tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26654079.post241320392762835429..comments2023-05-21T14:46:54.138+01:00Comments on FictionBitch: Not yet kindled...Elizabeth Baineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17193751871434773972noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26654079.post-21714953825093440082012-03-25T10:54:52.622+01:002012-03-25T10:54:52.622+01:00Thanks you all for your comments. I must say I hav...Thanks you all for your comments. I must say I have no problem with the greyness of the format (as Trollope does) in that many paperbacks are in fact pretty hard to read (light print on grey paper, spines that don't open properly etc.) And, you're right, Nasim, that once you are really involved you hardly notice the format anyway (apart, for me, from the problem of not being able to skip easily). Plus, I think that some of the problems of clunky time-consuming buttons will be resolved or at least improved on with the next generation of touch-screen Kindles. And I must agree, as I said in my post after Christmas, that that ability to get a book in an instant is unbeatable. As I also said in that post I thought that that would definitely affect whether or not people converted to Kindles would bother at all with books not on Kindle, and worried that my own books, which aren't on Kindle would lose out. I am of course gutted to have been proved right by you, Bob! My publisher tells me that all their books, including mine, will eventually be on Kindle, but they haven't said when, I'm afraid, and although they concede that this is the way the industry is going, they aren't too happy about it, as Amazon have pushed the price of ebooks down so low publishers just can't charge enough to make their books viable.<br /><br />Here's the link to my earlier post:<br />http://fictionbitch.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/ebooks-and-slog-of-publishing.htmlElizabeth Baineshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17193751871434773972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26654079.post-23972276880171478382012-03-24T19:25:41.916+00:002012-03-24T19:25:41.916+00:00... oops, I forgot to say I think the instant grat...... oops, I forgot to say I think the instant gratification of owning a novel is quite addictive/delicious and I have downloaded many samples, still to be read. This is a definite plus of Kindle.<br /><br />And, yes, PDFs are horrible, unreadable!nmjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05477643084619789093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26654079.post-17676429458843309012012-03-24T17:37:45.220+00:002012-03-24T17:37:45.220+00:00My son bought me a Nook for Christmas and was exci...My son bought me a Nook for Christmas and was excited to have it thinking I'd be able to read as many books as I'd want without lugging them on the bus, etc., but so far I've only read one book. I'm not loving it as much as I thought. I too miss holding a book in my hand and having the ability to go back and forth easily without bookmarking, etc. I don't think publishers will ever stop selling regular books. I think they need to sell both though. I would rather spend twenty dollars on a book and get a hard copy or wait for a discount than pay thirteen dollars of more on an ebook! So far all of the books I've downloaded are free classics or because they were a lot cheaper than the hardcover book. I haven't even ventured yet into the land of the ninety-nine cents! PDF files are atrocious as well. Most of the reading I do these days is on my Blackberry - short stories, blogs, twitter, etc. I'm too busy working on my own work unfortunately and don't really have too much time to do much book reading.Dora Deehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05053336278338283781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26654079.post-32138417983482443042012-03-24T14:27:52.684+00:002012-03-24T14:27:52.684+00:00I love my Kindle. I don't use it to read PDFs,...I love my Kindle. I don't use it to read PDFs, none of the novels or anthologies I've bought are in that format. With Kindle format books I can change the font size to suit my preference and the text wraps appropriately.<br /><br />Unlike yourself I don't skip back and forth when reading a novel, so that's not a problem for me.<br /><br />The convenience of owning a book seconds after ordering it from Amazon is brilliant. Some authors have already benefited from this, where I've bought their books because it was so easy, and may not have done so otherwise. Others have missed out because their books weren't available in Kindle and I don't want to order paper versions (I looked for Too Many Magpies in Kindle format recently but it's not available, so I didn't purchase).<br /><br />As much as I've always loved paper books, and still do, for me they're a thing of the past. I have a bunch of them waiting to be read, which I'll get through eventually, but I don't plan to buy them in future.Bob Jacobshttp://www.bobjacobs.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26654079.post-13642713238804122862012-03-23T19:38:29.121+00:002012-03-23T19:38:29.121+00:00There *is* certainly something sterile about readi...There *is* certainly something sterile about reading on a Kindle, I got one for Christmas too (unsolicited!), and I keep almost forgetting I've got one (though I downloaded a friend's new novel - published as an ebook - this week and loved it, once you are drawn in, you kind of forget the format). But ebooks are just not as seductive on your bedside table, no way. <br /><br />Still, I am trying hard to embrace the concept of 'both' rather than either/or. I do miss being able to flick back and forth, it is so clunky with the Kindle, I've just learned how to make 'notes', it still feels clumsy though. When I see people with a Kindle on the bus, it feels a bit alien, and I have rarely taken mine outside. But I can't deny I am also pleased people can read my own ebook, though it took some getting used to - it didn't feel like they were reading the book I wrote. <br /><br />You might like this link to a wee film on traditional printing: http://vimeo.com/38681202<br /><br />Makes you want to throw your Kindle away!nmjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05477643084619789093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26654079.post-23906923183295940412012-03-23T17:32:03.311+00:002012-03-23T17:32:03.311+00:00Great piece, Elizabeth. I can't bring myself t...Great piece, Elizabeth. I can't bring myself to buy a Kindle - I have no desire for one at all really. I like the fact that a book feels like a living thing. Its pages curl, its spine starts acting up, it ages, perhaps its pages get age spots after time - the world is affecting it in the same way it affects us. Physical books are also sites of protest - we can burn them or ban them if we want (not that I ever would), but they do inspire emotion. I imagine reading on a Kindle would be as you and Trollope describe - kind of empty and emotionless, bland. When the robots take over the world I'm sure they'll love them but I'm not sure they'll ever be for me.A. J. Ashworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05171588178487319410noreply@blogger.com