by Christie Kelley
That is the question on my mind today. I recently read two books on the Kindle app that is on my Droid phone. I do like the portability of always having a book (or ten) in my purse to read. But I don’t love the size of the tiny screen.
So now, I’m thinking about whether to invest in a Kindle. The price has come down on the units and the popularity of ebooks is only growing.
I kn
ow some people are saying the Nook is better because it’s color but honestly, I’m an Amazon woman. (Okay, in my short mind I’m a tall Amazon woman…in real life not so tall.) I buy the majority of my books at Amazon because I love the convenience and the quick delivery. I once placed an order at noon and the books were at my house the next afternoon. And that was with the 5-8 day free shipping they offer.
Plus there's now a way to get authors to personalize your ebook. If you haven’t tried it yet, go to www.kindlegraph.com. Several of the Bandits have their books out there and you can request an autograph.
So why all the interest in a Kindle?
This is the good news part of the blog…I recently agreed to write three more books for Kensington. However, they want them only in ebook. Apparently, I sell quite well in ebook format. That’s what really got me thinking it might be time to invest in a Kindle.
I will post more information the books in an upcoming blog...I promise!
Now my questions to you all…do you read ebooks? Do you have a reader? If so, which one did you buy (or receive as a gift)?
65 comments:
Aloha! GR has another surfing and hula lesson tomorrow!
I do not own an ereader. I have too many print books in the TBR pile plus I just love the feel of a print book.
But I also recognize it is the way of the future. Perhaps by the time my TBR file is done, the technology will be cheap and the distribution issues will be resolved.
I often have a hard time giving away an ebook on my blog. Some readers (like me) don't have them.
Still, a book from Christie Kelley would motivate me to at least read it on the computer (or print it out).
Kim got the chook! Have fun surfing.... tell feather boy to watch out for sharks. :)
I read ebooks like crazy. I enjoy the instant gratification of purchasing a book via internet. I don't own an ereader though. I use the PC software and have both Nook and Kindle on my computer. As some books are available on one and not the other. I really enjoy the Nook PC feature, and love being hands free. I don't know if I could switch to the smaller screen of an ereader and have contemplated the purchase. Until I decide and raise the funds for my 'me' gift, I will continue to spend most of my book money online.
Oh, I forgot. Great post topic Christie and I own 3 of your books in Nook format (when I wanted them the store was closed).
He does loving being with you Kim enjoy your day with him
Christie
I am so happy that you have signed a new book deal I so love your books who hoo.
Now for the question yes I have an e book reader and mine is a stash a very cheap one here in Australia but it does the job I want it to do which is downloads books that I love to read mine doesn't read books with a DRM but I have calibre that takes it off and I can read them I enjoy it very much but in saying that I still love my paper books as well. One of the main reasons I got a e reader was that a fair few authors are now only getting published as e books an I didn't want to miss them. I know that I will update to a better one probably at Christmas and I will probably get the Sony
E Reader or maybe a kindle they are getting very cheap here in Oz at the moment.
Have Fun
Helen
Congrats on the book deal, Christie. I don't own an ereader. I do read digital books on my computer. I do want to get a Kindle of Nook color. They are getting cheaper, so I definitely hope to get one soon.
good job GR is with you for the surk Kim as it is too cold heresurfing unless you are a pro
I have a Sony ebook reader, I also have a Stash like Helen but that has a screen like the phones and I cannot read that outside as I like to go in a sunny spot in the garden to read. I also like that when I go away I have books to read and don't have to worry that I will run out of books LOL .... I have to link the sony to the computer via USB cord as it is not wi-fi
GREAT topic, Christie!
I know e-readers are the future. And heaven knows, I have NO SPACE in my house for even more print books. My TBR pile now resembles those lava flows on the Big Island, Kim! ;-) Covering every available surface. HA!
I do LURVE my print books, but I have put the word out that I'd like a Kindle in my Xmas stocking. Let's see if anyone around here is paying attention. :-P
AC
Hey, Kim, you've had a run on Sir Rooster this week. What's going on? Aren't you sleeping in Hawaii? Was thinking sadly that I would have been seeing you in a couple of weeks if plans had worked out. Oh, well, next time.
Christie, huge congratulations on the three book contract and yay for you selling so well in e-book. There's a perception that historical readers are really conservative and haven't moved to the new format and I don't think that's entirely true.
Having said that, I LOVE my print books and I'm very slow to adopt new technology (as you know, I only got a digital camera last November). So I suspect print and I will be friends for quite a while yet.
Hi Christie
I do not have an e-reader although i do read e-books on my laptop. Although its more convenient and im thinking about getting a kindle, i can't get over my passion for print books. I just love the smell of new books. The new parchment smell, the 1st time you open a book to read it.
