Why I love Kindle? It saves trees!

[mooshie78]

In the near future we should be able to borrow e-books from the library.

Technically we already can if you have a device that supports them.  I've read a few on my iPad while waiting for the Kindle update.

[Sharon Red]

Technically we already can if you have a device that supports them.  I've read a few on my iPad while waiting for the Kindle update.

The local library is "slated" for the end of this year but we will see...

[Ann in Arlington]

If Amazon said it will be available by the end of the year, it will be.  I'd be willing to bet large quantities of money on it.  They're very good about not saying a thing unless they are SURE!

[jbcohen]

Why read electronically rather than paperbacks:

1) I can carry 100 books at the same time, try that with paperbacks without using a book bag in the process;
2) Can get a free sample so I can see if I like an authors' writting style - paperbacks you either buy the book or not no samples;
3) Price, never seen a paperback below $8, happends in electronic books all of the time;
4) No trees died for this;
5) Book store comes to me not the other way around, I refuse to set foot in a book store
6) Love books I am out of space for them;

[howyoudoin]

I love book-stores, tbh. I could spend a whole day lost in one browsing through the books on offer, discovering new topics that I wouldn't otherwise have been aware of. Also, I was thinking the other day about how I got into reading - by spending entire days in the summer sat in my great-grandfather's library. It was filled with books belonging to him, my grand-father, my mother and aunts. Their books were passed on to me. Passing on e-books to my kids is nowhere near the same thing.

It's just that there aren't any good book-stores where I now live, and the Kindle is so much more convenient. I stopped reading when I passed out of high-school. It's been more than a decade since, and the Kindle has re-kindled (sorry) my love of reading. It's a balance between the re-ignition of a passion for reading and the fact that I'm probably not thinking of my future kids. I can imagine I wouldn't have got into reading at all if my great-grandfather, my grand-father, my mother and aunts only read e-books, and all they had to pass on to me were no physical books, no physical library - just a disc with e-books on them.

I'll definitely be making physical purchases even though I have a Kindle - only I'll be more selective.

[Sharon Red]

Why read electronically rather than paperbacks:

1) I can carry 100 books at the same time, try that with paperbacks without using a book bag in the process;
2) Can get a free sample so I can see if I like an authors' writting style - paperbacks you either buy the book or not no samples;
3) Price, never seen a paperback below $8, happends in electronic books all of the time;
4) No trees died for this;
5) Book store comes to me not the other way around, I refuse to set foot in a book store
6) Love books I am out of space for them;

Yes!!   Especially number 6 haha

[Elk]

I love book-stores, tbh. I could spend a whole day lost in one browsing through the books on offer, discovering new topics that I wouldn't otherwise have been aware of.

. . .

 I can imagine I wouldn't have got into reading at all if my great-grandfather, my grand-father, my mother and aunts only read e-books, and all they had to pass on to me were no physical books, no physical library - just a disc with e-books on them.

Exactly.  Physical books possess a certain magic that ebooks have yet to capture.

[QuantumIguana]

It amazes me how many people here seem to actively dislike bookstores.

[Ann in Arlington]

It amazes me how many people here seem to actively dislike bookstores.

I haven't gotten that impression from posts (in this thread or any other )  Seems to me most people really DO like bookstores but may sometimes be frustrated at less than knowledgeable help or non-availability of titles.  Or simply the fact that there aren't any convenient to them!

And, of course, as we are almost all Kindleers, we now probably do most of our book buying via Amazon for the Kindle.  But just because we like our Kindles and even prefer reading on them doesn't mean we don't like books and bookstores.  Certainly any feelings of 'do not prefer' toward bookstores don't rise to the level of 'actively dislike'. 

[mooshie78]

It amazes me how many people here seem to actively dislike bookstores.

I just dislike shopping in general.  I hate wandering through stores and browsing for things.  I pretty much only do it for clothing.  If I go to a books store I go for a certain book and maybe browse a little at books in that genre section while there.  Same if I go to Best Buy for a cd or blu ray etc.

But I'm only 32 and have grown up mostly shopping online for everything except for food and clothing!  Even more so now that I spend pretty long hours in the office and hate wasting free time with trips to the store since I don't enjoy the shopping experience.

[jsmclean]

Another key thing to factor in is that it's very important that electronics be recycled properly when they break or are no longer wanted.  They can do a lot of harm if thrown in a land fill as they take ages to biodegrade, some have harmful metals, the chemicals in the rechargeable batteries etc.

Awesome thread--thank you to everyone posting articles!  The above is my immediate concern regarding kindles--even though I love and adore mine and couldn't give it up for the world now.  The Zero Waste movement's concern's regarding e-waste are worth noting, though, I think.  This is probably going to be our next movement in environmentalism (if you're not afraid of the e word).  For that nerdiness:http://www.zerowaste.org

The other thing I (try to tell myself not to) worry about is the manufacturing of kindles and other tech products.  Lotta shady stuff going on there. 

[Liam Ireland]

It depends on how many e-books you have, but on the whole I would imagine thousands between everyone.

[Vegas_Asian]

My entire lit book was free cuz I downloaded each short story. Them all my notes are my kindle

Sent from my HTC Inspire via Tapatalk

[shiny_cherry41]

I totally agree with what you've said! Aside from saving trees and money, you also save your energy from bringing heavy books.. 

[Seleya]

I've had my K3 since last Christmas. Since January I've read 46 e-books on it (plus 4 paper books) and I bought a few more (I've a TBR pile on my Kindle).
Given that I live in Italy and more than 90% of the books I read are in English, previously almost all the books I read were air-mailed to me, my guess is that my Kindle is already in the red, with regards to ecological impact.

[ProfCrash]

I had not thought about that. So many Kindle owners who live over seas are no longer paying to have books shipped from the US to their homes.