Kindle Fire vs. Hard Copy Books – who wins?

Last week I wrote a post about the new Kindle Fire I had gotten. Since then, it turns out my college son has won a Fire in a school auction making us a two Fire family and I’ve got to say, we couldn’t be happier. We are now able to share our electronic library, he at college, me at my office. There is no longer any geographical distance or time constraints on what we read and pass on. 

I’ve continued to read books on my Fire and watch movies. (Cowboys and Aliens, le sigh) and even my husband has gotten into the act and has watched all three of the Dragon Girl European movies. Although he admits that his tablet now feels heavy, he is in agreement that the Fire should be considered a personal entertainment device and not something on which to do work.

It’s small, portable, easy to use, and literally gives me any book at the touch of a screen. What’s not to like, right?

Except that if you followed the conversation under the post, you’d see that actually there are a few things not to like about the Fire (more accurately e-readers in general.)

The first point raised was that a hard copy books feels good in your hands. Those of us who are readers know where this argument is going. There is a sensual quality to holding the story, in being able to quickly flip back a few pages, and in opening a book to the last page you were on without having to press a button first and wait for the system to turn on.

I get it, trust me, I get it. I have a few thousand books in my house (no lie) I’m right up there with you about liking the feel.

But I also know that the more I use an e-reader, the more I get used to reading from it. Holding the book doesn’t mean as much as it used to. The cover I have (Marware Jurni) opens up like a book, it’s a similar sensation. I’m not sure if I’m just getting used to the e-reader or if the feel part of a book, really wasn’t that important after all.

Bottom line is the more I use my Fire, the weaker that old “in my hands” argument becomes.

Another point was that with e-readers, local independent bookstores will most likely go out of business.

That one I can’t argue, it’s true, local small book shops might be a thing of the past, like the local butcher (um, even large bookstores are a thing of the past, Borders, anyone?) Times change, media changes, there are very few out there using 8-track cassettes anymore, we’ve moved on. Sure I’ll mourn the passing of small bookstores but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the “indie” author voices won’t get heard. With the ability to download a book file at a cost of roughly 1/3 that of a hard copy book, chances are I am going to be reading a lot more books than I would normally. That means I’m going to be supporting a lot more authors.

There is a chance, that e-readers will get authors’ books out to many more people than if they were solely found on an independent bookstores shelves. My guess is that e-readers are going to be the best friends of up and coming authors.

Lastly, the point was raised that e-readers contain plastics ,metals, and chemicals and are actually horrible for the environment when disposed. And while that may be a valid point, once purchased, the e-reader could potentially help to lessen the direct impact publishing has on the environment. After all, if you follow the life of a book, someone has to print it, drive the trucks that deliver it, and create the advertising that promotes it. Take the entire Harry Potter series, the trees, the travel, the fuel used to transport. Harry made more than just a literary impact.

Although books are recyclable, as thekalechronicles pointed out, I have yet to ever recycle a book, other than to donate books to Senior Centers or the Goodwill. Those of us who love books rarely send them off to the recycle center. It would just break our hearts in half. As one who reads up to three books a week, this drug of choice of mine can over time end up having a significant impact on the environment – the Fire can certainly help to ease that load.

Look, I’m not a techie. I hate the fact that every time I get a new phone I have to get a newer version (complete with new functionality.) Why can’t I just get what I had? I tend to like things the way they are.

To a degree.

But, when I look at my kids, the writing is clearly on the wall (or in the case, in the e-reader) this is a new generation of kids who are learning to read off of computers. Although they are willing to gobble up everything on a subject (including all relevant books), they have absolutely no interest in buying books at the bookstore. Why waste the time in travel and browsing haphazardly filled shelves when you can do a quick electronic search and immediately find what you need?

“Geesh, get with the times mom.”

 

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Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons.

Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences with chickens (yes, chickens).

All I want for Christmas is an Amazon gift card. 

Photo credit: AlishaV

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Review of the Kindle Fire – walk with me

I recently got a Kindle Fire.

Can I just say right here and now, that I love it? I’d had a Kindle before but it left me feeling kind of blah, lots of grays and it just didn’t feel good in my hands. Reading the hard copy of a book was still more satisfying. My older Kindle is currently in the boys’ room being used as the download accessory for all High School assigned paperbacks. They don’t care that’s it’s gray, as long as they can read the chapter for the test tomorrow. 

So when I won a Kindle Fire in Jonathan Field’s book launch party for this video, although I was excited, I didn’t have the greatest of expectations. After all, my husband had just gotten one of the $99 HP tablets and I thought, the Fire couldn’t be much better than that, right?

Except that I was wrong and it is.

The Kindle Fire is a nice size and weight to hold, you can actually hold it in one hand (unlike the tablet which would cause your wrist to get whiplash.) It’s sleek and thin. It’s also intuitive to use. The operating instructions were included as a small card in the shipping box. The only reason I even looked at them was to evaluate the design.

