Getting back into reading for a bit of escapism.
I love the physical feel of a book but they can be cumbersome to hold sometimes and take up space.
Trouble is I know nothing about Kindles.
Questions/ requirements:
1 Needs backlight ideally.
2 Can Kindles display pictures? Say a map of a fictitious land?
3 I'm not bothered about memory size, will only have one book on there at a time.
4 I read for 4 or 5 hours at a time sometimes, so needs good battery life.
5 The lighter the better really but don't want tiny text on the screen.
Thanks for any info and advice guys!👍
Do you mean a Kindle (as in an Amazon product to use Amazon as a source of ebooks), or are you using it like Hoover to mean any old ereader?
If the latter, I recently bought a Kobo Clara HD, which I really like. It's quite small, but then I think I'd take an ereader where I'd struggle to take books. Backlight which nicely filters out blue light as it gets into the evening. Text can be scaled nicely from tiny to huge.
I think I've charged it once in the month I've had it.
Ballsacks, I've just replied to your original thread and it's been deleted.
1 Needs backlight ideally.
They all are, unless they've brought out a poverty-spec model since I last looked.
2 Can Kindles display pictures? Say a map of a fictitious land?
Yes, but bear in mind it's a mono display. More expensive models may have higher resolution displays if this is important to you.
3 I’m not bothered about memory size,
A basic Kindle will hold thousands.
will only have one book on there at a time.
No you won't. (-:
4 I read for 4 or 5 hours at a time sometimes, so needs good battery life.
Assuming you turn off the Wi-Fi, a Kindle only uses battery when you turn the page. Depending on your reading habits, a charge will last months.
5 The lighter the better really but don’t want tiny text on the screen.
Font size is a config option.
Sorry, I meant the actual hardware, the reader itself.
What Toby means is that "Kindle" is a brand. Other e-readers are available.
My reply was specifically talking about Amazon Kindles, but I expect most of it will apply to other e-ink based readers.
I've owned a couple of the Kindle ereaders.
1 My most recent one has a backlight, which I've only used a couple of times. As above, I don't think you can get them without a backlight. I didn't want to pay any extra for one but had no choice.
2 Pictures tend to be poor quality. Maps ditto, and you can't flick back and fore as easily as with an actual book when referring to maps.
3 Plenty of memory on even the smallest. I've never run out of space, and am not sure how many books I've got on mine.
4 Battery life is measured in weeks, until they get old and battery life drops to days.
As above, Amazon 'paperwhite' ones have backlights that are great.
Pictures aren't the best, but it's the price you pay for the e-Ink screen which is essential really.
For me, the Amazon ones are definitive (if you are prepared to use the company) because the ecosystem is that good. Finish a book, and it gives you a load of suggestions of new books which you might like, and this is a great way to get new stuff. Click, then read. It's great.
There are also lots of used ones on eBay and they can be re-registered to a new account.
Battery lasts a couple of weeks if you've got wi-fi on (which is useful for syncing position across devices) but if you turn it off it lasts about ooh, 6 weeks.
Font size is a config option.
Translated from geek-speak - you can zoom in and out to change the font size to whatever you want whilst reading, just pinch and zoom like on a phone.
Kobo
(but I'm a preachy do-gooder who avoids Amazon)
As above, Amazon ‘paperwhite’ ones have backlights that are great.
Amazon Paperwhite originally introduced backlights but that feature trickled down to the other models with successive generations, it's not been its USP for a long time. These days the main difference between standard and Paperwhite is screen resolution.
Translated from geek-speak – you can zoom in and out to change the font size to whatever you want whilst reading, just pinch and zoom like on a phone.
I didn't actually know you could do that. It's a menu option on mine, but it's quite old (and I've never actually tried so it might work).
Thanks guys,I've goes for the Paperwhite 8gb, ad free with the free 3 months Kindle unlimited.
Seems to tick the boxes. I only need Wi-Fi not 4g or whatever.
Ah, another question.
Just put the Kindle app on my mobile and signed in.
