E-books

[Hans Deventer]

It seems the ebooks are finally taking off. Anybody here who switched to ebooks want to share his/her experience?

[Jay Stiegelmeyer]

I pre-ordered the latest Kindle release and am waiting for it to ship but no experience to share yet.

[Hans Deventer]

Thanks Jay. No one else?

[Cam Pence]

Thanks Jay. No one else?

i messed around with my brothers kindle and fell in love, will have one soon.

[Dana Grant]

I received a gift card for my birthday and am seriously considering the Kindle 3-G wifi (the small version). Nothing to report yet, though......and it is on back order, so it may be a while!!

[Jeremy D. Scott]

Hans, I am currently selling many of my books to fund my "iPad Savings Account" to begin the process of perhaps getting one. It won't be anytime soon as I will surely wait for the next iPad release (rumored for January). If what Apple releases doesn't fit what I think it should (could!) be, I will consider the Kindle.

(But don't make this thread a big deal...I want to get top dollar for my books!)

[Zach Wingo]

I have been reading books in PDF format for years and prefer that to physical books most of the time. I love reading on my iPod Touch but the print is small and not the best for extended reading. I use the Kindle software on my computer and iPod which automatically syncs the books I buy across all my devices so I can simply start the program and continue reading where I left off on another device. The books are significantly cheaper in most cases which is a huge benefit.

I've used iPad's for reading and it's a decent experience but not ideal for avid readers for several reasons: 1.) Battery life sucks compared with dedicated e-readers, 2.) It's weighs 3 times as much as the newest Kindle and is uncomfortable to hold for extended periods of time.

I have only used the physical Kindle for very short times when checking out someone else's. With the new pricing for the Kindle I am ordering one this week and look forward to using it since all the reviews have been very positive. The only major downside to the Kindle is it does not have support for .pub format which many of the freely available non-copyrighted books use. There are ways to convert it to the Kindle format but it's not always perfect. Overall I much prefer ebooks to physical books.

[Diane Likens]

I tried. I really did. It just wasn't the same as curling up in the corner of the couch with a book. I'm all for technology. But please don't ever take my books away from me! I guess it's a nostalgia thing for me.

[Billie Goodson]

I debated a Kindle but ended up purchasing an iPad - and downloaded the kindle app. I do agree about the weight of the iPad, but some books are pretty heavy so I kind of talked myself into that being a wash. The versatility of the iPad just made more sense because it would fill other niches, mainly almost replacing my laptop on trips. My company laptop is a beast because it is way overpowered for my travel requirements. I did order several books already, they were on the free list at Amazon. Mainly Chesterton. I also have a couple of sample portions of books from Wright on iBooks. I still have a few paperbooks that I need to work off while I transition over to e-books.

[David Pettigrew]

I have a first generation Kindle. I use it every day. It has already paid for itself twice over.

[Jay Stiegelmeyer]

I received a gift card for my birthday and am seriously considering the Kindle 3-G wifi (the small version). Nothing to report yet, though......and it is on back order, so it may be a while!!

Just curious why you are considering going with the 3G version over the wifi only version? I got the wifi only because I didn't think I would use the 3G enough to spend the extra $50.

BTW, when I purchased mine a couple weeks ago it said it would probably ship around August 27th. I hope there isn't much delay beyond that.

[Amber Drake]

Has anybody tried the Nook? I don't have any of the ebooks but have been considering it. What I've heard is that Kindle and iPad are pretty exclusive in the file types you can read, but the Nook can read pretty much any file type. Is this the case? What are some of the other differences?

On another note, should we be asking the publishing house to make more of the books and (my dream) the commentaries available to these services?

[Billie Goodson]

Has anybody tried the Nook? I don't have any of the ebooks but have been considering it. What I've heard is that Kindle and iPad are pretty exclusive in the file types you can read, but the Nook can read pretty much any file type. Is this the case? What are some of the other differences?

