I'm like, literally confused about getting one. I love technology (and hate it), but I'm a book lover. I love flipping the pages, smelling their odour and enjoying their paperback real copy in my hands. I have limited space for books in my room and I don't like to carry 3 heavy books + my textbooks from school (when it snows, it gets wet meh). I've been looking at a Kindle from Amazon for the past few weeks. I've realized that while some books aren't expensive, some of them are the same price as a paperback copy (and sometimes, you can't find it for Kindle). I've realised over the years that even if I take great care of my books, they tend to age and just build a tower in my room. I'm the only person reading in my family and I don't want to sell my books (I love going back and ready series again). So overall, I'm interested in it, but I guess I'm just insecure to lose my files and therefore, lose my money.

Has any over you owned (or currently own) and e-reader? (from Amazon or else) If yes, which one? Do you still buy paper books? How do you keep your files safe? [Edit] Decided not to get one for now

My boyfriend is an avid reader, and has found a great balance having a Kindle and physical copies of books. (Like you said, some ebooks cost as much as the actual thing so he just buys them instead.) I think he's right on the money with that. He's never had a problem with losing books in all his time of owning a Kindle.

I use the book app on my phone now and then and even if I delete a book I can go back and redownload it so it's not a huge deal. I don't know if thats how all ereaders work though.

Y, in my opinion. I've got a kindle 4 (I think- the e-ink one with no backlight). Functionality is excellent, surprisingly ergonomic. Though if you get one, I'd recommend a case like the Tuff Luv ones simply for the handstrap, which makes it much easier to support [like in this pic]

While I like reading, I'm not the type that gets sentimental over physical books, so the change was no issue for me. I did it mostly because I wanted more free media, plus the convenience of not having to go out to the library or even buy books. As for files, I have them on both my PC and the kindle, so I delete on my kindle when done just to reduce clutter. Not sure what control their book store gives you over the files you purchase, as I've never used it.

I don't like them that much, but I used one of the first ones ever and now is the technology better I guess Also I just love the feeling and the smell too much, also reading under covers or in cozy situations haha.. BUT I also have no space in my shelves And's annoying to charge everything or charge the reader just to read a book.. a physical one is always available

Oh, you can download them again. I didn't know that.

Those case are awesome, they are in pound(?) though and I'm Canadian. I could maybe ask my friend to order one for me .. Or I could try to find one that is similar (or ask my friend to make one for me eh eh). My concern is that most of my books are cheaper as paperback or cheaper as a pb series.

I have one of the very first Kindles, and I like it. It's handy for when I want to collect a big series. If an ebook costs as much as paperback for a single book, I tend to go with the physical copy, but I don't mind paying the same price if it means saving a bunch of space. However, if the paperback is drastically cheaper, I go with that(I'm working on a mystery series that I got 3 books from for $1 each at a bargain store, then got the rest on Kindle). Plus, a few authors I know of release ebook short stories that can't be found as a physical copy, so it's nice for that, too.

Amazon keeps track of what ebooks you buy, so it's all linked to your Amazon account. You can delete files off your Kindle and download them again later just fine. ^^

Yeah, that's my initial point. Box set tend to be cheaper when they are bought paperback instead of each book separately. It's a thing to consider. I also saw that I could read those books on my computer if I download their app (which is a good thing).

What kind of phone do you have?

Because if you have one that can use the Kindle app I suggest trying that out first.

I was so against e-readers, refused so hard to get one. But then I got one and I loved it. I loved it so hard. THen I got the next on and loved it even more. Honestly, I would have died on my commute without it. Because carrying around 2-3 books just isn't something I want to do without a car. I still love books, and when a book I REALLY want to read comes out, like the last book in a series or something, I get the hard copy and then get it on my Kindle later when the prices come way way down.

But, I have the app now for it and I couldn't even tell you where my kindle is! Hence, saying get the app instead. I love that I can have so so many books to choose from. Its a life saver. Because if I leave the house I tend to grab 2 of the same genre of book and then I'm stuck with that. With the Kindle if I'm like "Actually, I've had enough of heaving bosoms" I can just go in my library or even buy a different Genre book.

And I highly suggest getting the good reads app as well, or at least making an account. Such a good companion to the Kindle app.

ALSO. KINDLE HAS THOUSANDS OF FREE BOOKS. They may not all be good, some are really shit tbh - but free is always good when you are broke as balls and want to read something new.

I love my Kindle Paperwhite! Didn't really read for many years and already thought I had lost interest in that hobby of mine so I was highly sceptical when my mom gifted the Kindle to me last year. But now I've already read I don't know how many books on it including a shitload of Star Trek novels that luckily are all available for the Kindle and that are otherwise hard to get in my country.

I believe what really kept me from reading actual books was the bad light situation in my room which my Kindle is able to compensate of course so yeah it's my baby and you could only pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

I don't own a phone, so none of these options apply to me :( But I like the perk of changing books whenever I want. I usually carry 2 books with me + my textbooks and it's just heavy and horrible in the long term. I'm really heading towards it ;u;!

BAD LIGHTNING. Can we cry over it? I squirm and squirm, trying to find some decent angle. But then, I squint and it's just not working and I rage. I don't know which one to pick between PW or the basic. I can't read at night unless it's super bright.

I never tried the basic Kindle but the Paperwhite has a really nice display so I can only recommend it. My eyes are pretty sensitive and I've had no issues with adapting to the display which was a nice surprise. (:

Yes. I have a Kindle. One of the original ones with no light.

