Kindle - Muscatine,IA

My friend has one and adores it! She's a very big reader and didn't think she would like not holding an actual book in her hands, but she loves it! Never leaves home without it actually. You can read books, magazines....all kinds of stuff. Lots of things are free and not everything is $9.99. There are cheaper books too. The only complaint she has is that it isn't backlit. So, you have to have light in order to read it. However, I think the new Sony one IS backlit. Therefore, you can read it in bed at night without having a light on in the room. =0)

My Mom, has a Kindle.... she LOVES LOVES LOVES it and uses it.
It is real great.
She shows all her friends..... they got one too!
It is real portable, easier to tote around than a 'book' and you can adjust the font size too and bookmark it/pages too.

There are a lot of free books to read.... real easy, and LOTS of selections.

good luck,
Susan

I love mine, but like you say it can get expensive buying books. I haven't been to the library much since I got my Kindle and I used to go ALL the time. Yes you can save the books for rereading. As for the free books, you can get the classics for free - Sherlock Holmes, Oliver Twist, etc - so maybe you'd want to read them, maybe not. I got Sherlock Holmes because I've always loved it and I got a few Charles Dickens thinking I ought to read them but then never did.
Several things I like about it:
When you're reading in bed or where ever once you get your book positioned comfortably that's it, you don't have to reposition it every time you turn a page. Not a huge deal perhaps but I do most of my reading in bed and it's nice to be able to just curl up and totally relax. (Okay, maybe I'm getting lazy.)
When we go on vacation I don't have to lug an extra bag of books with me nor do I have to worry about loosing library books.
The screen doesn't scratch easily. Mine is over a year old and has no scratches thus far, I do have a case for it but I've dropped it with the case open.
It has a built in dictionary that will tell you the meaning of whichever word you move the cursor to. Pretty neat stuff. I can generally figure out the meaning of words based on context but it's fantastic to be able to find the exact meaning of a word without having to get up and find the dictionary.
Things I don't like about it:
It is expensive to keep buying books at the rate that I read them. I feel like (okay, I KNOW) the Kindle has made me lazy about going to the library. Also, once you buy a book there's no way to return it if you hate it.
It's hard to tell how long a book is or how far into it you are. Sure it'll say you're 35% of the way through whatever you're reading, but 35% of WHAT? Maybe I just haven't figured this part out and it makes sense to someone else. But with a book you have a solid something to hold in your hand and you can see how big it is and how much farther you have to go. Ever think, "I'll read to the end of this chapter"? Not so easy with the Kindle. Yeah, you can bookmark where you're at and then flip ahead but that's more complicated than turning pages somehow.
You can't loan books to people (which is both a pro and a con I suppose as some people I know don't return books). Especially annoying, though, was the time I read a book on my Kindle that was so good I wanted to have my husband read it and I actually went out and bought a hard copy so that I wouldn't have to share my Kindle with him. Yes, I could have gotten a copy from the library but I actually wanted a copy of the book because that seems more real to me.
Something my uncle and I were talking about when I saw him a few weeks ago - When you go to someone's house and check out their book shelf you get an idea of who that person is and the kinds of things they're interested in. It gives you a conversational jumping off point and looking at someone's book shelf isn't considered rude or pushy. You really can't do that with a Kindle (or any other eReader) unless they invite you to look or you ask. Somehow that's more personal.
Also with the Kindle you miss out on all the cover art. The one I have (which I think is still the most recent model) is black and white display so even if the publisher includes any photos etc in the e version of the book they aren't the same as if you had the hard copy.
The Kindle doesn't smell like a book.

I think I might like to get one for Christmas, to bring with me on vacations or keep in my purse for times when I get stuck in line somewhere.

But I am an avid reader and I will continue to get books from the library every week, and to buy some occasionally. I like the look of my bookshelf, that shows who I am with all the books I have read and loved, and I like the feel of a book in my hand.