On another note, should we be asking the publishing house to make more of the books and (my dream) the commentaries available to these services?

The iPad can read iBooks from the Apple Store, and via a free app it can also read Kindle, as well as pdf. This site does a simple comparison between the three (and some others). The biggest thing for me was that it handled the Kindle format.

Availability is a big thing. I wonder if NPH will consider making titles available?

[Jeremy D. Scott]

Samsung is about to announce the first mass-market Android Tablet. It will depend greatly on the price, but it could compete:



(And it's size will depend on whether or not it can compete as an e-reader.)

[Billy Cox]

It seems the ebooks are finally taking off. Anybody here who switched to ebooks want to share his/her experience?

Perhaps this is the beginning of the end of what the clergy politely refer to as 'library envy'.

[Cam Pence]

Has anybody tried the Nook? I don't have any of the ebooks but have been considering it. What I've heard is that Kindle and iPad are pretty exclusive in the file types you can read, but the Nook can read pretty much any file type. Is this the case? What are some of the other differences?

On another note, should we be asking the publishing house to make more of the books and (my dream) the commentaries available to these services?

i messed around with the nook a few weeks ago in a barnes and nobles. it is slick looking but, in my opinion, was not nearly as user friendly as the kindle.

[Eric Buell]

I received a Kindle for Christmas and use it everyday - books, newspapers, blogs. I even bought a few textbooks for a course as I finished my graduate degree. The Kindle app on Mac is useful as well.

[Ryan Scott]

Availability is a big thing. I wonder if NPH will consider making titles available?

I know The House was working on digital versions of its books. I don't know if they're available or if they will be, but it has been a consideration.

[David Parker]

Both my parents (mid to late 70's) are avid e-book people. My mother is on her second Kindle. Dad started out with the Sony...not sure if he has stuck with it or changed to Kindle. I was on the phone telling him about a book I read recently that I thought he would enjoy and he bought/downloaded it as we talked. They both won't go anywhere without their readers.

I'm still clinging to bound books...but I'm afraid their days are numbered...

[Billie Goodson]

Both my parents (mid to late 70's) are avid e-book people. My mother is on her second Kindle. Dad started out with the Sony...not sure if he has stuck with it or changed to Kindle. I was on the phone telling him about a book I read recently that I thought he would enjoy and he bought/downloaded it as we talked. They both won't go anywhere without their readers.

I'm still clinging to bound books...but I'm afraid their days are numbered...

I had really resisted because I tend to highlight a lot in the religion books I read. I then enter the highlighted sections into my computer. Then a fellow passenger on a flight turned me on to what the kindle could do with highlight and export. Also, books that I read just for enjoyment like Grisham's and Griffin are often read on a trip where I get them in the airport on the way out and return them for 1/2 refund on the return legs.

[Shea Zellweger]

I just purchased my Sony Reader about... 3 hours ago. Many of my MTR classes require me to read a couple chapters from each of several books, so purchasing the books was something I wasn't looking forward to. However, our library has copy machines that allow us to scan several pages (or chapters, or books) into them, and have a single .pdf of everything we scan in one session emailed directly to our student accounts. I was debating between the Sony and the Kindle, and both are compatible with .pdf's (although I think there's some conversion involved). Since each of the required books is available in the library, I will likely be saving quite a bit of $$ on book purchases. This semester alone would have cost me about $300-400 in book purchases or $200-250 in paper/ink or copier fees, so by my count my $180 purchase has already more than paid for itself, and I think the font enlargement feature and lack of backlighting will save me a fortune in opthomological bills.
The reason I chose the Sony over the Kindle is that Sony has a Touch option (I purchased this model) which, among other things, allows you to highlight passages, much like one might with a real book. I tried it out, and it felt much more natural than Kindle's highlight feature. Believe it or not, I will be very happy to get away from the glare of a computer screen . It's also compatible with Google's online bookstore, which is rumored to have millions of free books (I think Kindle does this as well).

