h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

... that is my question.

I like books. I like having spine covers staring back at me on shelves, but it's stuff, it's space, it's faff, and having just moved house I'm probably less keen on having shelves full of books than I was before.

So... is a Kindle worth it? I had a quick play around with one in a phone shop last week, and it was much more book-like than I was expecting. But I'm worried about being tied to a single supplier, and about the prospect of losing my books through technological change (as appears to be the case with some of my legitimately purchased mp3s) and/or kindle theft or damage. How much of a cost saving is there between Kindle books and real books?

I'm not sure how much of a beating it can take - that's my main fear.

Also, with the price - even if an ebook is a pound cheaper than a paperback, you need to buy 100 books before you're breaking even. Even for me, that's a few years worth of books - assuming the reader hasn't become defunct by then.

Have you considered readers from other companies?

I'll happiöy admit that the Kindle has some features that are nice (being able to borrow a book for two weeks is one of them), but there are other brands out there which don't limit you to one supplier.

I have two ereaders, a Sony and a Kindle. I bought the Sony first because, like the OP, I didn't want to be tied to one supplier. Also, at that time Gutenberg didn't do books in Kindle format (I didn't realise that you could get free classics from Kindle).

I bought a Kindle a few months ago when I found that books on Kindle are generally cheaper than epub books for the Sony. That didn't bother me too much initially; the books I read on the Sony are free, so cost didn't come into the equation. However, when a book costs 99p for Kindle but £7.99 as epub, that changes things.

There are things I love about the Kindle. For example, it starts up more quickly than the Sony, although switching off takes longer. The display is easier to read in bright light, too. If you browse the Kindle store from the Kindle, you can download a sample of a book you're interested in (the first chapter or two, usually), which I can't do on my Sony.

As for the cost of ebooks compared to tree-books, Kindle books are usually more than £1 cheaper than the printed version, so it won't necessarily take as long as you think for the Kindle to pay for itself. (The new Kindle, which doesn't have a QWERTY keyboard, only costs £89. Check Amazon for features/comparison.) Sometimes the saving is as much as 50% of what you'd pay in a bookshop (Amazon prices for tree-books are often lower than High St. shops anyway). Having said that, I recently worked out that it would cost me nearly £1900 to replace my print copies with Kindle ebooks - and that's just the ones I *can* replace.

The thing that ties Kindle to Amazon is that they don't support epub, which is the 'industry standard'. That may change in the future, although existing Kindles would need a firmware upgrade. As for 'losing' your ebooks, Amazon holds records of what you've bought. The only way you'd lose a book is if you deleted it from their list. Yes, you can do this, but I don't know why anybody would want to

An American friend told me a few weeks ago that she wants a Nook - that's Barnes & Noble's ebook reader. She preferred over the kindle because it's in colour, apparently. Though Amazon may have caught up with the Kindle Fire tablet, which got announced in the week following our conversation.


Geggs

I just had to look up a review for that Nook. According to what I read, it weighs 15.8oz. My Sony weighs 10oz, my Kindle weighs about 8.5oz. I use an ereader on occasions when a book is too heavy. That Nook would be useless to me.

Dai's just got one, and loves it. I can see the attraction - I like to carry a book in my handbag, but hardbacks are just too heavy and voluminous. And I hate reading hardbacks in bed.

My Kindle is always in my handbag, but I got a cover to protect it so it's about the thickness of a paperback. It's got 12 books loaded ATM. I'd need a suitcase to carry that many tree-books.

I have downloaded loads and loads of free or 86p books onto my kindle. Okay so most of them are a bit pants, and I read the first of a trilogy and liked it so downloaded the other two parts. I think it cost me around less than £6 for 3 good fantasy books.

I also downloaded some business books which I wouldn't have otherwise, they were cheaper but not by a huge amount.

With Amazon you can download them again, so if you damage your kindle you don't lose the books, although of course you have to get another ereader that will load them. I have had some ebooks sent to my email, then I save them and email to the kindle, so I'm not worried about that.

Some books I will want to keep as books, so I still buy them, but it's so handy for reference, to just bookmark a page and find it a lot easier than rummaging through the bookshelf.