My father has one and he loves it. My husband and I have the Kindle app for our iTouch (much cheaper), and that is what we use. It's smaller, of course, so possibly harder to read, but I couldn't justify the extra money for a real Kindle when the iTouch does the same thing very well.

I am also wondering if you can use an Ipad for reading...

I LOVE my Kindle. Its so easy/quick to read a chapter with the Kindle. I have pulled mine out while stuck in traffic, doctors office, out of town travel, amenity center pool, dd tumbling class, beach, cruises. Lets just say, I never leave home without it. Please invest in a case. Just a suggestion, for holidays such as mothers day or my birthday....my hubby always have our 5yr old daughter to give mommy an Amazon giftcard to apply to my amazon account, makes for easy shopping. I can also say, becuase of my Kindle, I have expanded the types of books I read. Totally worth the cost. If you get and don't like, you can easily sell it on Ebay or Craigslist.

thanks you for the post!
My husband is getting me one for my birthday. He thinks I don't know. I've wanted one for a while.

I love my kindle - it was a great surprise gift from my husband. I've never looked to see if there are free books, but I don't think I've ever bought a book over 10 dollars. As far as it not having a backlight - it's actually pretty good because then you are able to read outside, on the beach, etc. You just need a light if you're trying to read it in the dark.

Amazon had thousands of free books. But they will be the classics and whether or not you want to read them will be up to you. I love Jane Austin. But I don't care for that type of book all the time.

Yes, it gets expensive and I go through spells where I don't finish my books. But I LOVE my books and yes you can save them on there for later. You can download them to multiple pc's too. I like to buy reference books and scholarly books for times when I feel like reading something smart.

I take my kids to McDonald's to play in the tunnels and it's nice to have multiple books on me so that I don't have to know what I feel like reading before I leave the house.

I do have one suggestion though. If you are concerned about the cost I would go with the Sony. Here's my thinking. I have to connect my sony up to the computer when I buy and download books. That means I don't buy as many impulse purchases. I use the kindle software on my computers for when I want to buy from Amazon. Sony's website often has sales on book sets and many for under 10 dollars. If I had an Amazon I think I might get in trouble downloading books when I'm out in public and not really thinking about what I've spent for the month.

I have one and I LOVE it!! Most of the books I have on it were free or 99cents because most of them are classics like The Swiss Family Robinson, all of Jane Austen's works etc...New titles are anywhere from $5 to $10 each (still less expensive than buying hard copies and less aggravating than waiting forever for the title you want to be returned by another reader). You get to keep them forever. Your purchased books are backed up on the website free of charge so if something happens to your kindle and you need to get a new one, all of your books can be re-downloaded onto the new one. You can also move books off of your kindle onto the website for storage so you can make more room on your kindle for new books. The kindle can also be used to store your own PDF documents. Battery life is great if you keep the wireless turned off. Really you only need the wireless turned on briefly to download new books when you want them. You can purchase books directly from your kindle, or you can log into your Amazon.com account and find new books which you then have delivered free to your kindle wirelessly.

I truly think that it can't be beat. I love that I can carry a library around in my purse!!!

As one avid reader to another: I do not have one, but I love the feeling of having a book in my hands and turning the pages...I'm not sure it would be the same.

I LOVE my Kindle :) I got it for Mother's Day this year and it was a great purchase! I pay anywhere from $0.00 - $10.00 per book, with most of them being under $5.00. About 15% of the books on mine right now were free and just like any other book, some were worth reading and some not.

I did miss the whole page turning thing for the first week. Plus, it is thin, so it doesn't have the "fatness" of a book. Finally, when you read a book, the farther you get, the less pages you are holding in your right hand - with the Kindle there is no change (obviously). The first book was the toughest and by book three, I didn't even notice anymore. Now, 35 books later, I can't imagine reading any other way!

The books stay in your on-line account with Amazon so if you delete a book, you can reload it later to re-read. However, each publisher sets an amount of times you can reload a book so find out what they number is before deleting anything off your Kindle. I haven't deleted anything yet, but I suppose at some point I will.