In regard to Sony vs. Kindle vs. Nook vs... whatever, there are some minor differences- Sony has Touch, Kindle will read to you, stuff like that- but in the end I think the main distinguishing factor is Sony gives you access to the Sony library, Kindle to Amazon, Nook to Borders, and so forth.

[Hans Deventer]

In regard to Sony vs. Kindle vs. Nook vs... whatever, there are some minor differences- Sony has Touch, Kindle will read to you, stuff like that- but in the end I think the main distinguishing factor is Sony gives you access to the Sony library, Kindle to Amazon, Nook to Borders, and so forth.

Yeah, and that's my main concern. Over here, I hear a lot of good comments on this one, don't know if it's available in the USA: http://mybebook.com/6-inch-ereaders/...duct_info.html

[Jeremy D. Scott]

I know The House was working on digital versions of its books. I don't know if they're available or if they will be, but it has been a consideration.

The Kingdom Experiment is on Kindle.
So's The Mosaic Experiment.
The Sinai Experiment is not. Ryan...you should complain. How else will you get rich?

(For those who don't know, THS's latest book was written by Ryan.)

[Ryan Scott]

The Kingdom Experiment is on Kindle.
So's The Mosaic Experiment.
The Sinai Experiment is not. Ryan...you should complain. How else will you get rich?

(For those who don't know, THS's latest book was written by Ryan.)

Apparently the design for these books doesn't translate well to ebook formats and require a bit of tweaking by the design team. Also, I think Shane Claiborne is more of a priority, which is fine by me. If his project makes some money they might let me write something else in the future.

[Jeremy D. Scott]

So as I've been listing books to sell to fund my "get an iPad" account, I've found that many of them are not on Kindle. I guess I had kind of thought that most books in the last decade or so would be on there. I was wrong.

Beacon Hill needs to get on top of it.

[Billie Goodson]

So as I've been listing books to sell to fund my "get an iPad" account, I've found that many of them are not on Kindle. I guess I had kind of thought that most books in the last decade or so would be on there. I was wrong.

Beacon Hill needs to get on top of it.

Yeah, we aren't ready to be paperless yet....

On another note, I downloaded a Nook app for my iPad last night. So that is another reader-type that it handles. This is somewhat an assumption that all of the formats handled by the Nook/Kindle are supported by the apps. Wonder if that is a safe assumption.

[Rich Schmidt]

I haven't, but my wife is evaluating both an iPad and a Nook for work, and while she loves the small size and weight of the Nook compared to the iPad, she says that she reads more slowly with it than she does with either an iPad or paper book. I think it has to do with the e-ink delay when you turn pages. That frustrates her. (She's spent several hours reading on it, so it's not a matter of not giving it a fair shot or not having a chance to adapt to it.) She had the iPad first, and I think it spoiled her, being able to just touch the pages to turn them.

I also have a friend who reads quite a bit and absolutely LOVES her Nook.

As for me, it'll be a while before I switch. I don't buy a ton of books now, but the ones I do buy, I want to be able to easily loan to someone at church so they can read it, too. All my light/pleasure reading is already done for free by borrowing books from the library.

[Rich Schmidt]

In regard to Sony vs. Kindle vs. Nook vs... whatever, there are some minor differences- Sony has Touch, Kindle will read to you, stuff like that- but in the end I think the main distinguishing factor is Sony gives you access to the Sony library, Kindle to Amazon, Nook to Borders, and so forth.

On another note, I downloaded a Nook app for my iPad last night. So that is another reader-type that it handles. This is somewhat an assumption that all of the formats handled by the Nook/Kindle are supported by the apps. Wonder if that is a safe assumption.

The differing-catalogs issue is something that leans in favor of iPad. It has access to iBooks, Kindle, Nook, and more (I don't know about Sony) through their apps.

By the way, the Nook is connected to Barnes & Noble, not Borders.