It still wants to charge me for a book I want? So Kindle Unlimited doesn't apply to all books??
Seems odd?
Edit: Ok, not all books are free on Unlimited. I see.
I bought a kindle during lockdown - For what it is, it's great but...
Our library (your probably does too) uses overdrive with a really good selection of audio books and ebooks - but they are not compatible with the Kindle.
If I were buying again, I would look to buy another brand with overdrive/libby compatibility.
I have one of the new paperwhite Kindles. It has the option to vary the warmth of the backlight so that it's orangeyish at night. I like that.
Thanks for the extra info guys.
I've been looking at all the free/ discounted books and getting a little excited to have instant access to tonnes of SF/ historical fiction!
How sad am I?
Download Calibre to manage your library. You can use it to take any format of ebook and convert in the a file the kindle will read. Great bit of software
I take it caliber going on the PC?
Cheers for info.
Edit: Just been googling, looks interesting, cheers!
2 Can Kindles display pictures? Say a map of a fictitious land?
I'd be interested to know if any of the modern versions can do this well, but having had several bog standard kindles, whilst they're great for reading, images are just awful. Squint and you might just make out what it is.
I’ve had several Kindles over the years, most recently a Voyage, but wanted to minimise my support of Amazon so recently bought a Kobo Libre 2. I transferred my Amazon purchases using Calibre and DeDRM, so now have my old books on my new device.
I really like it, and prefer it to my (still pretty decent) Kindle. The Amazon equivalent would be just as good, but more expensive.
It was easy to link to my local library, but I haven’t borrowed any books yet. It also automatically imports stuff I’ve saved to Pocket, which is handy.
Whatever you get I’d suggest going at least one level up from base level as text will be crisper and the backlight will be more even, but the fact is that any e-reader will be fine - and will meet all your criteria apart from decent images, which none of them will meet - so it’s really just a question of whether you want to line Bezos’s pockets or not 🙂
Download Calibre to manage your library. You can use it to take any format of ebook and convert in the a file the kindle will read. Great bit of software
game changer! Took an hour to set up but managed to download a book from the library and get it onto my Kindle via email!
Just brilliant - thanks!!
Thanks guys.
The Kindle turned up today, screen very nice to read.
A bit of a problem though.
I've spent over an hour deciding on which book to read and I still haven't decided!
So much choice!
As I said.
will only have one book on there at a time.
No you won’t. (-:
Lol, indeed. The dictionary look up is a feature I didn't know about. Nice.
If I were buying again, I would look to buy another brand with overdrive/libby compatibility.
Very much this.
I inherited one, it's good but it bugs the hell out me that I can't just borrow books from the library. Kindle Prime is mostly crap (not Unlimited) but it does have Vietnam by Max Hastings which is a fantastic book if you've not read it already.
I'm considering just living with that and buying an android tablet to deal with comics we have a Fire 7 but it's a heap of crap and doesn't play nicely with Google Play when you sideload it.
Oh, in case it's of any help to anyone, I've been looking at sample books to see what it's like on pics/ maps etc.
Remember, this is subjective...
Well, I'm really impressed. A guide book to riding the NDW for instance that has colour pics/ maps etc (originally) looks very good imo on the Kindle. I was surprised in fact as comments said pics were really bad on previous versions?
Very happy with it in all respects so far.
(I do feel a little traitorous giving up on "proper" paper books though but I'll get over it.)
I'd recommend getting good cover with finger or hand loop so that you can hold the device easily.
Cover will also prevent dropping the device on your face when you fall asleep while reading. It hurts quite a bit.
The dictionary look up is a feature I didn’t know about. Nice.
I get frustrated when paper books don't have this feature! 😀
Lol, indeed. The dictionary look up is a feature I didn’t know about. Nice.
Yeah, extra handy for those Spanish sections in Cormack McCarthy books - you can dl and set it to Spanish translation 🙂
Yeah, extra handy for those Spanish sections in Cormack McCarthy books – you can dl and set it to Spanish translation 🙂
Oh, that's handy to know!