Congratulations on your book deal!
Congrats!
I started reading ebooks years ago on my old laptop. Now I have a Kindle which is fun but I have problems with reading full-length books on it. It also doesn't read any epubs so no library books like my laptop. Recently, I've been playing more games and surfing the web than reading ebooks though.
WHOHOOOOOOOOOOO Christie :-) A big happy hug of congratulations on your 3 new sales!! That's so awesome.
As to your question, I have the Nook and buy most of my ebooks via Barnes & Noble (and have them in a few seconds *g*). But I do tend to read more on my iPad than the Nook because it's easier to crawl into bed at 3am and read on the backlit iPad screen than to wake the hubster with a light. And on the iPad, I can read Kindle books and iBooks too. I love the options :-)
That said, I still read more on paper. I love taking a few dozen books with me wherever I go, but if I find a book that I know I'm going to want to read a second time, I buy a paperback, too.
By the time JK Rowling releases the Harry Potter books in digital, we'll have them in hardback, paperback and audio as well LOL. I'm not adverse to having more than one option to read!!!
Kindle Second Generation for me. It has the 3G wireless I love the instant gratification and being able to adjust the print size. If I am waiting in the car I turn the screen and hook the cover over the steering wheel to read. Much as I love my paperbacks I can't do that with them.
Congrats on the GR, Kim!
I agree about the feel of a book in your hands. An ereader just isn't the same. And thanks for saying one of my books would motivate you to read an ebook :)
Landa, I didn't know you could read Nook and Kindle books on your PC. Personally, I wouldn't want to have my laptop on my lap to read but I can see where some people might like that.
Landa...lol about your second comment. It's the instant gratification thing that people have warned about with the Kindle. It's just sooo easy to buy a book.
Thanks, Helen. I do love that the readers are coming down in price. Nothing like a little competition to make things cheaper.
Thanks, Jane. I haven't read many books on my PC. I sit in my office enough when I'm writing. So I don't want to be here to read a book. And I don't want a hot laptop on my legs. It's just too hard to get comfortable.
Barb, do you like the Sony ereader? I've had a few people write me and say they have a hard time finding me in the Sony format.
AC, the space issue is a really good point. I don't have room for any more books either!
I have to get ready for work. Unfortunately, I can't access the blog at work so I'll catch up later. Have fun today!!
Yes... I have a Kindle and it was a gift from my big sister! But I still love print books... and just a hint if you're a bathtub reader? Use a ziplock bag!
I have a Kindle. I looked at both the Nook and the kindle and decided the Kindle was the best for me. If I read magazines and such, too, yeah, I would have gotten the Nook. Kindle is like reading a real book in many ways and I can read it in sunlight without glare. And after working on the computer--as much as I do--I don't need more lit screen.
I'm an amazon girl, too. I order all my books, eBooks and print, through them.
I'll be on the lookout for these next three you're putting out. :-)
Sia McKye's Thoughts...OVER COFFEE
Yes, I read a lot of ebooks. I have a Kindle, a Nook Color and an Aluratek LIbre and use all three for different formats. I also have a Palm TX that still works for ebooks.
Yay for the new contract, Christie! Congratulations!
I don't have an ereader yet, but I find that I'm reading more and more ebooks on my computer. An ereader, probably a Kindle, is definitely in my near future. The immediate gratification is part of the appeal, but book storage is the big sell for me. I've reached the saturation point for keepers already. For every book I add to a keeper shelf, I have to get rid of an older keeper. :(
I am an Amazon women myself! My son bought me a Kindle and I love it. I love that you can increase the print size and get books so fast. I still read paper books because I do love the feel of the paper in my hand but I enjoy the ebooks also. Its the best of both worlds.
I have the NOOKcolor (there is the 'regular' variety as well) and love it because I'm addicted to reading in bed and love not having to have a light on. I got my first e-reader, the eBookwise, back when I published my first stories with e-publishers, so I've been a digital convert for a long, long, time. Not exclusively digital, mind you--there's no reason anything has to be either-or. Choices are good.
Terry
Terry's Place
Romance with a Twist--of Mystery
I received as a gift (prize on a blog) a Sony EReader, which I like. It's small, about the size of a romance novel. I sometimes squint at the screen, so I imagine I might later convert to Kindle. I too am an Amazon girl. I secretly dream of the Kindle. *LOL* I'm very happy with my eReader--it's free and works great and has perks I'm sure I don't even realize, but it's like being given a new free KIA when I'm a Ford girl. :) I have a KIA and it drives fine, but there are times when I straight up miss my Ford Taurus. Period. *LOL*
Hey Christy!
I gave in last winter and asked for a Kindle for Christmas. I adore mine!