[Billie Goodson]

By the way, the Nook is connected to Barnes & Noble, not Borders.

Borders is advertising The Cruz (TM), which is an Android(?) reader when it releases (September?). They also advertise the Kobo, which is "considerably cheaper than other ereaders at $149". Interesting, most of the other readers are $149...

[Ryan Scott]

I love books, usually I buy them used. With the rise of ereaders I can only assume there will be a good 20 year period where used books become plentiful and cheap. After that, they may become rare and expensive, but I'll live in the now, for now.

[Jay Stiegelmeyer]

Borders is advertising The Cruz (TM), which is an Android(?) reader when it releases (September?). They also advertise the Kobo, which is "considerably cheaper than other ereaders at $149". Interesting, most of the other readers are $149...

I just bought the new Kindle for $139 (wifi-only). I have been reading this thread with interest because it hasn't shipped yet and I could still cancel if I change my mind. For me price is the most important factor since this will be my first e-reader and I am not 100% sure how I am going to like it. Features and readability are also very important. I don't necessarily like being tied to Amazon for my purchases, but I like the fact that they seem to be out in front in the e-reader market because it makes me feel like they will a)be around a while and b)continue to improve their product to stay ahead.

[Billie Goodson]

I just bought the new Kindle for $139 (wifi-only). I have been reading this thread with interest because it hasn't shipped yet and I could still cancel if I change my mind. For me price is the most important factor since this will be my first e-reader and I am not 100% sure how I am going to like it. Features and readability are also very important. I don't necessarily like being tied to Amazon for my purchases, but I like the fact that they seem to be out in front in the e-reader market because it makes me feel like they will a)be around a while and b)continue to improve their product to stay ahead.

I was pretty set to buy the Kindle too, some other factors and some gift cards sent my way made the iPad a very viable option and pretty affordable. Since I literally despise Best Buy, using the cards for a simple one-time purchase made it very mentally relaxing to me.

[Shea Zellweger]

The differing-catalogs issue is something that leans in favor of iPad. It has access to iBooks, Kindle, Nook, and more (I don't know about Sony) through their apps.

It would lean in favor of iPad, except that Google Editions is due to launch any time now... They will be making available every out of print and out of copyright book, as well as out of print yet in copyright books except where the author or publisher turns off that feature, and authors/publishers can make their in-copyright/in-print books available for distribution or sale. The iPad might still offer a slight advantage, but at 3-8 times the price of other readers, I don't think reader capabilities alone would be the selling point for me.

So far, I've found more books in "the field" (theology) on ebooks.com than on any individual reader

[Rich Schmidt]

It would lean in favor of iPad, except that Google Editions is due to launch any time now... They will be making available every out of print and out of copyright book, as well as out of print yet in copyright books except where the author or publisher turns off that feature, and authors/publishers can make their in-copyright/in-print books available for distribution or sale. The iPad might still offer a slight advantage, but at 3-8 times the price of other readers, I don't think reader capabilities alone would be the selling point for me.

So far, I've found more books in "the field" (theology) on ebooks.com than on any individual reader

I would think that Google Editions would be one more thing in favor of iPad over Kindle, Nook, etc. I'm sure the iPad will be able to browse Google Editions books. Will Kindle, Nook, Sony, etc? I don't know enough about it to know, and the Wikipedia page you linked to had very little information on it.

There's definitely a price gap between the iPad and the less-expensive versions of the various e-ink devices. I'm not really in the market for an e-reader device... but I'm loving the iPad my wife is evaluating. The ability to use it as an e-reader is just one more reason to like it.

[Shea Zellweger]

I would think that Google Editions would be one more thing in favor of iPad over Kindle, Nook, etc. I'm sure the iPad will be able to browse Google Editions books. Will Kindle, Nook, Sony, etc? I don't know enough about it to know, and the Wikipedia page you linked to had very little information on it.