My Kindle is ancient (hasn't even got a backlight!) - I think it's first gen of the touchscreen ones. Could you link to the one you bought? (or say up there ^^ if you already did). Cheers!
Cover will also prevent dropping the device on your face when you fall asleep while reading. It hurts quite a bit.
One of the reasons I bought a then-partner a Kindle was she was in the habit of taking hardbacks to bed, falling asleep mid-read and braining me with them.
Well. In hindsight, I suppose that's what she said had happened...
@desperatebicycle
Free Member
My Kindle is ancient (hasn’t even got a backlight!) – I think it’s first gen of the touchscreen ones. Could you link to the one you bought? (or say up there ^^ if you already did). Cheers!
Got this one without the ads with free 3 months of Unlimited.
All-new Kindle Paperwhite | 8 GB, now with a 6.8" display and adjustable warm light, without ads https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08N36XNTT/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_8FAH80KKB9N6WD4DHP8N?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Thanks 👍
+1 for Kobo
Well, been using the kindle for a few days now and it's been a pleasant experience.
Got an app on my mobile to convert epub to a format the kindle uses and it's all good.
One odd thing, in my mind... I keep on thinking, "it's not paper though, I'm reading a book, it should be on paper." Ha!
I'll get my head around that though, I'm just a luddite basically.
Main thing I don't like about the Kindle is not knowing where you are in a book. When you're holding an actual book, you can see if you're halfway, near the end, whatever. Kindle gives you the page count, but it's not the same. That's about it really. Maybe miss having a nice colour book cover 🙂
For those not on Amazon's freebee reading library - can recommend bookbub.com - emails cheap/free Kindle book deals (choose genres, choose daily or weekly emails). I've bought tons of 99p books. Will never get around to reading them all!
Main thing I don’t like about the Kindle is not knowing where you are in a book. When you’re holding an actual book, you can see if you’re halfway, near the end, whatever. Kindle gives you the page count, but it’s not the same. That’s about it really. Maybe miss having a nice colour book cover 🙂
On my kindle on the bottom left of the screen it shows the location, tap it once, then it shows the time left in chapter, tap it again and it shows time left in book. It learns your reading speed so is fairly accurate with timings too
I keep on thinking, “it’s not paper though, I’m reading a book, it should be on paper.” Ha!
I do love a physical book, you just can't beat that feel. However, for someone like me who reads maybe 4 or so books at a time the advantages of a Kindle massively outweigh that!
Kindle gives you the page count, but it’s not the same
My Kindle displays a line of dots corresponding to the book length and they turn bold with progress so that gives me a good indication. It's on the library view, not in the book itself but there's a % display as an option bottom left of the book iirc.
Kindle gives you the page count, but it’s not the same
Sorry I wasn't specific enough...
I know Kindle shows page/%/time left, but neither of those things are the same as looking at your book on the bedside table and seeing where the bookmark is sticking out. So it's not the same as an actual book. That's all I bleedin meant!
When you’re holding an actual book, you can see if you’re halfway, near the end, whatever. Kindle gives you the page count, but it’s not the same.
If I were an author and I thought people were interested in the bundle of paper and the cover art rather than what I'd actually written I'd be mortified. In fact, if they even noticed what medium they were using to read I'd consider that a failure!
I am just as emotionally attached to my physical Kindle as I ever was to a stack of mashed up tree.
but neither of those things are the same as looking at your book on the bedside table and seeing where the bookmark is sticking out.
And getting grumpy because you've been reading it for what feels like forever and you're only a fraction of the way through and it's rubbish.. At least Kindles can disguise this for you, even if they can't make a book any better. 😀
And getting grumpy because you’ve been reading it for what feels like forever
Definitely felt that more with the Kindle, when reading something shit and not knowing when the end's in sight! It's what made me think of it - I think it was a James Ellroy and it was really dragging so I gave up on it. Maybe with a book I would've seen how far I'd got and carried on.
