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Kindle or book

(39 Posts)
Sheena Fri 29-May-15 18:18:14

I've had my kindle for a couple of years now and for a long time I was absolutely hooked....loved downloading in seconds my next "read"...but as time has gone on I really miss holding a book, and confess to having now bought several paperbacks and really enjoying holding a proper book once more.

Has anyone else given up on their kindle and gone back to traditional reading?

loopylou Fri 29-May-15 18:23:34

I have I'm afraid blush
But I can access Kindle on my mini iPad so all's not lost! I'm taking it on holiday with me so might get round to reading one of the dozens of downloaded books grin

Charleygirl Fri 29-May-15 18:37:56

I still use both- like Sheena I find it so easy to download a new book in seconds. I am reading a hardback at present, bought in a charity shop. There are two problems with it, it is heavy to hold and also the print is I think font 10 or 12. I am spoiled using my Kindle because I have the print at the correct size for my failing eyesight.

rosesarered Fri 29-May-15 18:50:44

Love my Kindle and do most of my reading on it, plus browsing and buying new books for it.However, I also still buy paperbacks, particularly if I want to lend it to DD's or friends.I can't hold heavy books anymore, so I can buy them as it were for the Kindle.

Sheena Fri 29-May-15 18:50:52

Oh I do agree loopylou, a kindle for the hols is great, as you can take lots to read in one little package so to speak !

I found that I was almost downloading anything ...I'd look down all the cheap books, and to be honest didn't really enjoy many of them. Now, if I'm buying it in paperback I'm more choosy grin

I know we are supposed to be saving the planet and not buying books because of the paper etc. but to me, now, the kindle seems soulless..goodness I'm sounding very deep now grin

Grannyknot Fri 29-May-15 18:56:25

sheena I agree, deep! grin And I agree too, there's just something missing when I read a book on a Kindle. Although I also flip between the two. Some books you just want to hold in your hands properly.

Agus Fri 29-May-15 18:58:56

Initially I thought having a kindle was brilliant but eventually I really missed browsing in a book shop and recently bought three books and enjoying reading a proper book again.

I can access kindle on my iPad which is especially handy for reading in bed when DH has fallen asleep and lamps are off, I then have background light and larger font.

Best of both worlds smile

Mishap Fri 29-May-15 19:02:04

I enjoy browsing the whole of the kindle repertoire - I just love the feeling that there is a whole world of books out there at my finger tips - brilliant! I truly love my kindle and I have had it for years.

loopylou Fri 29-May-15 19:03:45

I daren't read my Kindle in the bath!

annodomini Fri 29-May-15 19:24:14

As Charleygirl has said, the Kindle's greatest advantage for me is that the size of font can be changed to be right for each individual. I love my Kindle though I do have a pile of books by the bed, waiting to be read. There's another on its way from Amazon at the moment - not (quite) all books are available on Kindle.

tanith Fri 29-May-15 19:28:20

I love my kindle and especially now I can access it on my ipad too. I do read books as well as a friend passes me on books that she's bought and read so also the best of both Worlds..

annodomini Fri 29-May-15 19:33:08

sheena, don't worry about the paper used for books. Paper comes from trees grown in sustainable forests, usually in Northern Europe, not from the rainforests which are being depleted for quite different purposes.

pompa Fri 29-May-15 20:23:28

Just as an aside, paper is easier to re-cycle than Kindles. The plastics, chemicals, metals etc are probably far worse for the planet than paper (at least that's why I'm telling Mrs. P she can't have one smile)

loopylou Fri 29-May-15 20:26:07

grin
Spoil sport pompa !
Buy the long-suffering MrsP a mini iPad then she can keep tabs on you here!

Brendawymms Fri 29-May-15 21:19:34

I use an iPad mini with the Kindle app and the Audible app, both Amazon, hundreds and hundreds of books and not a single tree used.
The Kindle and Kindle apps work very well but the Audible app is a nightmare. It's just spat over 100 audio books out and after I has downloaded them again spat them out for the second time.