Currently, Google Books allows you to download public domain books as .pdf or EPUB. From what I've gathered, Google Editions is going to be an extension of that project. All reader devices are compatible with google books, .pdf, and EPUB, and I haven't heard anything about Google coming out with its own reader, so I am assuming that they will produce their materials in a way that can be distributed as widely as possible, so either EPUB or .pdf (preferrably the former). I'm sure iPad will be able to browse/download Google books/editions, and Google will probably engineer an app for it, but my point was that Google Editions will likely encompass the majority of the offerings that Kindle, Sony, et al have, at comparable prices, so the reader-library tie will be less important in the coming months. Add in other sources, like ebooks.com (with a great academic section), and publishers that are beginning to offer ebooks concurrently with the release of the physical media, and it probably won't be long before DRM is irrelevant in the "which reader?" debate.

There's definitely a price gap between the iPad and the less-expensive versions of the various e-ink devices. I'm not really in the market for an e-reader device... but I'm loving the iPad my wife is evaluating. The ability to use it as an e-reader is just one more reason to like it.

Yeah, I can see a lot of great reasons to love the iPad, but since this is an ebook thread, I was looking specifically at the iPad as a reader. Unless someone wants desperately to have access to the libraries of Sony, Amazon, and B&N, the price differential is such that purchasing the iPad for the sake of having a reader doesn't make sense, especially with the above statements in regard to other more open ebook formats. Now, as a computer replacement... well, that's been discussed on the iPad thread .

[Rich Schmidt]

Currently, Google Books allows you to download public domain books as .pdf or EPUB. From what I've gathered, Google Editions is going to be an extension of that project.

Ah, I didn't realize they make them downloadable. I didn't get that from the descriptions at the Wikipedia page or at the Google page I found about "getting started with Google Editions." Maybe I just missed it. (And I never use Google Books.)

So that'll cover all the out of print books, huh? And for current books, we'll all rely on the catalog of whichever reader we happen to own. Works for me. It'd be great if they could all get deals worked out with all the publishers, so that anyone could find any book on any device/service. I think that's where you were headed with this bit...

Add in other sources, like ebooks.com (with a great academic section), and publishers that are beginning to offer ebooks concurrently with the release of the physical media, and it probably won't be long before DRM is irrelevant in the "which reader?" debate.

That will be a great day, comparable to when the music studios finally allowed everyone to sell mp3's/aac's without DRM. Hopefully it won't take too long for the book publishing world to get there.

Yeah, I can see a lot of great reasons to love the iPad, but since this is an ebook thread, I was looking specifically at the iPad as a reader. Unless someone wants desperately to have access to the libraries of Sony, Amazon, and B&N, the price differential is such that purchasing the iPad for the sake of having a reader doesn't make sense, especially with the above statements in regard to other more open ebook formats. Now, as a computer replacement... well, that's been discussed on the iPad thread .

Considering the iPad just as a reader... I suppose that for some folks the increase in price might be worth it in order to have color*, the capacitive touch screen**, an LCD display***... and maybe to combine devices. Just like my iPhone replaces 3 separate devices (phone, iPod, calendar/PDA), some folks might not want to carry a reader + a laptop and would rather just carry an iPad. But apart from those, if all a person wants is an ebook reader, then I agree that there are certainly cheaper, lighter, smaller options than the iPad.

* Apparently now you can get color on a low-cost reader: The Literati. (NY Times link)

** I know your Sony has a touch screen, but it's resistive, not capacitive, and some may just prefer the capacitive touch screen.

*** I'm not a fan of e-ink displays. Maybe it would grow on me if I had to use it for a while, but that hasn't happened yet.

[Billie Goodson]

Considering the iPad just as a reader... I suppose that for some folks the increase in price might be worth it in order to have color*, the capacitive touch screen**, an LCD display***... and maybe to combine devices. Just like my iPhone replaces 3 separate devices (phone, iPod, calendar/PDA), some folks might not want to carry a reader + a laptop and would rather just carry an iPad. But apart from those, if all a person wants is an ebook reader, then I agree that there are certainly cheaper, lighter, smaller options than the iPad.

