advice on kindles?

[ohshtt]

i plan to reward myself with a kindle after reading 15 books (if you're not sure what to read next, my list is below). did some research but not sure what model to buy. looking for something cheap & functional, but not too crappy.

if i'm not wrong you can buy ebooks on kindle to read? can you rent books? would it be cheaper to just continue buying paperbacks?


ps. my reading list:
cathedral by raymond carver
rebecca by daphne du maurier
the second sex by simone de beauvoir
lolita
the hunchback of notre dame
the picture of dorian gray
short story object lessons by the paris review
next word, better word: the craft of writing poetry by stephen dobyns
the metamorphosis & other stories by kafka
collected stories of garcia marquez
collected stories of hemingway
interpreter of maladies by jhumpa lahiri
the memory police by yoko ogawa

 

[birdsnestfern]

There are different types of Kindles. If you are only reading, then get a paper white kindle.
If you are looking for other apps and features like a tablet, then kindle fire is good. You don't have to purchase wifi for it if you have wifi in your home to download content to it, but if you take it out of your home, then you have to use whats already downloaded.

I do have one of each, but I ended up preferring the paper kindle to actually read from especially if you are taking it to the beach or outside because the kindle fire is impossible to see in the outside glare. But the kindle fire is prettier to look at inside. The 8 gigabyte is fine, I've got tons of books and I've not used up 8 gigabytes yet. One of the features of the kindle fire that is nice is you can try out all sorts of magazines and then cancel them if you don't love them. Architecture, Birds and Blooms, Sunset, Economist, etc. The colourful magazines look good on kindle fire, but not on paperwhite.

If you have an ipad, they are even better because you can download the kindle APP and read everything right on your ipad or iphone with the app. And, the ipad has wifi where ever you go, so in storms or travel, I like the ipad. On ipad you can also add the audible app to listen to books when the power is out or in the car.

If you don't love charging things every single night, the kindle paperwhite would last for an average of a 3 or 4 days while the kindle fire, iphone or ipad all need charging every day I believe.

Buy a protective case for any type, you don't want to go even a day without a protective case for it, they drop and break or crack and thats no fun.

 

[ohshtt]

There are different types of Kindles. If you are only reading, then get a paper white kindle.
If you are looking for other apps and features like a tablet, then kindle fire is good. You don't have to purchase wifi for it if you have wifi in your home to download content to it, but if you take it out of your home, then you have to use whats already downloaded.

I do have one of each, but I ended up preferring the paper kindle to actually read from especially if you are taking it to the beach or outside because the kindle fire is impossible to see in the outside glare. But the kindle fire is prettier to look at inside. The 8 gigabyte is fine, I've got tons of books and I've not used up 8 gigabytes yet. One of the features of the kindle fire that is nice is you can try out all sorts of magazines and then cancel them if you don't love them. Architecture, Birds and Blooms, Sunset, Economist, etc. The colourful magazines look good on kindle fire, but not on paperwhite.

If you have an ipad, they are even better because you can download the kindle APP and read everything right on your ipad or iphone with the app. And, the ipad has wifi where ever you go, so in storms or travel, I like the ipad. On ipad you can also add the audible app to listen to books when the power is out or in the car.

If you don't love charging things every single night, the kindle paperwhite would last for an average of a 3 or 4 days while the kindle fire, iphone or ipad all need charging every day I believe.

Buy a protective case for any type, you don't want to go even a day without a protective case for it, they drop and break or crack and thats no fun.

thanks, appreciate it!

 

[dr froyd]

physical books 4 life

you can write notes in them

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

Ebooks cost 4 times less than paperbacks around here. I mostly read from my phone. You don't need a kindle for that, a tablet or a phone is good enough.

Some websites/services let you read everything in their library as long as you pay a monthly subscription which can be a nice deal.

Find a free ebook reader app on your phone and you're good to go.

If I don't trust the book I just download it for free to see if it's worth the 4$ that ebooks usually cost. Given that 99% of books are not worth the paper that they're printed on—I stopped collecting crap.

 

[ohshtt]

Ebooks cost 4 times less than paperbacks around here. I mostly read from my phone. You don't need a kindle for that, a tablet or a phone is good enough.

Some websites/services let you read everything in their library as long as you pay a monthly subscription which can be a nice deal.

Find a free ebook reader app on your phone and you're good to go.

If I don't trust the book I just download it for free to see if it's worth the 4$ that ebooks usually cost. Given that 99% of books are not worth the paper that they're printed on—I stopped collecting crap.

ty

 

[ohshtt]

update for anyone interested:
i got a kindle paperwhite 4 (10th edition) for USD65 inclusive of cable & cover. it was secondhand but used lightly enough to pass for brand new.

i like it a lot.
- waterproof
- very comfortable for eyes
- can be read in the dark
- can listen to audiobooks w bluetooth
- decently cheaper than paperback
- small & portable

thus far, no downsides, other than the money it set me back.

 

[ohshtt]

update for anyone interested:
i got a kindle paperwhite 4 (10th edition) for USD65 inclusive of cable & cover. it was secondhand but used lightly enough to pass for brand new.

i like it a lot.
- waterproof
- very comfortable for eyes
- can be read in the dark
- can listen to audiobooks w bluetooth
- decently cheaper than paperback
- small & portable

thus far, no downsides, other than the money it set me back.

ah, wait. there are downsides:
- no colour (ie. wouldn't buy any texts with illustrations/photos)
- prefer reading poetry on paperback. just looks weird on the kindle