I also use it for reading PDFs. It's not brilliant, you have to turn it sideways and I find the keyboard gets in the way (new ones don't have it), and I would prefer the page turning buttons on the bottom as well so I can hold it properly like a book.

I'm so glad I got mine. Only slight issue is I can't read it in the path, but as I said, I still buy books anyway, especially second hand.

When I referred to the cost of replacing books that were available on Kindle, I didn't include certain books that I wouldn't replace even if they were available. There are some books that are a delight to read, either because of the illustrations or because of the quality of the book (usually these are hardbacks). Replacing them just wouldn't feel right.

I'm going to lurk here a while if I may. I've been thinking about an ebook reader for a few months because my limited bookshelf space started spilling out onto the floor in little piles, ooh... more than a year ago, plus it's getting progressively harder for me to read my books in dimly lit bars and restaurants.

I really don't like the idea of tying myself to a proprietary brand with its own exclusive format though, one which isn't the industry standard, and only being to buy from the that maker's own outlet (which, among other reasons, is why I won't buy any Apple product), but I really, really, *really* like the idea of an ebook library. Is there such a thing? Is it technologically possible? I'd pay a small yearly subscription for that.

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That's not so much of a limitation now. There's an excellent piece of software (freely available) that will take all manner of eBook sources and convert them to the Kindle format.

With the Kindle if you can't read a book you might not be able to read the Kindle. It's not back lit (which is why the battery lasts so long I assume), so you'd still need a book light.

Same for the Sony. I think you can buy accessories, like a reading lamp, though.

Not back lit? That seems like a pretty big design flaw to me.

I disagree, because that's what rips the heart out of the battery. It's just the same as a book, either spend £60 and buy an Amazon cover with built in book light, or just buy a cheapy and clip it on.

I hardly ever charge my Kindle.

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Absolutely not. It's the whole point. The Kindle was designed to be as much like reading a 'real' book as possible. It uses a screen technology called eInk. The reason the battery lasts so long is that the device only consumes power when you turn a page/refresh the screen. The current screen could be visible for months, even years, without draining the battery.

It is remarkably akin to reading a book. I was amazed when my wife bought one.

I can second, third and fourth (well you get the drift...) what's been said about the Kindle.

I'm a voracious reader of books (at least 1 or 2 a week) and my family got me one for my birthday. I've always been very sceptical - I love books and I wasn't sure I really agreed with the whole concept of dematerialising them ( a bit like CD's - although MP3 is very practical, theres' something about having the CD, the artwork etc...).

However I have to say I love my Kindle. I have about 2.5 hours of commute every day and all I need to worry about having in my bag is my Kindle (instead of 2 or 3 paperbacks, which generally meant I was walking around with a handbag and an extra bag to carry my books and my newspaper).

The display is amazingly readable (I work at a PC all day and was a bit concerned I wouldn't be up to looking at a screen for an extra 2.5 hours a day) but it doesn't feel like a computer screen at all - I think it's because it's not backlit.

I've downloaded a whole load of classics for free ( around 90 or so) that either I have never got around to reading or that I haven't read for many moons and I coudn't be more delighted. To be honest, I'm reading books that I would never have bought as I simply wouldn't have the space to store them and now I don't have to worry about it.

The only thing I think could make the Kindle more amazing would be the option to buy the Kindle version of a book for an extra £1, say, when you buy the paper edition. Like that I would have the book if I really wanted it, but could avoid damaging it by stuffing it into a bag to be read on the train. I can't see myself paying for a full price paper and Kindle edition...

If the screen isn't backlit it's going to be a waste of money for me because I won't be able to read it in most of the places where I take a book (see above), and I'm certainly not taking a book light or torch into a posh restaurant. I was in one a few weeks which was okay while it was still daylight, and just about okay for a while after it got dark outside, but then they turned the bloody lights down to a murky gloom There was a small candle, a bit bigger than a tea light, in a glass on the table which I had to hold up to my newspaper. That was the only way I could read it. Gave me a bloody headache too

How long do you need the battery to last? It's not like it's a laptop. I know that the biggest battery drain on a laptop is the display, but if my backlit ebook reader runs for four or five hours on a full charge I'm pretty sure that'll be sufficient.