I'm a fan of eBooks and this is why

Timetrvlr

Timetrvlr

Member
Location
central interior B.C., Canada

I'm a voracious reader, going through several novels a week. As you can imagine, that would be very expensive if I bought new hardback or even pocket book editions. So, I use my local lending library as much as possible and buy a few used books but my main resource is eBooks for economy and because my eyesight is dimming and I prefer large text for ease of reading.

My Province has has a great digital lending library so I can check out eBooks there and enlarge the text as much as I like on my tablet or eReader. Unfortunately, there is always a long waiting list for first-run books so I turn to Google Play Amazon or Smashwords. New best sellers are 1/3 to 1/4 of bookstore pricing. Amazon Kindle reader software is free to download for tablets and Amazon has a free lending library of less popular books.

I also subscribe to Bookbub and Early Bird notification services. Every day I get e-mail notifications of three or four on-sale books from both services. The notifications list all the eBook sellers that have the books on sale that day.
 

I like eBooks too. I read and review a lot of books and they are threatening to overtake our home! So when I buy books to read I usually get the eBooks. I like the backlit pages and ease of reading. I like to be able to have words defined with a tap on the screen. And I like that it's instant gratification when purchasing an eBook. I can be reading it minutes after I buy it.
 
I like eBooks a lot. I have discovered many new authors just through getting at least one of their books for free. Sometimes I subscribe to Kindle Unlimited ... at $10/month it is a bargain because I am a fast reader and take my Kindle everywhere so it will be there to fill in the blanks. Our library rare has ebooks I want to read, but as a PA resident, I was able to join the Philadelphia Free Library for nothing ($50/year for out of state). Their e-book library is incredible and I've saved a lot of money using it. I don't mind the wait because I already have so many books in Calibre that I haven't read yet, all of which I got for free over the years.

Besides all that, I like that the Kindle is lightweight and that I can read in bed with the lights out. Regular books seem so heavy to me now. I get annoyed with myself when I tap the page for a definition and nothing happens.
 

I'm with you kids. I have carried backpack books over twenty pounds. But until I can not do it...yup I will carry paper printed editions.
 
I love ebooks as well.I have a kindle and also get them from our library. When my eyes start to feel strained I listen to audio books. The library as a nice selection of them as well.
 
I've become a big fan or should I say "addict" of e-books. Like others have said they're just so quick and easy. As much as I love to read, I never thought I'd give up the paper book for reading on my tablet. One drawback for me is I like to keep track by authors and titles of the books I've read. (Do I have to mention how many times I reread books only because I didn't remember I'd already read them?) With ebooks on Amazon Kindle App there's no good way to keep track except for typing into a spreadsheet, or Google Sheets, but it's a lot of back and forth.
 
I'm a fan and I didn't think I'd ever leave the library. I feel a bit like a traitor but ebooks are portable and I can enlarge the print.
I read almost every night, Kindle books.
 
jnos said:
With ebooks on Amazon Kindle App there's no good way to keep track except for typing into a spreadsheet, or Google Sheets, but it's a lot of back and forth.
Click to expand...

According to Amazon discussions, some people create an Amazon Wish List to track what they've read by adding the book after it's been read.

I'm a big fan of ebooks too. Even though my 5-year old basic Kindle still works, I bought a basic touchscreen a couple months ago and I'm delighted with it. I purchased the five-volume Song of Ice and Fire (over 4500 pages) and would much rather lift a few ounces of Kindle to read it than the physical books. The other big plus is for some ebooks is the Kindle XRay Feature, which provides details about characters, places and terms. For epic books like this one, it's added a layer of help that's quite fun to use.
 
This is how I keep track of what I've read.

I make a table (to which I can add rows) using the LibreOffice (word processing) program. The file is called Books Read 2015-2016, for example. The file is located on my desktop for quick access. If I borrow a Kindle book, of course I have to update the Books Read file before I return it. Otherwise, I put all the books I've read in a category called "Done" on my Kindle, and update it periodically.

I have the table set up with columns for title, author, and rating. Since rows can be easily added, the books are listed in alphabetical order by author. The ratings are by stars, except for DNR which means never read a book by this author again. The books are divided by nonfiction and fiction, so I have two tables per file, and I start a new file every 2 years.

The tables are easier for me to read and the rows are easier to add when alphabetizing using a word processing file rather than a spreadsheet. I'm so used to doing this (it's been 4 years now), that it isn't as much of a pain in the neck as it sounds like.

My book wish list at Amazon is called Kindle Books, and that is where I stash all the books that sound interesting or that I want to read, so I can hopefully get them free at the library. I delete them as I read them. That way I don't forget about any books I want to read.
 

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