The best thing? I can have 5 books going at any given time all in one compact spot - the page that I left off at is saved in each book and I can backtrack if it has been awhile since I started reading. Also, I usually take about 25 books when I go on vacation . . . wow, I cut my suitcase weight in 1/2 on my last trip!

My mom has the Nook (Barnes and Noble) and she likes hers, so I think that would just be a matter of choice if you are debating between the Nook and the Kindle.

Good luck and happy reading!

I have also been looking into e-books and there are a lot of choices out there. On all of them you have access to hundreds of free books (classics) and I know our library and many others have a database of e-books as well- check the online card catalog for e-books at your local library. With any e-book (except ones checked out from the library is my understanding) you can keep the book for as long as you want to and read as many times as you want. I also like that on many of these, you can get newspaper subscriptions that are automatically delivered to you daily. Before deciding on the kindle, I recommend checking out some of the other e-book readers out there and decide which one fits your lifestyle. Ones I know of include Kindle from Amazon, Nook from Barnes & Noble, BeBook, Sony Reader, pan-digital, etc... I personally am torn between the kindle 2 and the nook- they are nearly the same price and both have great features. I like that I can go to a barnes and noble store and check out the nook physically rather than just reading tech specs... I don't know of a physical store that carries the kindle but there probably is one around. I have the kindle app on my phone but the screen is rather small for a dedicated reader.
Good luck in your decision!

I have the same questions! I can't wait to read your responses.

Check out the Kindle for your PC to get a feel if you'd enjoy the books. I have the app on my iPod touch, and on my laptop and it will sync between all Kindle/apps you have on your account (so I can read on my iPod while at work, or waiting at the doctor's office and when I come home and want to read on my laptop it'll retrieve the last page read).

I have found lots of new author's I wouldn't have read before just searching for free books (I have yet to pay for a Kindle book ... I don't necessarily have my favorite books on there but I do have several that I go back and reread every so often).

I have noticed I go through phases where I just read Kindle books, and then I'll read nothing, then back to Kindle. Or I'm hooked on physical books and won't ever look at the Kindle app for a long time.

I have one and LOVE it. You can save books in your amazon account or on the kindle itself. I read a lot, I got it for Christams and have read close to 60 books on it. Yes not all books are available but there are tons of titles and on amazon.com they have a button where you can suggest that the publisher make it available for the kindle. The books are cheaper than cover price and they also get as cheap as free. I have found many great books for $5- free. If you turn off the 3g the battery life is extremely long. I think my only complaint is that you cannot share your books yet. With the Barnes and Noble reader it has this option and I love giving books to my friends when I am done. Other than that I am very happy that I have one and feel I have gotten more than my money out of it. If you have any specific ?s feel free to mess me :)

I have a Kindle and really like it for reading newly released books that will take forever to get from the library due to waiting lists. The Hennepin County Library system lets you check out e-books- but NOT for the Kindle due to Amazon being unwilling to let them be released in that format. I got mine as a gift, but if I could I would love a different reader so that I could have access to library books.

Check out the ipad. It's back lite so it's great for reading in bed too. If you have kids it has so many activities for them too and is great for traveling. I love my ipad!!

I LOVE my Kindle for the same reasons as all the other lovers below. There are quite a few books you can get for free or very inexpensive....especially paperbacks. I like the fact that you do not have to wait to get a book. The thing I love the most is that it fits in my purse. I can bring it anywhere with me. I bring it to the gym all the time and love that I can just sit it on a machine and read, other than having to try to figure out how to hold the pages open. You can also order some magazines, blogs, etc on it. You can also read the internet. You also get to read the first few chapters of a book before purchasing to see if you like it. I even bought my son a book (for $2) and it has made him super eager to read, which is hard to do during the summer.
The only thing I miss is having an actual book. I do occasionally buy books still (sometimes I find them cheaper at Sams Club or Costco) . I recommend getting the cover that you can buy for it. It is a great protector. Let us know what you decide.