The first thing I did was to sync up the Fire with my other Kindle. Bam!, all my books were instantly available to read (including my sons’ school books, but I’m not going to tell them that.)

I decided to take the Fire for a test drive and downloaded The Boy in the Suitcase, a new book that’s getting so much buzz it was on my list of books to pick up next time I went to the book store. A $9.99 download is very nice compared to the $24 jacket price. $14 saved right there. (And yes, I spend hundreds, if not thousands at books stores, very often just passing the book on to friends when I’m done – that part I might actually miss (the passing on of books, not so much paying the cost.))

I’ve finished the book and it was enjoyable. In fact, at times I forgot that I was reading on a Kindle, it felt like I was just reading a book. I even read it in bed at night, no need for a lamp because of the lighting, a nice touch when you husband goes to bed early so that he can do the 5:00 a.m kids’ swim team practice drop-off (2 mornings a week.)

The only downside was when one particular chapter made reference to something in a previous chapter that I had missed, it was a little tough trying to flip back to the page I had wanted to reread. I imagine though, that as I get more used to electronic books, this will get easier.

Yesterday I was at the Doctor’s office and he suggested I read a book on Lyme Disease – Cure Unknown – Inside the Lyme Epidemic  (yup, we have several kids infected with it right now) and while I was still in the waiting room, I got on the Fire and downloaded the book. That evening I started reading it.

He’s right, the book is both well written and heart-breaking. My Fire gave me instant knowledge on the subject – something that as I writer (and mother of sick kids), I can really appreciate.

I’ve downloaded a movie on my Fire, it’s a nice personal size on which to watch (better with headphones.) Certainly not the best device to see the “big screen extravaganzas” but then, that’s why there are movie theaters. For something like The Nightmare Before Christmas it works just fine.

And please, don’t get me started on Angry Birds (damn that little boomerang one, anyway.) If you are a gaming person (I’m not, to tell the truth, it was a short and torrid love affair with those cantankerous birds) I imagine the Fire will be a better device than the small screen in a phone or the larger one on the tablet. It’s more portable, more discrete, something you can pull out when waiting for the kids’ to be done with the swim team practice in the afternoon (2 times a week.) Your very own personal entertainment center.

Don’t get the Fire if you want to use it as a writing device. You’re able to access the net and do things like search or check your email but a tablet or a laptop is still going to rule in the writing department. And if you do get a Fire, consider a protective case a necessity. I got the red zippered Marware ($29.99). As one who dropped and cracked her (un-insured) Droid the first day I got it, I didn’t rest well until my Fire was buckled and zipped inside it’s case. Consider it a necessary added cost to the base price of $199 for the Kindle Fire.

Bottom line? Love the Fire. As much as I adore holding a book in my hands, electronic books are the way of the future. It’s kind of like when we were asked to move from the literal cut and pasting of our news stories from a legal pad to that of a word processor. How many of us continued (for awhile anyway) to write the story in long hand and then re-typed it into the computer just because we didn’t trust the new process or it didn’t feel right?

I’m not sure how many writers still do that these days, just as I’m not sure how many readers are going to continue to read hard copy books just because that’s what they feel comfortable with and, for now anyway, trust more than reading their stories in electronic format.

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About Wendy Thomas 

 Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons.

Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences with chickens (yes, chickens).

And this time, if you need me, I’ll be in my yellow reading chair with my Kindle Fire. 

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The Kindle 3G

I love to read. Isn’t that a pre-requisite to being a writer?  When I was a kid, I could take or leave TV, but don’t come between me and my books. As I grew, there was less and less time for reading for pleasure, I was inundated by required reading, first educational texts and later, materials to improve my job performance or better serve my business clients.

Additionally, I am visually impaired (more than just short arm syndrome all though I am impacted by that too), so, while reading is something I enjoy, it is also taxing. Large print books are great, but they are not universally available and usuauly, you are limited to best sellers. Books on tape are great when I travel, but for day to day reading, they just don’t hold my attention.

Two years ago, my husband bought me a Kindle for our anniversary.  My world changed in an instant.  I was able to download books and manipulate the print size.   Previously when I read, the book was pushed up almost to my nose to see the text.  This isn’t bad for a paper back, but a book like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows could really put a crick in your neck. With a Kindle, I could sit with proper posture and turn the page with a press of my thumb. I’ve read more books in the last two years than I have in the previous 10 put together.

For as much as I love my first generation Kindle, I am head over heals for the 3G model my husband bought me for our most recent anniversary. The new Kindle is black which for me is a boon becuase it reduces the contrast change between the screen and the casing.  I didn’t realize how distracting that was until I started using the new one.

The 3G is even lighter than my original and the size is equal to that of a mass market paperback.

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