The versatility did it for me. When considering the other ereaders, I just thought that the ability to download other reader apps was just going to make the flexibility of the iPad a huge plus. Not sure the number of free books that Amazon or the others might have over Google but I would expect most of the gap to be closed quickly. Since Google is just taking advantage of the out of copyright/print titles, what keeps the others from jumping in as well. The first four books I downloaded from Amazon were free because of their age/copyright.

This post entered via an iPad...get your reader to do that!

[Jeremy D. Scott]

When I was with him a couple of weeks ago for a wedding, one of the biggest Mac fanboys I know (probably top three, if not #1) said to me that he envisions having a Kindle in addition to his iPad soon enough. I was one of the first to say that the Kindle was done when the iPad came out. But the drastic difference in price, I think the Kindle's okay. I know more people with a Kindle than I do iPads (and most of them were bought since the price drop, well after the iPad release).

We could see e-readers drop even more so, possibly even as cheap as free soon enough. At that point, the iPad has nothing over them as far as e-readers go. I'm the first to desire but one device for all my needs, but if e-readers were ever free...even a Kindle and an iPad together take up less space than a single laptop in my bag.

[Billie Goodson]

We could see e-readers drop even more so, possibly even as cheap as free soon enough. At that point, the iPad has nothing over them as far as e-readers go. I'm the first to desire but one device for all my needs, but if e-readers were ever free...even a Kindle and an iPad together take up less space than a single laptop in my bag.

Free would have me getting a Kindle. The majority of the books I buy online are from amazon. Of course, the overall majority of books I buy would really be from airport bookstores if you take all purchases into account. That made the ebooks a real nice option, packing two paperbooks in my already full laptop bag is a major space issue. Now, I can take literally hundreds of books with me! And dump the laptop! I now have to figure out how to handle my new packing requirements!

[Shea Zellweger]

Ah, I didn't realize they make them downloadable. I didn't get that from the descriptions at the Wikipedia page or at the Google page I found about "getting started with Google Editions." Maybe I just missed it. (And I never use Google Books.)

So that'll cover all the out of print books, huh? And for current books, we'll all rely on the catalog of whichever reader we happen to own. Works for me. It'd be great if they could all get deals worked out with all the publishers, so that anyone could find any book on any device/service. I think that's where you were headed with this bit...

From what I've read from different sources, that's not completely the case. It will cover ALL books which are both out of print and out of copyright(for free), as fast as Google can digitize them. It will offer Books which are out of print but still in copyright for sale, but the publisher will have the option to disable this feature. In addition, publishers will be able to grant permission for Google Editions to carry in-copyright/in-print books. The hope among those of us who don't like DRM (so... everyone ) is that publishers will grant these permissions for all books, and that authors won't protest as long as they get their royalties.

That will be a great day, comparable to when the music studios finally allowed everyone to sell mp3's/aac's without DRM. Hopefully it won't take too long for the book publishing world to get there.

Hopefully.

* Apparently now you can get color on a low-cost reader: The Literati. (NY Times link)

I think once the DRM war is over, realistic color will be one of the determining factors, and Literati may lead the way. At present, the Literati (and other Kobo readers) are losing the war in regard to content available, so the color thing is nice, but doesn't balance the other factors.

** I know your Sony has a touch screen, but it's resistive, not capacitive, and some may just prefer the capacitive touch screen.

Yeah, that's definitely an area where the iPad has any reader beat, but...

*** I'm not a fan of e-ink displays. Maybe it would grow on me if I had to use it for a while, but that hasn't happened yet.

^^^this is where the iPad really falls short (IMO). Reading just one chapter on e-ink in comparison to reading the exact same .pdf on my computer, the difference in eye strain was noticeable. I will take e-ink over backlit/LCD every single time.