle downloads. I'm not sure how you do it though.

(Amazon in the US now feature on their website which books can be lent/borrowed, so presumably that will also be coming our way soon)

I too was considering buying myself a kindle - no point dropping hints to DH for my birthday, I'd end up with firewood... But having read how expensive it is to download a book (I also checked on Amazon) the weekly cost would be too much for me. I'll stick to reserving my desired books at the library online (notified by email). This service is excellent and free to pensioners (the walk does me good too). Talking of Amazon, I find the reviews of books I like, to be very helpful, as reviewers (who seem to share my tastes) sometimes mention other authors that I might not have tried yet.

I was going to have a Kindle as a birthday present, but am not so sure now. I thought that e-books would be cheaper than paperbacks and I have read a lot of the classics that are free. I enjoy modern fiction which I then either take to a charity shop or give in part exchange at a secondhand bookshop.

My library has this service too but I've not been tempted yet...I like to hold a book and part of the pleasure of reading is the physical element. But I can see why ebooks are very tempting for trips etc. - less hassle than trying to fit several books into the corners of suitcases etc.!

There are quite a few places where you can download free e-books too

Another good thing about paper books is that, if you need to go back a few pages or chapters to sort something out, it is much easier than on the kindle. My kindle has a "sync to furthest page read" which is supposed to get you back to your place, but it doesn't seem to work! It can all take ages.

And its no easier to carry around as mine has to be in a sturdy cover or I'm sure I would scratch the screen.

I stll cant give up on paper books. They are so much more yours. You can give them to a friend, give them to a charity or wrap them up for Christmas or just enjoy a bookcase full of books collected over the years. Am i being a bit of a granny?

I agree too yogagran. I don't understand why ebooks should be considerably more expensive than paper books as the publisher is saving on print and paper, neither of which are exactly cheap. There is VAT on ebooks but I thought there was VAT on printed books too, but when you download a book from Amazon it does point out that there is VAT added to the cost of an ebook.

I agree with yogagran about the price of ebooks. Specially as you can't pass them on to anyone after you've finished them. Or give them to a charity shop. Tbh, now the novelty is wearing off a bit, I'm going back to paying a few pence for a used paperback from Amazon marketplace. Ok, its £2.80 for the postage, but still cheaper than the kindle version. And Oxfam benefits after I've read it!

There are loads of free books on Kindle though - and some really good titles. A lot of classics are there for free.

(Sorry, not much use if you have a Sony e-reader, I know!)

I didn't know you could get ebooks from the library

I bought DH a Kindle for his birthday, he doesn't seem to use it - I may discreetly steal it back in a few months.

Agree with yogagran that the price is v expensive.