It's great, and perfect for just sticking in my handbag when I don't want to carry a big book. Me and my husband buy books using the one account as then can have the book one both of our Kindles and only buy it once (both Kindles are linked to my account so when he buys a book I pay for it!) I still sometimes read normal books. Still buy cheap second hand books too.

Kindle can be great for reading self published books - a lot of authors start out now by self publishing and the books are cheap and at times the first of a series will be offered for free. Books older than a certain age are also generally free. There are some great books that were written by slaves or during the days of slavery that are really interesting to read and you can learn a lot from. Also plenty of old classics that are no longer charged for as no one owns the rights to them anymore. If you love reading this is a great way to get some free books that are historically important.

I don't own one but I have the kindle app on my tablet and I've used my mom's kindle (e-ink one I think. It doesn't have a light).

One other benefit of reading on an ereader, you can read some books you'd be embarrassed to be seen in public reading. XD

I see it this way with them I like having 100+ books at my fingertips anywhere anytime. Plus, no more losing my place because my bookmark fell out.

I recommend using BookBub. They can email you every day with a list of genres you picked that are on sale or free. A lot of times the pickings can be slim but you can hit a gem. Thanks to it I found a really good book that was free and bought the others that were out.

I have an iPad 4 that I sometimes use to read eBooks, but I hate reading things on a screen (I'm probably biased because I spend hours doing this for my thesis so I ended up hating it). I personally think that having a physical book is so much better for my eyes. I would only use my iPad as an ereader if I couldn't get the book any other way. I can definitely see benefits for you if you like to carry books with you though, but personally I would prefer to carry the books. I like seeing my books on a shelf. It's satisfying and when people come over to my house they sometimes like to flick through them.

OKAY.

Yes, e readers are very handy. While I do adore actual physical books, e readers allow one to have a multitude of books at their fingertips AND you can set the text/font to something very readable. Having said that, I do NOT recommend a Kindle, for a few reasons. Kindles HAVE been known to randomly delete books and amazon is hit and miss about returning them. Last I knew, Kindles do not have expandable memory slots, which is a huge downside. The most important one though is their restricted .mobi only format. This prevents you from downloading books, text files, even shitty pdfs to your kindle (Because sometimes it's a pdf or nothing. It sucks but oh well...).

Look into a Nook. The basic traditional nook. Don't get a glowlight, people have reported the membrane getting pinholes that cause a bright light in your eyes. You get expandable memory and are NOT restricted to one format only. Get the biggest sd card, because if you're like me, it will not take you long to fill the 1.5 internal memory the traditional nook comes with. It's listed at 2, but it's closer to 1.2-1.5 based on operating system, etc of the nook. If you can find a reputable epub site or even something as simple as Project Gutenberg you can put it on your Nook. Nooks are plug n play, drag n drop files and bammity ma'am there you go, read and be happy. I have loaded mine with many books, and have not paid a cent for one. Buying an ebook for the same price as a physical copy is fucking criminal, greedy criminal. GET E INK. GET E INK. GET E INK. The problem with reading on your ipad or phone is the lcd/led whatever screens. Those tire and damage your eyes. E ink screens will NOT strain your eyes, and will allow you to read longer and easier. If you want a tablet, get a tablet. if you want a e reader, get an e reader.

I had never really been too much of a fan of eReaders/kindle/nook, until I got one xD For those of us who like reading longer books it'd helped a lot with all the things I had to carry at school and for travelling!

Yeah, I've learned about people losing their books or getting their Kindle account deleted or something. My concern is that you don't OWN any of the books you purchase on an eReader. It's not like a physical copy, no one can take it away from you somehow. I might stick to the books, seems like a complicated affaire with something that I might not be ready to touch. I could get it for the free books tho.

I use the Kindle app on my iPad mini (roughly the same size as a kindle fire HD) and I love it to pieces. I obviously do other stuff on it too, but I read so much. I have dozens of digital books on there, some that I've got the paperbacks for but re-bought. The prices are great too! Unless it's a brand new book (and even then, it depends on what it is) a lot of them are cheaper than buying the physical copies. My mum actually has a Kindle and it's her favourite thing ever lol. It's 100% more convenient and your books won't wear out.

I do understand the feeling/smell of physical books but then I remember how heavy they are to carry. ^_^;

I think it depends on how much you like paper, to put it quite frankly. I tried reading stuff on a nook and on my iPad and personally disliked it immensely, largely because I found I read at a much slower pace on an e-reader than I did with a traditional book. For instance, a 500 page book that usually took me 2-3 weeks to read at a traditional pace took me months to finish on an e-reader simply because at some point your eyes just become tired of the screen itself. I didn't really have that issue with a traditional book though.

As such, and given those 2 experiences I've pretty much stuck entirely with traditional books because I found I personally wasn't a fan of e-reading. However, my experience is not the same as everyone else's so, don't take my word for it as I'm simply one among many.

- I have found that if you keep a backup of your .epub files on your backup of choice, it is a physical copy, so unless your e reader copy 'and' your storage fail, or get corrupted, you have it. Nice thing is I have a friend who has shared some of his collection with me, whee ! The worst downside, though, is when a book is a bit obscure, so finding a reliable copy in any ebook form is really hit and miss, mostly miss. We've seen that even with the Kindle, a note "Tell the publisher you want an ebook form". It's a lot less messy than finding out what a mouse or two did to the big box of books you were stuck leaving in someone's garage because your house is taking more than a year to remodel what should have been a two month job and now you're mad at everything ;)

YMMV ^