Now, before anyone goes haywire, there are still authors whom I prefer to read in real book form. I buy their books in hardback when they first come out and collect them on my keeper shelf.
But for those books I know I'd like to read but don't want the inconvenience of the books piling up to overflowing in my office, (looking at my TBR pile that grew once more after Nationals), I use my Kindle. For authors I've never read before, I use my kindle.
PLUS...here's the added bonus, I can enlarge the font if I want! Too cool for my aging eyes!
Christie, I do have a Kindle, which I use for my right-before-sleep reading, but I generally still prefer print. I'm a bit of a slow adopter though, so, take that with a grain of salt :) E-books are super convenient for the instant gratification factor, plus there's no danger of tripping over that portion of my TBR ;)
I love my Nook; you can purchase your e-books from anywhere that sells in pdub or pdf format. However the downside to a nook the battery life sucks. The kindle I have heard has great battery life. So if you are a one stop Amazon lady I think the kindle is your ticket to e-book nirvana.
Christy -
First Mega-Congrats on the new contract. Kensington is wise to keep ahold of you.
As to ebooks, I'm right there with you. I don't want to read books on my phone, thank you very much, but a kindle or nook is different. I recently bought an iPad2 and I'm downloading books on that through the Kindle app, but I haven't actually read anything on it yet. Love my iPad, though, cause it can do lots of cool things!
At a booksigning this weekend I played a little with the Nook. Did you know you can play Angry Birds on a Nook? I really like the color, especially if you plan to use it for magazines and such. Besides, our covers look much better in color then black and white.
But the Kindle has the advantage of price.
I have an iriver Cover Story. It's shorter than a Kindle and it has a touch screen. I'm happy with the product, even though I've mostly read the classics on it. My problem is finding a website that sells e-books I can download on my e-reader. Everything seems to only cater to Nook and Kindle nowadays. Or maybe I don't know where to look...
No ereader for me as yet, I have read
print for near seventy years and just
can't see me changing my ways soon!
I was the last in the family to get a
cell phone and to move on to a laptop.
In fact, Honey had to drag me kicking
and screaming into the new technology.
Almost, but not quite in the literal
sense, he gifted me with them! I did
resist, though!!!
Pat C.
I was on the fence for the longest time about whether I wanted to buy a Ereader or not. Then I won one and I still didn't really want to read from it. I just had too many print books waiting to be read. Then I got an ebook that I had really been wanting to read so I finally used my Kindle. I think I've only read 2 or 3 print books since. I love reading on my Kindle. It feels weird for me to read a print book now. Don't get me wrong, I still love print books, and I still have a lot to read but I'm definitely not buy them anymore.
I own a Nook and received it as a gift from hubby. I think he hoped I wouldn't have so many books sitting around. (Now have over 200 books in the library.) Love it. Especially when my eyes get tired and I can make the font larger!
Anna, don't get me wrong, I still love sitting down with a book and opening for the first time. It's a wonderful experience for the senses.
Sonali, LOL...I just read your comment after commenting on Anna's post. I said almost the same thing about the experience of opening a book for the first time.
Sheree, don't play Angry Birds...don't play Angry Birds.
I'd love to know why you have problems reading full length books on the Kindle. I need all the information I can get.
I don't read ebooks, yet. I still like the paper book in my hand. But... who knows what the future will bring!
Hi Christie!
Great blog. And great questions. Very timely.
I will tell you that I thought I would be the LAST person to ever like an e-reader. I love the feel of a book. I love to turn the pages. I love the smell.
But I got a Kindle as a gift, and....I prefer the Kindle. I love it that I can see a book here on the blog, grab my Kindle and five minutes later, I have it, right there. I like having all those books in a small, light package.
That said, I wanted a Nook for several reasons. I don't like Amazon's corporate behavior. That's just me, and not saying anyone else should feel that way. I want to support Barnes & Noble because they're the last holdout for brick and mortar bookstores. There will never be a coffee shop attached to my Kindle. AND....here's what I've discovered that I actually miss MOST about real books.....
Covers. I miss having that full-color cover of the main characters in a romance novel. I really like being able to just flip back to the cover and look at that image every now and then, as I'm reading. I had no idea I needed that ability, but I do. The Kindle (the one I have) has only a teensy cover image, and it's black and white.
So if I got another e-reader, it would be a Nook.
But in answer to the main question, yes, I'm an e-reader convert. I have too many books and too little space. There will be some I will always want in real book form. And let's face it. You can't loan a great e-book to your close friend. You can't pass it on to someone to introduce them to a new author. And if I break my Kindle, are my books still there, in my account in the sky? I don't know.
So right now, I'm only getting books on the Kindle that I know I probably would read and pass along, rather than keep forever. If, once I've read them, I do want them on that keeper shelf, I'll go buy them in hard copy.