I actually don't expect everyone to have the same experience as me with these things. Just like I don't feel the same as Poopscoop as it being on paper or not. It's just an idle comment. Phew. I'm glad that's over with.
^^ Yeah, it's amazing how reading a book is such a personal thing. I empathise.👍
You know you only have to tap the screen to get a visual representation of where you are in the book, don't you?
molgrips
Full Member
You know you only have to tap the screen to get a visual representation of where you are in the book, don’t you?
I didn't know that, I'll give it a try.👍
Monuments by Peter Cossins has been my night book on my Kindle for month or two. I keep falling asleep while reading details about old bike races so it helps a lot with occasional imsomnia.
Question!
The highlight feature or whatever it's called, can it be used to make notes against character names to say who they are... So later in the book I can search the name to remind me who the character is?
Huge books like Peter F Hamilton's leave me struggling to ferment who the characters are, as there a are so many!
Cheers guys.
I’ve still got my 1st gen kindle.
I’ll replace it when kindles can fold, like some smartphones.
Most books have X-Ray. Highlight a name or thing to do with the story and there's a pop up at the bottom of the screen. It does dictionary definitions, Wikipedia entries or X Ray which is like wikipedia for that book.
I didn’t know that, I’ll give it a try.
Actually it's a swipe up in the bottom half of the screen. It allows you to flick through the book to a different location then return to where you were, which is handy if you've forgotten something; but there's also a bar showing where you are in the book.
Thanks molgrips, haven't even tried xray yet and it sound just the ticket from what you say.
It comes up by default. I think it might be compiled by AI but it seems to work. Sadly doesn't link up with previous books in a series!
Long term Kindle user here currently using a first generation Voyage whose battery life is now probably a quarter of what it was when new.
If buying a new Kindle I would go for the new Paperwhite on the basis that it is waterproof and has USB-C charging.
The former would be great - the only time I read paper books nowadays is in the bath as cannot take the Voyage in there. It can take me three months to finish a "bath book"!
"One of the reasons I bought a then-partner a Kindle was she was in the habit of taking hardbacks to bed, falling asleep mid-read and braining me with them."
That happened to my butty, but she used a solid glass bedside lamp.
This thread certainly ‘re-kindled’ my interest in e-book readers.
What I’ve learned:
So, Kobo, and it’s app allow you to borrow virtual books from your library.
If you’re going for a kindle paperwhite, the ‘kids’ version offers identical hardware, but with the bonus of a free folio cover, a year’s subscription to some kids books and an extended warranty.
Afaik, it allows you to switch between adult and kids profiles.
I hear that the UI isn’t as smooth as the latest version on the regular paperwhite.
If you’re subscribed to Amazon prime, the ‘Star Wars’ graphic novels are well worth a gander on an iPad, etc. Fantastic illustrators at work.
Hello again all.
Really loving the Kindle.
However... Is it possible to turn off 1 click ordering?
I managed to order a sequence of books for £40 last night by getting tired and tapping the wrong box on screen.lol
All sorted out via web chat this morning but I can't seem to find a way to turn off one click ordering on kindle?
A quick Google seems to indicate you can't, which is very Amazon I suppose...
try doing it on the website on a computer?
Yeah, it's off on there but doesn't seem to turn it off on kindle purchases?
Specsavers? 😉
Apparently you can turn it off for Amazon shopping in a browser, but not on Kindle.
Cheeky sod. Lol
Yeah, looks like for kindle purchases I need to be vey careful at night.😁
I can’t seem to find a way to turn off one click ordering on kindle?
Can you turn off internet connection until you need it? Sync/download etc
I selected this "turn off one click ordering on kindle" in your post and did Search Google for... and it said [i]Your Account > Your Payments > Settings > Your Purchase Preferences page. On this page, click the “Disable 1-Click Everywhere” link located in the box near the upper-right corner of the page[/i].
So you can do it on a pooter
Just a PSA and apologies if done but Amazon doing a kindle with back light and sdverts for £49.99.👍
I've been won over with my kindle, they are bloody great.