Grandma2213 Fri 29-May-15 23:38:44

I thought I would miss handling books but since I was given my Kindle I am totally converted. I only tend to read free books and have reread a lot of the old classics, seeing them from a totally different point of view. I've just finished 'To Kill a Mockingbird' last read in my teens.
I love the fact that the print can be enlarged for my failing eyes and the last page I was reading pops up immediately. I have read loads more as it is so easy to pop into my bag and time spent in Hospital and Doctors' waiting rooms is not longer wasted. I was quite annoyed at my last blood test that I was seen very quickly!

Ariadne Sat 30-May-15 07:00:46

I love my Kindle! I remember remarking, last time this subject came up here, on how many of my friends had eventually converted, after the whole "I'd rather have a real book" thing. But, really, both books and Kindles have their place, so it doesn't matter, does it?

CariGransnet (GNHQ) Sat 30-May-15 07:49:25

Both for me. Reference or cookery books - always in print form. The rest...happy to read in paperback but often have to read books in proof form or hardback and then it's SO much easier to read on my kindle. I love a book shop and I love my book shelves but the kindle has helped the piles of books all over the house dwindle a little. I find I read faster on the kindle and I love being out and about or on holiday with an entire library at my fingertips

I ws always hugely anti kindle btw - until I got one as a present. Fully converted!

vegasmags Sat 30-May-15 08:59:25

I love my Kindle, which I've had for several years now. I still own too many 'real' books, which were threatening to take over the whole house at one point. I do still buy the occasional book, but operate on a 'one in, one out' principle. I am planning to downsize in a year or so and it's good to think that thanks to the Kindle, I can still have my library even in a small flat.

farmor51 Sat 30-May-15 11:30:13

Love my Kindle. I do miss the feel and smell of a "real" book, but in the end it is what I read that matters, not the format. I was recently given a hardback book which I am looking forward to reading as it is a new and highly acclaimed one. But I am NOT looking forward to carrying it with me in trains, park etc.!

I usually buy a Sunday newspaper on the Kindle, it is cheaper and I don't have to walk to the shop! But pictures and some parts are missing, and it is by far inferior to a real paper.

coffecup Sat 30-May-15 17:35:47

I have a kindle ...but still love to buy books as well, i can hand on a good book to my daughter and she then passes them round her friends the kindle is good but books still hold the magic feel , some are so good i get them back and reread them not quite the same with the kindle .

whitewave Sat 30-May-15 18:11:33

sheena I so understand and am exactly the same. I have a kindle which is so good but I miss books - the smell, the feel and the look. Now I have the problem of knowing that kindle books are generally cheaper unless you can find them in a charity shop, so always feel guilty about buying a book as apposed to a kindle book.

henetha Sat 30-May-15 20:04:02

There is room for both. I love my Kindle, but still borrow books from the library regularly.

AshTree Sat 30-May-15 22:10:17

I love the Kindle for 'story' books - novels or biographies, and don't think I'll go back to print books. I know what other posters mean, though - I do miss browsing in bookshops and coming home with a bag of books to read, all shiny and new, clean and soooo tactile. Oh and that smell! And I agree that I was probably much more selective in the old days, choosing my books carefully and rarely buying something I ultimately discarded. With the Kindle, however, I buy at the drop of a hat and have bought some real rubbish, which then gets abandoned 2 or 3 chapters in. But I have also found some absolute gems, that I possibly wouldn't have found in a bookshop, chiefly because of the 'Kindle Daily Deal' which brings quite a variety of books to one's attention. And given that these selections are cheaper than the average magazine, I don't mind risking them.
Reference books, however, must be in print form!

feetlebaum Sat 30-May-15 22:22:57

Kindle all the way for me - I do have a paper novel on the go as well (re-reading a Pratchett) but it's nowhere near as convenient as the tablet. I now have two Kindles - a while ago I thought I had broken my first one, as it wouldn't communicate, so I hurriedly bought a Paperwhite version. Then idly fiddling with the original one I got it going again! So I'm feetle "two Kindles" baum...

The convenience of having a library in my pocket is wonderful.