I'm hoping the world ends up with both. It's probably a vain hope, but I still hold it.
Tawny, I haven't even considered the iPad. I think if I had that I'd start doing other things instead of reading.
Diana, I love the ability to change the font size on the kindle. That's one of its major attractions to me. My eyes just aren't what they used to be.
girlygirl, I never would have thought about putting it in a ziploc bag for reading in the tub! Great idea!
Hi Sia, I feel the same about being on the computer all day and then reading with a backlit screen. I also love the fact that I can read outside with the Kindle.
Wow, Marie, you really are a dedicated ebook reader! I've never met anyone with all those readers!
Thanks, Janga! I'm just wondering if I can wait for Christmas to get the Kindle.
Virgina, the font size is a really big plus the older I get. I've never had good eyes but once I hit 40, they got so much worse. I'll probably have it set so I can only get a sentence or two on the screen :)
Terry, you're right, choices are good. I still love a good book in my hands.
MsHellion, you made me laugh with your Kia reference. I'd be happy with a free ereader too. Or any ereader right about now.
Suz, it's funny how many people are talking about the font size being such a plus. I don't have any more room for books. I don't know what I'll do next time I go to Nationals.
Fedora, I'm a little bit of a slow adapter too. I'll probably always prefer a real book in my hands. But I do love the portability of an ereader.
Donna, thanks for the heads up about playing Angry Birds on the Nook. Now it's definitely off the list!!
Antonia, I've had a few fans write me and say they can't find my books for some of the different ereaders. I honestly don't know where to tell them to look. That's why I'm sticking with the Kindle.
Cassondra, I'm really surprised that you have a Kindle and that you like it so much. But I'm glad to hear you like it. I've heard the instant gratification thing can be a little dangerous. But I think it will be worth the risk :)
Kat, ebook nirvana...I like the sound of that.
Pat, my mom is the same way about books. The last thing she wants is an ereader. In fact, she's disappointed that my next few books won't be available in print. I'll have to print her off a copy.
Danielle, you really converted to ebooks! Aren't you my one reader who asked for my Kindlgraph? You should let us know how you like that feature.
Nan, I'm glad you like the Nook. Donna just warned me away from it because you can play games on it. That's the last thing I need.
Cheryl, I felt the same way about ebooks for the longest time. It wasn't until I got my Droid that I read a full length ebook. Now I want one!
I recently got a kindle and I LOVE it! It is so handy, you can cary hundreds of books with you everywhere you go, and there is no space issue. I have so many print books that I am running out of space to put them, mainly because if I love a book, I want to keep it to read again, especially those by my favorite authors. The kindle allows me to carry alot of books (which is great if I go to my sister's or brother's house for a weekend or something), and I don't have to worry about one of my young neices or nephews picking up one of my books and reading something that they are not old enough for, thanks to the password available. My only problem is that this makes it even easier to buy more books. LOL.
The problem with the Kindle for me is that I don't carry it everywhere like a lot of people do with theirs. Consequently, I only read on the Kindle at bedtime. It took me days to finish Elisabeth Naughton's MARKED, whereas I usually take two days to read a paper book, so by the time I was near the end of the book, I had forgotten the beginning. It's best if I stick to novellas and short stories on the Kindle.
Of course, I have a slew of reasons why I prefer paper books, mostly due to mhy reading habits (I remember a book by the cover - not necessarily the author's name or the title - and I forget what books I have read on the Kindle and, even worse, what the plot was). Still, I like the convenience of having a whole slew of stories to read on one little machine.
Now, if only there were ebooks available (legal or not) for my mother to read in her native language, I'd get on the ebook bandwagon.
That GR is no dummy! He is loving his Aloha Vacation!
Congrats on the new contract, Christie! I'll read your books no matter what format they're in.
I don't own an eReader as I am such a Luddite I prefer my print books and probably always will.
BUT ! I do have the program on my computer where I can download e-books. I tend to print them out and put them in a binder to read, but I will do that for books I really want to read. Like yours!
Kindlegraph is great Christie and thanks so much for signing my ebook! I think it's great epecially for people who aren't able to go to signings, they can still get their books autographed.
Congratulations on the new contract!
I bought an e-ink Nook last summer after a year of reading on my phone started giving me headaches. I hardly read print anymore at all--took me two months to read The Iron Duke. Though I loved it, I tend to pick up my Nook first. I love the adjustable font and the variety of books and the instant gratification. I liked getting library books on it, but there are so many free and cheap ebooks these days, I rarely use that feature anymore. I will say the Nook had a big learning curve when I had to sideload books I'd already bought onto it. I might go with a Kindle next time.
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